The hard tusk of reconciliation

The upcoming conference hosted by the FSA for advisers is greeted with scepticism

"Please could you explain one thing about the elephant in the room?" I asked the chairman of the insignificantly-sized investment company SmallBlue Planet as we rounded off our leisurely breakfast meeting with a cup or two of rather odd-tasting VC Tips at The Noble Sponsor. "What elephant?" said the chairman, looking round the restaurant with alarm. "Not in here," I said patiently. "I'm talking about the cliché fund managers and analysts keep using in their market commentaries when they kick off by saying the elephant in the room nobody wants to talk about is the US budget deficit or popu...