I take a quick look back at recent stories and flag a few developments in the pipeline.

As summer has started in earnest the news agenda hasn’t slowed down one iota. Much of our coverage has focused on what wealth managers think is the smartest way to position for the remainder of this year in terms of their asset allocations.

Central banks have raised rates, and this means that the “risk-free” rate is around 5 per cent for many investors, so cash-like assets and bonds have won back friends. It also means that investors must take a more considered view of private market investing. Against this background, we have carried views from firms as varied as Allianz, BlackRock, HSBC, Citigroup, UBS, Natixis, Pictet, Lombard Odier, and Schroders, among others. 

Certain stories remain prominent. The UBS takeover of Credit Suisse continues to take up a fair amount of our coverage and, naturally, there’s a lot of focus on how many jobs in the enlarged entity will be shed. We’ve continued to track what’s going on in the banking industry following the failures and rescues of Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank in the US. 

On the jobs front, we have carried a few articles on talent management and what it takes to be a wealth manager today. Clearly, as the sector becomes hopefully more diverse (not in a box-ticking, but genuinely valuable way), and technology intrudes further, we want to stay on top of how the industry adapts. There’s still a regular complaint about talent shortages and staff costs. And in the field now is AI, and how all this tech could affect the sector.

We continue to keep an eye on investment areas that go outside familiar territory, whether it is the use of AI and disruptive tech, or new developments in biotechnology, healthcare and agriculture. We’re even prepared to explore the esoteric but also fun investment subjects such as fine wines!

The editorial team has been busy in its travels. I interviewed the CEO of Monaco-based private bank CMB recently, covered a conference in the tiny European principality, and also met a number of advisors and family office figures in Singapore. Singapore is proving to be every bit as dynamic as ever.

Coming over the horizon in September is a trip to Chicago – I plan to get a sense of how the private banking/wealth sector is shaping up in that city, one that has its challenges as well as being home to a great deal of wealth. US correspondent Charles Paikert continues to track developments such as M&A trends in North American wealth management. My colleague and deputy editor, Amanda Cheesley, has put her economics expertise to good use in a raft of interviews with all kinds of fund managers and banks. There is more to come.

From a number of recent conversations with industry figures, I know that certain issues continue to bug you: how to find talent at affordable prices; the need to keep clients composed in uncertain times; working out whether AI is a threat, a distraction or a benefit; and whether business models are suited to retaining NextGen clients. Whatever the topics, this news service intends to keep on top of the agenda as much as possible. 

As ever, if you have questions and suggestions, email me at tom.burroughes@wealthbriefing.com