Barclays launches new series of multi asset portfolios across wide range of assets

News - Banking

Written by Ray Clancy

Tuesday, 21 September 2010 08:13

Barclays Wealth is expanding its intermediary business with the launch of Global Markets, a new series of five risk profiled multi-asset portfolios investing cost effectively via ETFs across global markets.

The portfolios will offer asset allocations to suit different risk reward profiles and the
Barclays Wealth investment team will provide the strategic and tactical asset allocation overlay and there will be lower cost and greater transparency than traditionally managed active funds, it says.

The portfolios are designed to suit different investor profiles, ranging from the risk averse to those willing to experience more volatility in the pursuit of higher returns.

The portfolios will invest across a wider range of assets including equities, bonds, cash, commercial property, commodities and alternative trading strategies.

Barclays Wealth expects that they will be of interest to investors looking for cost efficient and convenient access to global markets. While the underlying investment vehicles are in most cases ETFs, Global Markets should not be characterised as a ‘passive’ holding, it added.

The portfolios are constructed with strategic asset allocation, developed by the Barclays Wealth Investment Team and then supplemented with a monthly assessed Tactical Asset Allocation which will alter asset holdings dependent on market conditions.

Operating in the space between pure index funds and conventional actively managed vehicles, Global Markets offers an alternative core investment providing ready made portfolios for use by IFAs with a wide variety of clients, according to the company.

‘We believe there is a huge opportunity for us to grow our business within the intermediary sector and the launch of the Global Markets portfolios is the first step towards this expansion,’ said Tony Lanser, director, Barclays Wealth.

‘We have seen demand from our existing intermediary relationships for this type of product and we anticipate this to grow as intermediaries are faced with increasing challenges, in particular the impact of RDR and the requirement on firms to comply. IFAs are seeking ways to manage these issues through lower cost, higher value investment vehicles and we believe that Global Markets will meet these needs,’ he explained.

‘Our ultimate aim is to help build investment confidence and we believe Global Markets can help through its outstanding level of diversification both globally and in terms of asset spread,’ Lanser added.

Dean Turner, investment strategist at Barclays Wealth said that recent market conditions highlight more than ever the importance of asset allocation in order to balance an investor’s risk profile with their long term investment objectives. ‘Investor expectations remain polarised, with fears of both deflation and inflation co-existing. We doubt that this will change any time soon and therefore in current market conditions we feel it is appropriate for portfolios to have a higher than normal exposure to high quality government bonds whilst retaining exposure to equities,’ he explained.

The Research, Economics and Strategy Team at Barclays Wealth comprises of over 40 investment professionals, across three continents, covering all key asset classes. The investment committee consisting of the chief investment officer, chief economist, and the head of global investment strategy has over 70 years of combined investment experience.

The funds will carry a 4% initial charge which will be available as initial commission and a 1% annual charge including 0.5% trail. This pricing places Global Markets around 0.7% per annum lower than the cost of a typical multi-asset multi-manager solution.