Stock market avoided by top private wealth management?

Top private wealth management firms may be steering their clients away from share trading, as the London Stock Exchange's (LSE) monthly report shows declining volumes year-on-year for October.

Total trades sank 24 per cent compared to the same period last year, with 21.3 million exchanges carried out at a combined value of £161 billion.

Alternative wealth management options such as offshore private banking services might be favoured by some, with unstable financial markets supporting the flight to tax havens.

The LSE saw the value of its UK equities order book retreat 13 per cent compared with October 2009's performance, standing at £4.4 billion, with the average daily number of trades dropping ten per cent to 550,301.

However, top private wealth management firms may not advise clients completely avoid stock market speculation, as yesterday's (November 3rd) announcement of $600 billion (£372 billion) worth of fiscal stimulus measures by the US Federal Reserve has depressed the value of the dollar, causing commodity trading to shoot higher. ADNFCR-2318-ID-800217100-ADNFCR