Asset Allocation Research for UK Advisers

Markets have been shaken by geopolitical tensions, rising inflation risks, and shifting interest rate expectations. In this Market Update, we break down the impact of the 2026 Gulf conflict, the potential oil supply shock, and what it all means for bonds, equities, and portfolio strategy.
Founder and Head of Research, Henry Cobbe CFA explores these topics in our latest monthly market views.

For UK Professional Investors (Investment Managers and Financial Advisers) only.

Elston: related AUM figures
As at end April 2026, there is a total of £2.9bn of assets is invested across strategies designed by Elston Consulting, of which:
£2.1bn in Managed Portfolio Service (MPS) managed by Elston Portfolio Management
£0.8bn in Funds using Elston's Research and/or Indices

MPS Asset breakdown
Of the £2.1bn MPS assets:
72% is in co-manufactured custom portfolios
28% is in ready-made off-the-shelf portfolios

Fund Asset breakdown
Of the £0.8bn in Fund assets:
67% is in active asset allocation funds using Elston Research
33% is in systematic investment strategies using Elston Indices

Henry Cobbe, Founder and Managing Director of Elston Consulting commented:
"We continue to see structural growth in the MPS market, particularly in the Custom MPS space which we helped pioneer in 2018."

About Elston
​Elston Consulting is an investment consulting firm established in 2012 supporting UK Financial Advisers.

Elston Consulting provides research, analytics and insights to investment managers and financial advisers. Our powerful risk analytics system - Minerva™ - helps quantify different aspects of risk and informs how investment strategies are managed and reported.

Elston Consulting consults on approximately £6bn of assets with professional clients including
1) discretionary investment managers providing a Managed Portfolio Service (MPS
2) financial advisers providing their own Advisory Portfolio Service (APS)
3) asset managers managing Collective Investment Schemes (Funds)

Elston has a comprehensive set of capabilities to research, design and develop custom multi-asset investment solutions, delivered as Portfolios, Funds and Indices.

We were delighted to sponsor the Elston Consulting EBF Maiden Fillies Stakes at Goodwood. Congratulations to Bunny Roberts (owner) Richard Hannon (trainer) and Pat Dobbs (jockey) and of course Dark Issue on winning!

A message from Elston's Founder and Managing Director, Henry Cobbe
​
This weekend over 5,000 young athletes will be competing at Dorney Lake - the rowing venue of the London 2012 Olympics.
​
Elston is supporting the regatta because rowing is a sport that requires dedication, determination and grit. These qualities prove invaluable through life as many of my cohort of rowers can attest. So while most spectators, family and friends will be supporting a particular team, we are really proud to back the whole event.

I know how much each race means to each rower. And I also know how much work goes on behind the scenes with teachers, coaches, and parents. Whether it’s the vats of food, the heaps of washing, or the precise pain of an ergo target.

Rowing is not just a thing. It becomes everything.

And later on in life you may find — as I have — that it’s the friends you make in this sport — your crew — who are the ones who will stick by each other through thick and thin for many years to come. And that’s the greatest result of all.

Good luck to all crews. By choosing and sticking to this path — you’re already winning.

Henry Cobbe

​Rather than fearing the regulator's focus on co-manufacturing arrangements, forward-thinking advisory firms can look at structured agreements as a way to safeguard their unique investment propositions. Done correctly through open-architecture frameworks, custom mandates ensure that advisors dictate strategy while retaining the power to change out providers. 

Congratulations to Elston's Portfolio Strategist Andrea Acimovic for featuring in the Citywire Top 30 Under 30 list of rising stars in the UK investment research and management field.

Renewed political leadership chaos combined with persistent concerns around whether UK government debt levels are sustainable in the long-term has sent Sterling lower and UK Gilt yields higher.

This article looks at the dynamic nature of bond market volatility.  What it means for portfolio construction.  And how short-run measures help spot the canary in the coalmine.

​The traditional 60/40 balanced portfolio is facing a structural breakdown as resurgent inflation and soaring government debt turn nominal bonds into an unsafe asset class. When asset correlations rise and real returns turn negative, traditional diversification methods fail to protect client outcomes. Discover the three strategic levers asset allocators must pull to reinvent their bond allocations and build true all-weather portfolio resilience.

Contrary to the old adage, when it comes to investing, desperate times do not necessarily call for desperate measures. In fact, far from it. Ensuring that a portfolio is sensibly allocated and diversified should help to mitigate the adverse effects of political or economic shocks such that the knee-jerk reaction to get out of the market can be resisted: an ‘All-Weather’ strategy.

​When constructing multi-asset portfolios for DFMs and advisory firms, our process at Elston begins with four primary categories: equities, fixed income, cash & equivalents, and alternatives. We classify any investment that falls outside the first three groups as an alternative. The fundamental motivation for including this category is diversification so it is essential that we verify that the holdings in question are actually fulfilling that role.

The ‘global savings grab’ – demand for capital is rising.

The world is gradually moving towards currency diversification.