It has similarly become a truism to state that investors and advisers alike are increasingly drawn towards a multi-asset approach, though the reasons in each case are disparate.

To put it briefly, advisers are thought to be seeking to use fund managers’ asset allocation expertise in the wake of the implementation of the Retail Distribution Review and the additional demands this places on intermediaries managing investments.

Investors, as a necessary consequence of the market malaise outlined above, are thought also to be increasingly desirous of investments that do not concentrate within a single asset class.

Obviously, the confluence of these assumed biases has given rise to predictions of a rise in multi-asset income investing.

But how do these funds work, and where are managers of such funds investing to produce steady returns, especially given the parsimonious returns currently available through fixed income investments and the concern over equities.

This special report will give an overview of how managers are adapting propositions to suit adviser and investor demand, as well as give an insight into trends in the equities, fixed income and, especially, alternative asset classes.

This special report is produced in association with Investec Asset Management. For fund information, click here.