Asset allocation is gaining ground

Pan Asset, a new venture focusing exclusively on ETFs, has been co-founded by John Redwood, a Conservative MP, who is controversially preaching that the industry is wasting time trying to pick shares

• Building a better way to manage risk
• PPF’s flaws due to quick-fix birth

Help us sieve the alphabet soup

Responsible investment principles have already been given a collection of names and acronyms but the lack of standardisation is a problem, says Pauline Skypala

PPF’s flaws due to quick-fix birth

The Pension Protection Fund’s increased levies have sparked loud protest, but its solution is still preferable to the alternative, argues John Ralfe

Consultants take stock of their role

Trustees are spending too much money chasing outperformance instead of using their collective muscle to get a better deal for their members – better governance is necessary

Back to the old blame game

Hostilities against hedge funds and private equity have been renewed in Europe with at least one influential politician holding them partly responsible for the credit crisis

No verdict yet in active vs passive debate

In theory, freeing managers to move away from an index enables them to provide returns that are less correlated, but in practice, it may just give them more rope to hang themselves

Active managers – are they worth it?

The debate about the charging structure for the planned national pension scheme heats up

A ‘radical’ plan that targets distribution

The FSA has come up with a radical proposal – people selling products to bank customers should be labelled sales people and advisers should recommend products from the whole market