Reuters reports that the Bank of England has cut its forecast for UK economic growth and predicts that inflation would fall well below its 2 percent target in two years.

A day after the Federal Reserve downgraded its outlook for the United States, the BoE’s quarterly Inflation Report — the first since a harsh government budget in June — showed it too is worried about the durability of recovery from the worst recession since World War Two.

“Business and consumer sentiment have shown signs of softening, measures of financial fragility remain elevated and there is great uncertainty about the outlook for both the United States and our most important trading partner, the euro area,” Bank of England Governor Mervyn King told a news conference…

In an interview for the Spotlight Series earlier this summer, Mark  predicted this,  warning that we might not be out of the woods yet, questioning how we can wipe out 50 trillion dollars in wealth and only experience a recession on par with the 90s… surely there has to be more to come.

Mark Tennant, Chairman, HONISTER CAPITAL interviewed Dr. Joachim Faber, CEO, ALLIANZ GLOBAL INVESTORS for the THE MARK TENNANT CUSTOMER LEADERSHIP INTERVIEW 2010 at FundForum International 2010.  With a leading topic entitled “Weathering the Storm” they discussed how the decentralised business model has been an effective way to remain close to the customer, by-pass the worse aspects of the crisis and meet customer needs.

Anne Richards, CIO, ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT participated in a panel debate on new asset allocation models for fund selectors at FundForum International 2010 with fellow CIO panellists Rick Lacaille, STATE STREET GLOBAL ADVISORS and  Christian Dargnat, BNP PARIBAS INVESTMENT PARTNERS and moderated by  Amin Rajan, CEO, CREATE-RESEARCH.

In an interview for the Spotlight Series, Anne discussed the double-edged sword that is volatility.  Government bonds have responded well but the Equities Market, with renewed fears about Greece, has experienced more difficulties.  Even in this market, there is more optimism (however cautious) than 12 months ago.

The real growth opportunities can be seen in Asia and Emerging Market economies where the fiscal situation is much better than most of the domestic markets.  Interest is growing in both Emerging Market Debt and Asian Fixed Income.

For the end investor, the key challenge is to responsibly inform them so they understand that volatility is a feature of all investment.  If they have chosen the correct strategy, a little volatility shouldn’t be an issue.  We must avoid the knee-jerk reactions of Q4 2008 (after Lehman’s), when investors panicked, sold out at the bottom of the market and then couldn’t benefit from market improvements in 2009.

In an intense and wide ranging meeting which included those representing the regulatory view, the investment industry and investor representatives today, five key issues were debated in the new closed door session at FundForum International 2010.

The panel, moderated by Tom Brown, Partner at KPMG, consisted of Eddy Wymeersch, Chairman of CESR; Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, President of EFAMA; Consumer advocates Mick McAteer and Guillaume Prache; Marc Garvin, Chairman International Business, Treasury and Securities Services of JPMorgan as well as the members of the EFAMA President Advisory Council: Juan Alcaraz, CEO of Allfunds Bank and Santander Asset Management; Dominique Carrel-Billiard, CEO of AXA Investment Managers; Alain Dromer, CEO of Aviva Investors; Roderick Munsters, CEO of ROBECO, Martin Gilbert, CEO of Aberdeen Asset Management; Allan Polack, CEO of Nordea Savings and Asset Management; Peter De Proft, Director General of EFAMA and Claude Kremer, Vice-President of EFAMA.

First up on the agenda was the issue of long term savings and distribution in particular on the back of the report entitled Revisiting the landscape of European long-terms savings published by EFAMA at the beginning of the year.

The attendees were supportive of creating a pan-European long-term savings product which will meet the needs of the ageing population of Europe, one of the greatest challenges facing Europe today. It is the European asset management industry’s aim to provide a solution to this problem. European consumers need a product that is simple, cost effective and transparent to encourage long term savings which the investment management industry can provide. Effective distribution and advice on savings products across Europe are major challenges, from a regulatory, supervisory and commercial standpoint.

The second issue under debate was shareholder engagement, both in terms of activism and stewardship. Asset managers need to go beyond a short termist approach and engage in a long term dialogue with the companies in which they invest. The group acknowledged that it is essential to find the right balance between their fiduciary duties to their investors and their role as investors in a company, and to find proper mechanisms for effective engagement.

The third item on the agenda was the evolving supervisory framework in the EU and how it will impact on the asset management industry. ESMA, one of the three new authorities will be an independent body not comparable to the SEC, operating as a co-ordinating rather than guiding force. The aim is that will ultimately lead to a more harmonised approach in regulation across Europe.

Turning to the issue of new regulation for depositaries, the industry representatives said that the existing global custody model has served the industry and investors well but there is a legitimate argument for strengthening investor protection. The industry representatives on the panel felt that new regulation should not lead to an overhaul of a well established body of practices.

The session concluded with a look at the growing fund group of ETFs. Panellists discussed how the characteristics of these funds have an impact on existing distribution models.