Why so cautious? Mumford runs the rule over index-based investing

I was amazed to read recently that, in the current climate, advisers believe passive is the way forward, and that some fund houses are launching cautious funds. Why, when for the past three years the FTSE has in effect been ‘range bound’ between 5,000 and 6,000? It is a well-known fact that investors tend to wait for markets to rise before committing to equities and, in many cases, buy when companies or funds have become ’expensive’. But, after three years of ‘stagnation’ and the flight to bonds, what is it that continues to drive advisers to be cautious? There are opportunities to...