Ian Marsh discusses strategic moves towards onshore banking and how he believes the ability to offer an integrated banking model sets Credit Suisse apart from its rivals. Yuri Bender reports

The role of asset allocation is crucial to the performance of a client’s portfolio, but some private clients are making important decisions without even realising it, writes Yuri Bender

Private wealth managers have huge experience in asset allocation, which they can share with institutions such as pension funds, but the institutions, most of whom are running benchmarked briefs, are far too arrogant to learn lessons from private banks.

The strong conviction at Lyxor Asset Management in Paris is that beta always triumphs over alpha. “Getting the asset allocation correct is more important than fund selection,” says Lyxor’s senior strategist Florence Barjou.

Widespread falls across the board during the financial crisis meant that the diversification benefits associated with multi-asset funds did not materialise. Investors’ faith in these products was understandably shaken, but, asks Elisa Trovato, is interest starting to pick up?

The perfect storm of the financial crisis nullified the supposed diversification benefits of multi-asset class strategies, but Dr Junhua Lu argues for a range of innovative featues that can provide investors with a more efficient and effective diversification strategy

The strong growth prospects offered by emerging markets are a big opportunity for investors, writes Ceri Jones, although the speed of that growth can bring with it risks such as inflation

Many wealth managers now suggest that well balanced equity portfolios should boost their emerging market exposure to 10-15 per cent, and that this should be reviewed on a regular basis, to reflect the region’s rapid growth.

The safeguards built-in to Ucits funds are making these vehicles very attractive to investor’s seeking more liquidity and transparency, reports Elisa Trovato, and their use is now spreading beyond Europe

Investors’ appetite for risk is returning as they look to take advantage of rises in global stock markets, and they are turning to simple structured products as a way to gain exposure, writes Ceri Jones

Private investors, disillusioned with the performance of their portfolios during the recent crisis, are seeking out new sources of guidance. Yuri Bender talks to Jewson Associates, a firm benefitting from this trend