Our Investment Proposition

When it comes to reviewing your pensions, savings and investments we follow the logical, sequential 6 stage ADVICE process explained on the What We Do page.

Our investment proposition is based on a set of a fundamentals which include the following investment beliefs, investment research and governance.

Our investment beliefs

These are the beliefs which underpin the advice you will experience:

• Having access to short term savings, and ‘emergency’ funds
• Repayment of debt is fundamental to achieving financial security.
• There’s rarely a perfect solution – we accept the responsibility to make you aware of any potential risks in your financial plans.
• Diversification – and therefore exposure across all asset types reduces risk (not putting too may eggs in the one basket!).
• It’s time in the market that counts – not timing the market!
• Consistency in our approach – enabling you to rely on advice delivered by advisers operating within a systematic & controlled process.
• Investment styles – academic theory and expert opinion is inconclusive regarding the most effective approach to wealth management.  Funds, and fund managers are selected to create a well-balanced portfolio that combines these different investment styles.

Investment research and governance

These investment beliefs underpin the research and governance developed together with our service provider Quilter Financial Planning (Quilter).

The oversight, management and monitoring of the investment solutions we recommend is provided by the Quilter Financial Planning Investment Oversight Committee (IOC) and the Management Investment Group (MIG).

These two bodies are represented by senior Quilter management executives who work closely with renowned independent investment experts from Square Mile, Morning Star, Defaqto and Moody’s Analytics.

When assessing funds, research criteria includes:

• The fund objectives and aims.
• Fund performance is consistent with expectations and objective.
• The fund’s volatility profile.
• Asset allocation in alignment with the manager’s view of changing market conditions.
• The experience, skills and strength of the investment team.
• The fund manager’s appreciation of the trade-off between risk and reward.

Restricting our advice to a carefully chosen range of products and providers enables us to better focus on what we do best, which is financial planning and advice.

This approach has proven to be the best way to satisfy the needs of the majority of our clients.  Furthermore, if an occasion ever arises where our recommended providers are unable to meet any specific need you might have we are able to re-visit the wider market for an appropriate solution.

Whilst the restricted panel is designed to cover the majority of needs, there are some occasions when a suitable solution cannot be met through the panel. In this instance we do have the option to conduct additional research and go “off panel” to search the broader market for an appropriate solution.

Please be aware:

The value of investments can fall as well as rise. You may get back less than you invested.

Past performance should not be used as a guide to future performance.