Back to basics   Don’t worry if you’re confused by the enormous amount of choice in today’s investment market; most people are. At the simplest level all investments are made up of four basic areas known as asset classes:     Understanding your attitude to risk

Cash Fixed Interest (Gilts & Corporate Bonds) Equities (Stocks & Shares) Property (Commercial)

An Undiversified Portfolio		A Properly Diversified Portfolio
	UK Equity Fixed Interest		Fixed Interest FTSE All Share UK Small UK Value International Small International Value Emerging Markets

The Efficient Frontier

Efficient or Optimal portfolios are created when the maximum mathematical return for a given level of risk has been established.   To do this we analyse every combination of assets and plot the results against the expected risk-return outcome for each combination. Then having established the expected outcomes for all the asset combinations, a line can be drawn to join up each of the Optimal portfolios at every risk level. This line is called the Efficient Frontier. No portfolios offer better theoretical Risk v Return profiles than those plotted on the Efficient Frontier.     Your Optimal Portfolio

Why we choose Passive Fund Management over Active   Statistics show that there is no cost effective way to regularly outperform the market. In simple terms this means that active fund management does not work consistently and the additional charges involved further reduce the investment return.   We believe it is possible to create a transparently charged, well-diversified portfolio through passive investment. And it means you don’t pay the extra cost of an active fund manager to take additional risks with your money – often with highly variable success rates.    Read more on The Problems with Active Fund Management  on and the Active v Passive debate [Sinquefiled article 1995]

“… you are in the category in which most investors find themselves, where  they aren’t set up to make quality active asset allocation decisions. They should manage their portfolio  passively, through low-cost index funds” David Swensen, manager of Yale University’s $18bn endowment fund

Portfolio Rebalancing

Over time, as the funds within each asset class perform differently, the weighting between the funds, and therefore the asset classes, may change. So we’ll review your portfolio every year to enable us to rebalance it. This involves (with your agreement) selling units in some funds and investing the proceeds in others. That way the percentage holding in each fund is restored to the same percentages initially selected.   Need investment management advice? Please call us now on 020 8943 9229 to arrange an initial meeting.

"We moved our portfolio to Holland, Hahn & Wills from a High Street bank last year and the difference is remarkable. Whilst it is too early to compare results I am sure we have made the right choice. Why? Because of the level of service and care we have received from Jason and his colleagues" Richard G