"The UK is a mess but so is everyone else", delegates at FT Adviser's conference heard today as confidence allocating to UK assets grows.
A poll of advisers at the Financial Advice Forum found 45 per cent said their confidence allocating to UK assets had not changed compared to 38 per cent who were feeling more confident allocating to the UK.
Delegates heard from three experts in a panel discussion titled 'Financial planning in the face of political and economic shifts'.
Summing up the lay of the land Rachel Wolf, founding partner of Public First, said: "We are a country that needs to raise taxes and is somewhat limited on taxes.
"One of the benefits is that the rest of the world is a basket case too. Across the continent we have people who are angry about the same things: migration and a lack of growth.
"They also seem to be unsympathetic of about large businesses. The UK is a mess but so is everyone else."
Andrew Haldane, CEO of the Royal Society of Arts and former chief economist said yesterday's chancellor's speech "gave glimpses of a degree of flexibility".
Haldane added: "[The speech gave] a bit more optimism of what might be coming in the Budget and that is very much welcome.
"If growth is mission one, the only way that something will be made good on is by investment in the UK both domestically and internationally which is at dramatically low levels.
"It is very important that the Budget and spending decisions next year do not put too much of a dampener on people’s investing or take too much of a chunk out of people’s asset base."
Benjamin Reed-Hurwitz, EMEA research leader at ISS Market Intelligence, said he sat in the middle of the two other panel members.
He said: “2024 has been cautiously optimistic when it comes to investing.”
However, he said despite Isas picking up and increased activity in investing, money is still more broadly going into bank accounts of savers.
Reed-Hurwitz added: “More money is going into deposits than funds so investing in the UK still isn’t there.”
He said what happens in the UK relative to the rest of the world is what is important to look at.
“If the US wobbles the question is where that money goes and it could be the UK."
FT Adviser's Financial Advice Forum is taking place today (September 24) in central London.
tara.o'connor@ft.com
What's your view?
Have your say in the comments section below or email us: ftadviser.newsdesk@ft.com
