Rathbones' Webb: Advisers must beware 'tremendous herding'

Rathbone Unit Trust Management chief executive Mike Webb has urged advisers to consider the sustainability of fund performance when doing their due diligence, as he warned there is "still too much herding" going on in the market.

Webb (pictured) warned advisers are too prone to follow others when investing, with some funds that have swelled in recent years at risk of not providing returns in the longer term. In some quarters fund managers have already taken steps to curb inflows, such as temporarily closing their funds to new investment or shutting them altogether in order to protect client capital. Fund managers can find their ability to run money hampered if a investment becomes too big, or they risk having to deal with a rush of 'hot' money out of the fund if the tide turns and it is no longer flavour of th...