Our Investment Philosophy

Our success is dependent on making real long-term gains for clients. We aim to generate positive returns regardless of what stock markets are doing and we use a wide range of assets to achieve that purpose. We believe there is no use in holding any particular asset class all of the time, asset allocation should only be driven by conviction about individual investments, not a pre-conceived model. In order to achieve your goals we may recommend investing in any of the following:

  • Stocks
  • Bonds
  • Cash deposits, money market funds
  • Long-only equity and bond funds, ETFs
  • Hedge funds
  • Property funds
  • Structured products
  • Alternative assets such as private equity, life settlement funds, commodity funds

- We will cock a cynical eyebrow at the latest investment fashions.

- It is only by standing back from the fury of financial markets and calmly analysing the facts that we can spot opportunities in mis-priced assets.

- By avoiding the major financial market crashes our clients will be better positioned to benefit from the opportunities that arise out of the chaos.

- We understand that investment gains are not necessarily made quarterly. Sometimes patience is required.

- Most investments are ‘sold’ to us, whether it is through a broker, a banker, a fund manager, the financial media or even a glitzy annual company report. The trick is to recognise which ones have the best chance of fulfilling their promises.

Our asset allocation advice is driven by a bottom-up approach of choosing individual investments that we believe have a high probability of success, in the context of our understanding of the macro situation.

Our asset allocation advice is usually determined by a bottom-up approach with the focus on choosing individual investments that we believe have a high probability of success.

These individual choices may also form part of a strategic investment plan. At the same time we consider the individual risk profile and existing investments of the client, in order to ensure that total risk is properly managed and in line with the long-term goals for their money.

We are not afraid to use cash (or equivalents) as a safe haven if the economic situation warrants such caution. We pay great attention to the effect of different currencies on overall portfolio returns, something that is often over-looked. We only benchmark against real positive returns.

The importance of being pro-active.

We may ask our clients to take a long-term approach to investing and often invest accordingly. However, we believe in the necessity of pro-active advice. The days of “buy and hold” investing are past and the volatility and correlation amongst so many asset classes today means that investments need regular monitoring and assessment. In 2010, at the beginning of the new decade, we found that the S&P500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the FTSE100, the CAC40, the Dax, the NASDAQ and the Nikkei225 were all trading lower than they were 10 years ago.

If you feel like you have simply been following markets up and down during this time then you need to question what your existing investment strategy has achieved for you.

The need for unbiased assessment of opportunities.

We try to step back from the “noise” that is created by the wider investment industry and the financial media, in order to clearly formulate our own investment views and strategies. Most of what you see on tv and read in financial journals is designed to get you to act, to buy or to sell (mainly to buy!). Most of the investment industry is designed this way, it is driven by sales and on turnover in assets, but it is not necessarily beneficial for the majority of investors. Are their interests perfectly aligned with your own?

We are wary of fashionable investments, we rarely follow the crowd and we never forget the reason clients trust us to advise them – to preserve wealth in times of economic turmoil and to grow it in more prosperous times.

By ensuring that we have no formal ties to other financial institutions we retain the flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances and we avoid any conflict of interest that might be caused by high commission products. Clients are not herded into own-label funds (we don’t have any), investments are only chosen on merit and we never forget that an understanding of risk is crucial before we recommend you invest your hard-earned money. In 2008 financial markets taught investors that complacency is rewarded with sharp and severe losses but fortunately we were able to prevent substantial losses for our clients due to our approach.

It is difficult to stress strongly enough the importance of having unbiased advice that you can trust. We would urge our clients to question the underlying motives of every investment they see promoted in the media or recommended by financial institutions. Is it really a great opportunity to invest your capital or is it simply a way to generate commission or transaction fees for the promoter? It is this type of analysis that we are able to do for every client as they are safe in the knowledge that we only work for them and therefore only have their interests at heart. Ask yourself if you can truly say that about your current advisor.

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