Quote of the week

"[People] don’t expect retirement to begin with social security and sit on the back deck in a lounge chair for the rest of their lives. This group really wants to remain active."

Jeff Cimini, head of personal retirement at Merrill Lynch

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Gold

Meanwhile, the exchange-traded fund industry has stirred up demand for precious metals as a way for investors to diversify assets and this sector is still growing apace, but a further trend observed by Brown is that many investors are turning to physical ownership instead.

Last month, CAIS added precious metals to its product offering as part of a joint venture with Gold Bullion International. “Accessing gold bullion has been difficult for the wealth management community, which is often limited to ETFs, gold mining stocks or paying high premiums to acquire gold coins,” Rafay Farooqui, president and co-founder of CAIS, said at the time.

Figures released by the World Gold Council in February revealed that global demand for gold rose to an all-time high in 2011 following record investment demand, which exceeded $200 billion.

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