Fixed income ETF opportunity for advisers

The group has announced it now covers fixed income ETFs and says an assessment of the products is most relevant “when performed at the constituent or underlying holdings level”.

“Our research now allows for advisers to be fully aware of what they are advising on from an investment perspective and to begin considering the investment case for moving their clients’ monies from behind the ‘wall of cash’ being held in the various forms ‘at bank’,” the group stated.

AltaVista head of sales and corporate development Michael Turner told ifa that ETFs offer the greatest flexibility in a ‘tactical’ or ‘dynamic’ asset allocation portfolio that is consistently rebalanced between sectors, rather than a ‘strategic’ approach with more fixed asset allocations.

“As advisers become increasingly aware of how ETFs can be utilised singularly or in combination, our belief is that they can enhance their own value proposition if they were to consider how to deliver research-driven, diversified portfolios for their clients,” Turner said.

“Fixed income ETFs allow for this now on a greater scale.”

Turner said it wasn’t about making advisers into investment managers but rather giving them a tool that helps provide a reasonable basis for advice given as well as meeting best interests requirements.