Industry website Citywire recently carried an article by Rob Griffin examining the factors an IFA  should consider when choosing a discretionary manager to outsource their clients investment decisions too.

With input from a number of IFA’s, Rob suggests they should make special consideration of their client’s profile and requirements, recommendations from other IFA’s, costs associated with the manager, the company’s internal stability and the firms investment experience.

However, commenting on this article, Keith Robertson argues that whilst all of these factors may play a part in this decision, they are mostly unquantifiable and the foremost factor when considering a discretionary manager should be whether the client’s desired outcomes have been achieved. That is what a client is predominantly focused on. We, of course, agree with Keith, and Stuart goes on to suggest in his comment that Liability Driven Investment, which is based on a client’s required outcome, is a far superior alternative.  To read the article and Stuart’s comments please click here.

TAGS: Active management, Investment process, press mentions, retirement planning