A structuring team that can negotiate with the banks and advise the clients is vital if fund managers are not to be restricted in their asset management, writes Martin Steward

Thematic investing builds upon intuitive ways of thinking about the world and its economies, but it takes allocators out of the traditional CAPM and efficient-portfolio models. What are the advantages of investing in this way, and how do practitioners manage risk? Martin Steward reports

Investors looking to diversify their satellite hedge fund allocation do not have to take on unsustainable single-manager risk. High-octane returns, single-strategy exposure and de-correlation can be achieved with funds of funds that are a little way off the beaten track, writes Martin Steward

Middle-Eastern oil wealth has been pushing demand for sharia-compliant investment products, but can investors be certain that products will meet their religious requirements in what is still a non-standardised market? And is there any scope for demand outside the Arabic heartland? Martin Steward reports

Nick Shellard, head of UK & Switzerland sales at iShares, explains the trends that are driving the continued growth in the European ETF market, and predicts that it is set to continue­

Both emerging markets and the developed world offer massive

oppurtunities for investment in infrastructure, but this can carry

considerable risk. Martin Steward looks at some of the ways to gain

exposure

High net worth individuals suffering from portfolio losses on their UK property investments can reduce their liabilities by taking positions in the currency market. Nat Mankelow reports on a new product which claims to offer a widely accessible solution

Commodities are seeing record prices, and are being used in a variety of ways, but can be notoriously volatile. Martin Steward reports on how this makes structured products attractive

With clients become more sophisticated and calling for more complex products, concerns are emerging from wealth managers about inadequate systems and operating models. Nat Mankelow reports

Thibaud de Cherisey of Invesco explains why, as Europe’s appetite for ETFs grows, intelligent indicies look set for a bright future

Listed private equity funds offer efficient exposure to a great long-term investment opportunity that is otherwise tough to access for private investors and their intermediaries – and yet the sector is little known in the wider investment community. Martin Steward takes a look at how they work, and the pros and cons which the structure presents

Deutsche Bank has combined its global market and private wealth teams, providing foreign exchange products to a new breed of high net worth client. Nat Mankelow reports

Simon Shapland of RBC Dexia Investor Services explains why global asset managers need to take a fresh approach to fund sales if they want to win in Asia

Luxury homes have not always been regarded as an asset class, but upwardly mobile, middle-class investors have changed all that – which is ­perhaps why these properties have been outperforming non-luxury dwellings for the past five years. Martin Steward investigates

“For a long time nobody regarded luxury homes as an asset class – they were just a luxury,” says Vere Bruce-Gardyne, managing director of the estate agency division of Letterstone, a property developer and fund manager with projects in Central Europe and the Caribbean. “That has changed over the last five years as the market has opened up to the expanding global middle class and their increasing ability to travel.”

Nat Mankelow talks to a rising UK boutique provider of structured products in a market that is showing increasing enthusiasm for the type of investments already popular elsewhere in Europe

Private individual and family office investors stress the importance of the qualitative – even the ‘emotional’ – when it comes to identifying ­investment needs. Martin Steward investigates

Structured entrepreneurial products, offering diversification across ­several asset classes, are among innovations introduced by the team reporting to José Barréiro in the Spanish bank’s new look funds and wholesale banking division, writes Nat Mankelow

Martin Steward speaks to fund selectors and hedge fund managers about how they can best shape their investments to reduce volatility and improve returns following the financial crises of summer 2007

Nat Mankelow assesses whether ‘hidden’ assets such as volatility could provide a source of spice for risk-neutral structured product investors

The niche for collateralising artworks has barely changed in 25 years. Will a new generation of collectors – and artists – open things up for new kinds of lending? Martin Steward reports

Investors have had access to funds trading shipping equities and derivatives for some time. Now they can push that diversification further with a fund that trades the vessels themselves. Martin Steward reports

APT pools the work of young artists to help them prepare for retirement. Now it is leveraging its expertise to provide an investment advisory service in this volatile and under-researched sector, writes artin Steward

So-called exchange-traded commodities have hit the headlines of late, not always for the right reasons. However, with massive new inflows over the last year, how will it cope with the new demands? Martin Steward reports

With an increasing trend for high-net-worth individuals to eschew institutionalised funds of hedge funds, how are private clients constructing their hedge fund portfolios – and managing the new risks? Martin Steward reports

European regulators may be about to lift restrictions on access to hedge funds, thereby opening the doors to retail investors, writes Martin Steward

Boutique chief executive Jean-Louis Juchault is confident his financial future is brighter than his rally prospects. Yuri Bender reports

The outlook is bullish for the energy sector, while gold is performing strongly. Are commodities now a viable alternative? Elisa Trovato asks the questions

The notoriously volatile commodities market now looks stable. Elizabeth Cripps and Roxane McMeeken offer a guide to breaking into the asset class

London central property posts returns above other assets in a balanced portfolio, is immune to economic and political factors and, with the successful Olympic bid, its value is set to increase even further, writes Naomi Heaton

Despite the real estate market glut in Germany, a handful of innovative managers are starting to buy up assets, writes Roxane McMeeken

For a number of years several Scandinavian hedge fund managers have been quietly securing good performance – but now the secret’s out. Roxane McMeeken reports on Nordea’s new product offerings

With high net worth individuals in mind the French regulator has introduced rules to provide for structures that are allowed to invest in hedge funds. Henry Smith reports

State Street’s Italian private equity head is set to use ultra high net worth products as a first step to unlocking institutional bounty. Yuri Bender reports

In a world of ever diminishing openings Ricardo Maxit highlights the attractions of Latin America