Clients ‘break first rule of investment' in scramble for risk assets

Wealth managers report their clients are clamouring to take on more risk in portfolios, even as markets retreat from record highs.

At the start of 2014, commentators forecast markets would struggle to repeat the strong performance of 2013, which saw the FTSE 100 return 14%, and cautioned against ramping up risk. This has so far proven correct, as the FTSE 100 has shed 0.9% year to date, while the FTSE 250, which rose 29% in 2013, has fallen 3.5% following a mid-cap sell-off. Tom Becket, chief investment officer at Psigma Investment Management, said: “People are being much more enthusiastic about risk taking, and are surprised by how little the markets have moved. Enthusiasm is still as high as I can ever remember...