Bank J Safra Sarasin’s asset management business in Switzerland is the latest to expand into multi-asset investment, with the help of a series of hires, following similar moves by Pictet Asset Management and Aviva Investors.

Through multi-asset - also known as total return - investment, managers generate returns from a range of asset classes. Diversified Growth Funds, a sub-set best known in the UK, make use of derivatives to generate returns from trading: they have risen in value from £25 billion to £117 billion over the last five years, according to consultant Punter Southall. "Go-anywhere" bond funds, where managers take a view on different fixed income instruments, are another sub-set.