alternative investments
Advisors to increase use of alternative investmentsPosted by RJ and Makay on Apr 11, 2012 |
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Financial advisors plan to increase usage of alternative investment products and tactical asset allocations, according to a new survey by Curian Capital. The survey report, 2012 Outlook for Advisor Priorities, found that four out of five advisors say their clients desire more conservative investments and almost three-quarters say clients are demanding more guaranteed income features. The majority of advisors say they use alternatives to diversify and stabilize client portfolios.
Morgan Stanley’s head of investment strategy, Paul Hatch, recently spoke on a panel titled “Understanding What Customers Really Want” at Fund Forum USA’s Global Fund Distribution Summit in Boston. Morgan Stanley currently has 4%, or $60 billion of its assets, in alternative investments. Hatch said that the firm would like to increase that to the 15% to 20% range, or as much as $300 billion.
As the the Volcker Rule undergoes revisions by government regulators, wirehouse financial advisors say that their high-net worth clients could shoulder the biggest impact from any new regulations that place investment restrictions on financial institutions. Proposed restrictions under the rule would prevent banks that take federally insured deposits from conducting proprietary trading operations and investing in hedge funds and private equity funds.
