SOMETHING FOR THE WEEKEND
Europe.
I’m pleased to announce that I’m going to be writing regularly for InvestWithETFs, a new website, based in the UK, which promotes low-cost, evidence-based investing. And, ta-da.. here is my very first post.
It’s about the extraordinary growth in global assets under management. One report this week showed that the world’s fund managers now control more money between them than the total wealth of Europe; another predicted that global AuM will reach $145.4 trillion by 2025.
These are remarkable statistics, and remember, the more assets the fund industry controls, the more money it’s able to skim off in fees.
You’ll find the article here:
The world’s largest skimming operation
Mind the pensions gender gap
According to a recent report by Mercer, the average European woman retires with a pension pot 40% smaller than the average man. That compares to a pay gap of 16%.
So, why is the gap so large? What can be done about it? And what can women do to ensure they don’t fall behind?
I’ve been discussing all of these issues and more in this video interview with Dr Ella Rabener, co-founder of Scalable Capital:
Ella Rabener on the pensions gender gap
Advisers “brainwashed” for 30 years
Among the UK financial advice profession, Paul Armson falls into the Marmite category. (For the benefit of US readers, Marmite is a sticky, dark brown spread with a rather distinctive taste, and is best known for its manufacturer’s marketing slogan, “love it or hate it”). I happen to be in the “love” camp, at least when it comes to Paul, but there are many who aren’t.
Paul believes passionately in what he calls lifestyle financial planning. I’ll let him explain in his own words, but, in a nutshell, he’s not a big fan of the fund industry and the way it uses advisers to flog its products. Others say that Paul goes too far and that BACK2Y, his annual conference, has become, well, a little bit “holier than thou”.
Read my interview with Paul here
EBI lets advisers on what matters
David Haintz was a leading player behind Shadforth Financial Group, one of Australia’s biggest financial advisory firms. He now works as a consultant to growing advice businesses around the world, and has recently co-authored a book, The Life First Advisor: How the new financial coach connects ‘money’ with ‘meaning.
In this interview, he tells me the story behind Shadforth’s success and how adopting an evidence-based approach proved to be a critical factor.
Read my interview with David here
The Evidence-Based Investing Conference
Yesterday saw the second annual Evidence-Based Investing Conference held in New York City. The event has prompted several blog posts and articles, of which these are some of the best:
The war between fear and evidence (Nick Maggiulli)
Evidence-based investing in 10 words or less (Phil Huber)
I don’t think that means what you think it means (Michael Batnick)
Understanding EBI: An interview with Barry Ritholtz (Cinthia Murphy)
Also worth reading
US
Keep it simple and don’t try to be a hero: A Q&A with Morgan Housel (Safal Niveshak)
How can you stop investors buying & selling at the wrong times? (Urban Carmel)
10 things to remember about market forecasts (Barry Ritholtz)
Why carry on taking market risk when you no longer need to (David Merkel)
Incoming Vanguard CEO says cybersecurity keeps him up at night (Tae Kim)
UK
90+% of funds fail deliver above-average returns over a 3-year period (Tom Bailey)
Australia
The numbers simply go against active management most of the time (Tony Kaye)
Adviser marketing
One you’ve got something to stand for, marketing is so much easier (Faith Liversedge)
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ROBIN POWELL is the founder and editor of The Evidence-Based Investor. A freelance journalist, he runs Regis Media, a specialist content marketing consultancy for financial advice firms around the world. You can follow him on Twitter and on LinkedIn.
The Evidence-Based Investor is produced by Regis Media, a boutique provider of content and social media management to financial advice firms around the world. For more information, visit our website and YouTube channel, or email Sam Willet or Christina Waider.
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Robin is a journalist and campaigner for positive change in global investing. He runs Regis Media, a niche provider of content marketing for financial advice firms with an evidence-based investment philosophy. He also works as a consultant to other disruptive firms in the investing sector.
