Financial advisers believe poor GDP growth will be the biggest challenge to investment growth in 2013, according to Barings.
The firm's quarterly survey explored attitudes to the current economic environment and major asset classes. It found GDP growth was a challenge for almost a third of advisers, up by 11 per cent from the previous survey in September.
Financial advisers stated they were less worried about problems relating to the Eurozone or slowing growth in China.
The number of advisers expecting inflation to increase over the next three years was up 12 per cent from September to 55 per cent. Some 80 per cent of advisers said their clients were concerned about what impact inflation would have on their cash investments.
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Rod Aldridge, head of UK retail distribution at Barings, said: "As we enter 2013, macro-economic concerns continue to be at the forefront of financial advisers' minds with the UK economy proving one of the biggest challenges. This is understandable with economic predictions suggesting the year ahead could be testing"
When it came to managing market volatility, 71 per cent of advisers favoured diversification of assets while 54 per cent favoured regular reviews of investment portfolios. Some 28 per cent said they were looking at multi-asset products as a way to manage volatility.
Mr Aldridge said: "Multi-asset strategies continue to prove themselves in the face of ongoing global economic uncertainty aiming to produce equity-like returns while reducing volatility. "Investing in a range of equities, bonds and alternatives allows multi-asset funds to adapt quickly to changing economic scenarios and market conditions."

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