Fund managers from around the world attended the Julius Baer Alpha Conference today to discuss the performance of global markets, opportunities arising from worldwide economic recovery and investors’ best strategies for maximising returns.

Addressing the audience of fund managers, Julius Baer’s head, EAM & Global Custody Americas and Africa Roi Tavor said: “There are two reasons why clients remain loyal: quality of service and performance. Today, our clients need a lot of support to navigate the complexity of the markets.”

Head of investment solutions and advisory Andreas Feller indicated that the markets would become even more complex in the coming year with the growing influence of Asia and elections in the emerging market of Brazil. “A lot of reforms are ahead of us,” he said. “We need to plan ahead.”

Bullish equity markets would be bolstered by US and Chinese growth, according to the speakers.

“What we see in the global dynamics is that Asia has been picking up very well [and] tremendously quickly,” said Feller, pointing to the $3.5 billion Baha Mar development and the recent acqusition of the British Colonial Hilton in Nassau by the China State Construction Engineering Corp as examples of Asian purchasing power at work in The Bahamas. “It is all happening right now,” he said.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of Julius Baer’s presence in The Bahamas. Today’s event was one of a series with Alpha Conferences also taking place in Geneva, Zurich and London.

cmorris@dupuch.com