Rather than dealing in asset classes, investors should be thinking in terms of categories of risk to protect their portfolios

Manuela D’Onofrio, UniCredit

With client confidence at rock bottom, many continue to seek security in government bonds, although corporates offer better yields and may prove a safer bet

The consequences of an unmanaged Greek exit from the euro would be so severe that central banks should continue to support the currency, creating attractive opportunities for credit strategies, according to fixed income specialists ECM

Having deleveraged balanced sheets and refinanced themselves on favourable terms, corporates look to be in a healthy state. But slow growth in Europe means investors should favour those with a global reach

However, it is important to address discrepancies within the corporate bond market across countries through a maturity schedule.

Japan may have been hit by numerous problems, but some believe the country is due for something of a boom, led by the reconstruction following last year’s earthquake and tsunami

Wealthy individuals tend to make confident property investors, but they still value solid advice which can help them maximise returns

Low risk equities tend to outperform their racier counterparts over the long-term and provide portfolios with much less volatility, thanks to human behaviour

Jerome Booth, Ashmore

Protecting clients from downside risk while taking advantage of investment opportunities will occupy wealth managers in 2012

In this highly uncertain macro-economic environment, dominated by the eurozone debt crisis, the Holy Grail of wealth preservation and portfolio diversification has become particularly challenging to achieve.

Antony John

Antony John, CEO of BNP Paribas unit FundQuest, discusses the increased challenges faced by fund selectors in these tough economic conditions and the extra skills they need to assess passive in addition to active investments

Physical wreckage has led to market uncertainty

The situation in Greece is extremely volatile but should not lead to radical investment changes.

A number of potentially divisive cultural, economic and social issues are having an increasing impact on investment decisions.

Timothy Heffer, Skagen Funds

With an ever-expanding investment universe open to private investors, identifying the right global strategy for clients can be extremely difficult, while providing the toolkit to access opportunities and hedge against risk is also a challenge.

Institutional investors across Europe are grappling with how best to turn volatility from risk into opportunity. Ceri Jones reveals the results of our investor survey

The Asian fixed income market is still developing and is far from perfectly efficient, creating plenty of opportunites for active managers such as Aberdeen, yet most investors are underweight the asset class despite the region’s strong economic fundamentals. Elliot Smither reports.

Amin Rajan, Create-Research

Changes in long-term savings products are set to bring about a massive restructuring of asset management models, and while capital protection and liquidity will top client agendas, there will also be huge opportunities for active managers willing to follow riskier strategies. Yuri Bender reports.