Going for gold: Multi-asset managers look beyond 'core assets' ahead of 'volatile' Q4

Tariff tensions and global slowdown key factors

Managers of multi-asset funds are shifting their portfolios away from equities and increasing their holdings in gold, government bonds and currencies, in efforts to shield returns from what they anticipate will be a volatile Q4.

The ongoing US-China trade dispute, US President Donald Trump's impatience at the Federal Reserve's pace of interest rate cuts and an ongoing slowdown in the global economy are collectively creating a sense of déjà vu for managers who are keen to avoid some of the losses seen at the same time last year. Gilt and gold funds surge in risk-off August Q4 2018 was a notably volatile period as the US-China trade dispute first came to the fore, the Fed struck a more hawkish tone and Chinese economic data appeared to weaken. The VIX - or Wall Street's volatility index - peaked at 24 points...