GB News Spotlight: Top investment manager reveals how the rich 'have moved away from traditional markets'

Ahead of this year's City of London Wealth Management Awards, Mr Holden-Craufurd has spoken about how clients' demands are changing amid a tumultuous time for investors, and how GHC Capital Markets is rising to the challenge.

Q: What are wealthy clients doing with their money right now that might surprise people?

What might surprise people is just how far wealthy clients have moved away from traditional public markets. They are no longer waiting for and then reacting to every headline or central bank decision.

Instead, preferring more stability in their returns, there is a clear shift towards three sectors in particular-private assets, infrastructure, and real assets such as agriculture, energy, and water. The focus is on tangible investments that generate dependable cash flows and are less exposed to short-term volatility.

Q: Are the rich becoming more cautious, or are they still taking big risks in today’s market?

I would not describe it as cautious versus risky; it is about being more deliberate. Clients today are far more selective and want a clear understanding of what they own and why.

There is also a noticeable generational divide. Older clients are more focused on preserving wealth and income, while younger clients are comfortable taking a longer-term view and exploring private markets and less liquid opportunities.

Q: What are wealth management firms, such as GHC, doing to compete successfully in the market?

For us at GHC, it comes down to agility and staying truly client-focused. Larger firms can become quite standardised as they grow, while we are able to move quickly and tailor solutions around each client.

We also place a strong emphasis on partnerships, particularly in private markets, which gives us access to more specialist and differentiated opportunities that are not always available elsewhere.

Q: How have your clients’ demands and needs changed in recent years?

Clients are much more engaged than they used to be. They want transparency, they want to understand the rationale behind their investments and how those investments reflect their own outlook or values.

This is especially true of younger, entrepreneurial clients, who are used to being hands-on. They are also increasingly interested in accessing opportunities that were traditionally the domain of institutional investors.

Q: If you had to position money today for the next five years, where would you be looking?

I would focus on areas with strong, long-term drivers. That includes selective private credit, AI infrastructure, and the underlying systems that support it, as well as healthcare and longevity.

Emerging markets, particularly India, are also very interesting given the growth of the middle class. Alongside that, real assets such as energy infrastructure, agriculture, water, and forestry continue to stand out because they are essential and enduring.

Q: If you had to position money today for the next five years, where would you avoid placing your investment?

I would be more cautious around parts of the US equity market where valuations look stretched and unrealistically priced (for perfection). I would also be wary of certain areas of commercial real estate, particularly office valuations that haven’t been adjusted following the shift in hybrid working which has greatly impacted the sector.

While I see value in private credit, I would be careful about how it is accessed, especially where structures promise liquidity that the underlying assets simply cannot deliver.