Why We Are Different
How we work with providers
This is intended to help product and service providers in the industry who do not have a relationship with us.
From the description of what we do as investment managers, you will see we are only interested in a fraction of the types of product the industry wants to sell us, or persuade us to recommend to our clients. We are ‘open’ to the whole of the market but we choose to reject most of it on logical priors.
We manage two types of portfolio.
- In one, beta exposures are managed quantitatively and implemented using index tracking funds or ETFs, ILGs and cash (no conventional bonds).
- In the other, exposure to most of the desired risks is delegated to one or more multi-asset class institutional managers using hedge funds and non-public market partnerships.
If we have any particular requirements that are not in line with these strategies we initiate our own research and do not keep 3rd party research.
Long-only active funds, managed funds or retail fund of funds do not feature in either portfolio type. We have our own database application for assessing actively-managed funds (onshore and offshore) against our quantitative tests. It produces too few qualifying funds to be worth using – so we use it more to support an empirical case for passive (and for assessing individual trackers).
We keep our use of tax wrappers and administrative ‘wraps’ (including execution-only brokerages) under constant review, using the trade press. We very rarely use investment bonds as a wrapper.
We do not do arrange mortgages (this is not on our FSA list of authorised activities yet lenders insist on sending us mail).
We do very little protection business and do not want promotional material.
As a consequence of these well-thought out approaches, we do not react to service offers or new products from providers, unless in the very specialised areas listed above. If and when our own generic research or individual fund assessment suggest we may need a relationship with a provider, we contact them.
If, after this explanation and taking further time to read what we say on the website, you believe you have relevant material, please email it – we operate a paperless office and do not scan promotional literature.
Providers can see from our charging approach and client profile that we want to deal on institutional terms with no commissions. Pending implementation of the Retail Distribution Review, any situations in which we need to take and rebate commissions that would otherwise go to waste are already transparent and ‘customer agreed’.
