FTSE 100

Five years on from the credit crunch which sent global stock markets into disarray and ruined many banks around the globe, including Northern Rock in the UK, the landscape for investors has changed considerably.

Markets were subdued in afternoon trading as fears over China, coupled with instability in the Middle East, weighed on investor sentiment.

Hargreaves Lansdown is telling asset management groups they do not need to overhaul their internal fund rebate systems before the arrival of ‘RDR 2‘ in 2014.

LEHMANS WINNERS

Despite negative press, structured products still form part of many wealth manager portfolios. Joanna Faith looks into their appeal.

The FTSE continued to make huge gains in afternoon trading, reaching its highest level since late March after the Federal Reserve unveiled its third round of quantitative easing.

The FTSE 100 gained more than 80 points in early trading while global markets leapt higher overnight, lifted by the Federal Reserve's latest round of quantitative easing.

Marlborough's Giles Hargreave has been moving up the market cap spectrum in his Special Situations fund to boost liquidity, following a wave of inflows.

For right or wrong, it is an incontrovertible fact that more and more investors, as well as their advisers, are making the shift to using passive funds as part of their diversified portfolios.

Asian markets continued the global stock market rally, following yesterday's unveiling of the ECB's bond buying plans, with some indices up 3.8%.