The start of the year often brings a strange mix of calm and movement in investment markets. Headlines are still coming through, capital is still flowing, but the tone feels more considered. Less noise. More intention.
This week’s updates from across infrastructure, alternatives, and growth capital all point to the same underlying theme. Money is still being deployed, but with clearer purpose and longer time horizons. For advisers and paraplanners, that matters. These are exactly the areas where client suitability, timeframes, and expectations need the most careful handling.
Here are a few reflections on what stood out this week, and what it might mean for advice conversations.
Natural capital moves from niche to normal
Foresight Group’s latest research shows that more than half of UK family offices are already investing in natural capital strategies. That is a meaningful shift. A few years ago, this sat firmly in the “interesting but early” bucket. Now it is becoming part of mainstream portfolio construction for sophisticated investors.
You can read the full piece here:
Over half of UK family offices already invest in natural capital strategies
What is notable is not just the uptake, but the motivation. These investments are not being framed purely as ESG statements. They are being positioned as long-term, inflation-linked, real asset exposures with diversification benefits.
For advisers, this raises familiar but important questions:
- How well do clients understand the liquidity profile and time horizon?
- Is the sustainability narrative driving the decision, or the underlying risk and return characteristics?
- How clearly is the role of the investment articulated within the wider portfolio?
Natural capital can absolutely have a place in the right circumstances. But it relies on strong objective-setting and very clear suitability evidence, particularly where outcomes are long-dated and valuation is less transparent.
VCT fundraising continues, confidence with caveats
Puma Investments £20m raise for its Alpha VCT is another reminder that appetite for growth capital has not disappeared. Investors are still willing to back UK scale-ups, even against a more cautious economic backdrop.
The announcement is here:
New fundraise of £20m for Puma Alpha VCT to continue backing ambitious UK scale-ups
What we tend to see in practice is that renewed VCT fundraising often triggers two types of client conversation at the same time. Existing investors reviewing whether allocations still make sense, and new investors attracted by tax relief headlines without fully appreciating the risk.
This is where advice quality really earns its keep. VCTs, EIS, and Business Relief solutions are rarely unsuitable by default, but they are very easy to mis-position. The difference lies in how well advisers and paraplanners:
- Anchor the recommendation to clearly evidenced objectives
- Set expectations around timeframes, liquidity, and variability of outcomes
- Demonstrate why this solution fits this client, at this point in time
The technical case is only half the job. The suitability story matters just as much.
A pause that feels intentional, not hesitant
Tatton Investment Management Limited’s recent reflection on taking a “quiet break from the new normal” captured something we are hearing repeatedly across firms.
You can read it here:
A quiet break from the new normal
There is a sense that many teams are deliberately slowing certain decisions. Not because confidence has gone, but because there is a desire to sense-check. To step back. To make sure last year’s assumptions still hold.
That mindset shows up clearly in suitability work. Files are becoming more reflective. Advisers are asking better questions earlier. Paraplanners are spending more time on context and less on post-rationalisation.
In our experience, this kind of pause often leads to better outcomes. It creates space to challenge default solutions and revisit whether a recommendation still genuinely serves the client’s longer-term needs.
Infrastructure keeps quietly scaling
Downing‘s expansion of its UK solar portfolio through ready-to-build projects is another example of capital quietly going to work in the background.
Details here:
Downing grows UK solar portfolio through ready-to-build projects
Infrastructure rarely grabs headlines in the same way as growth capital, but it plays a different role. Predictable cashflows, long-term contracts, and alignment with structural trends like energy transition.
Again, suitability is the anchor. Infrastructure solutions can be compelling for the right client, but only when:
- The income profile matches the client’s actual needs
- Concentration risk is properly considered
- The recommendation is positioned as part of a balanced strategy, not a silver bullet
Pulling it together for advice teams
Across all four stories, the common thread is not excitement or fear. It is intentionality. Capital is moving, but with clearer reasoning behind it.
For advisers and suitability consultants, this is a good moment to reflect on a few practical points:
- Are objectives being revisited often enough, or assumed to be static?
- Is risk framed in plain English, not just risk ratings?
- Do alternative and tax-efficient solutions have a clearly defined role, or are they filling a gap by default?
These are not new questions, but they matter most when markets feel quieter. That is when the quality of advice logic really shows.
If this resonates with what you are seeing in your own conversations, we would genuinely love to hear from you. No pitch. Just people who spend a lot of time thinking about how advice stands up when it really matters.
