As an independent Discretionary Fund Manager (DFM), MitonOptimal has been caring for private client portfolios for the best part of two decades. It is evident to us that the old ways of doing business are changing, both globally and locally, and without exception. In fact, traditional institutions that have relied upon clients having blind faith in their abilities and have been given carte blanche to operate ‘behind closed doors’ are no longer acceptable in an increasingly regulated, fee sensitive and transparent environment.
We understand that busy and successful clients do not have the time or the inclination to monitor markets or corporate activity on a daily basis, however, these events can and do have a direct impact on the security, liquidity and performance of your portfolio.
Many clients may have lingering doubts at the back of their minds, however, they tend to categorise the management of their capital as important but non-urgent.
When was the last time you sat down and reviewed your portfolio properly?
At MitonOptimal we offer an investment review service that provides a ‘health-check’ of your assets giving a clear and precise report on the condition of your portfolio.
Past decisions and inertia may have an adverse impact on portfolios
For private clients, ensuring that assets and strategies stay aligned with your investment objectives should be a straightforward process. However, a client’s personal preferences, a good sales pitch from a product provider, or the search for growth or income can lead to decisions that potentially shift the dynamics of a client portfolio away from your risk profile and original objectives.
From our own experience, when conducting initial portfolio reviews for clients (a major part of our DFM service offering), we are seeing an increasing number of portfolios that either no longer matches the original investment mandate or have had the same asset allocation since inception, sometimes going back over ten years.
There can be a number of possible reasons for this, especially when there is a lack of continuity in the personnel managing a client portfolio, in some instances, you may find you have no appointed manager (in the industry you would be classified as an ‘orphan client’) or that your account has been inherited by a junior relationship officer with little or no knowledge of your personal circumstances and limited investment decision-making ability.
However, these substantial challenges also offer an opportunity for clients to reassess their investments and to seek a better, faster and smarter portfolio management solution.
Deciding to have a portfolio review gives you the knowledge and ability to re-establish a suitable risk profile and asset allocation strategy that’s suitable and appropriate for your current circumstance and future plans.
Our clients benefit from the full range of research and analysis tools, skills and investment knowledge of the MitonOptimal Group. As portfolio managers, we will take on the day-to-day responsibility for the investment decision-making process, enabling clients to de-risk their portfolios and alleviate those nagging uncertainties (tick, tick, tick….Boom).
Your investment manager must understand your circumstances and build a meaningful relationship
Your manager must have experience in tailoring portfolio solutions to suit a broad range of client-specific circumstances and investment objectives.
They should understand that wealth preservation and generating risk-adjusted returns above inflation are key to securing the financial future of their clients and that income generation and careful stewardship of capital enables a client to maintain the quality of life to which they have become accustomed.
As your investment manager, their primary focus should be on asset allocation and portfolio management. Importantly they should also be willing and able to divulge details of the underlying investments that comprise your portfolio and their associated costs.
Over the last few years, we have seen a groundswell of clients seeking to engage an independent owner managed business to look after their portfolios, as a private client, you should know who is looking after your capital and how they are managing it. At MitonOptimal we are committed to providing sensible long-term solutions that are easily understood, fairly priced and transparent.
As a first step, deciding to get a health-check on your portfolio is, in our view, a simple and important way in which to avoid that ticking time bomb.
DOWNLOAD: MitonOptimal IOM Press Release – Alan Blythe – Ticking Time Bomb – April 2018
