Within the financial sector, it’s fair to say that there is a great deal of uncertainty. Last week heralded the news that Blackrock and Citigroup will be expanding their Paris operations ahead of the UK’s increasingly messy exit from the European Union, while question marks remain about that lasting impact of MiFID II, and this is all before we consider the likelihood that markets will become increasingly volatile over the second half of the year as interest rates rise.

As such, it is becoming clear that the asset management industry (as well as the wider financial services sector) will need even greater levels of preparation, foresight and clarity of communications over the months and years to come, in order to navigate the unpredictable events and results that we are now coming to expect as successfully as possible.

While it is of course impossible to predict what will happen in the future, it does seem that there is now a real pressing need to prepare for the worst case of scenario. This is most evident with more and more companies now publishing their plans should the EU and Britain fail to come to an agreement before 29th March 2019. While this could be seen as a negative approach, the ability to react to all outcomes is something that is becoming increasingly invaluable, and allows the ability to conduct the day to day running of a business with at least some peace of mind.

The next six months look busy. Before the year is over, we will have had the mid-term elections in the US (a barometer as to whether Donald Trump will be in office for two-full terms), a national election in Brazil, the G20 meeting in November as well as the ongoing developments surrounding Brexit negotiations. These events all bring with them their own risk, and while it remains possible that we don’t see any surprises from them, it would be foolish not to prepare of all potential outcomes.