Letting markets dictate asset allocation like using 'a blunt tool'

RSMR Investment Conference - multi-asset panel

Victoria McKeever
clock • 3 min read

Passive investment clearly has its place in portfolio construction but is like a "blunt instrument" if used in isolation, Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) portfolio manager David Copsey has warned.

Copsey was participating in a multi-asset panel discussion at the 2016 RSMR Investment Conference, where the discussion focused on whether asset allocation was still 'king' and the relative merits of active and passive investment - an issue that has resurfaced following the publication of the Asset Management Market Study by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). On the role of passive vehicles in a portfolio, Copsey said: "To claim you are managing risk in a holistic portfolio and yet allow the markets to dictate how much you are going to hold of something - that is somewhat difficult. ...

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