Discretionary or advisory asset allocation and management.

 

Primarily focusing on well diversified and customized portfolios of managed funds. We have built up considerable expertise in this area and have extensive contacts across the industry.

 

These custom portfolios are composed of best-of-breed products from multiple sources.

 

Disciplined paradigm for investing tested over multiple market conditions delivering risk adjusted results over many different market environments.

 

We use "open architecture" investment methodology i.e. SPAFS's ability to independently choose products to invest in without any restrictions or coercions.

Asset Management

On such mandates, we agree an objective with the client and a benchmark before we begin to invest, drawing on a number of factors including income requirement and tolerance for risk. Often clients have their own views about the kind of portfolio they want, and again this is established at the outset.

 

The portfolios are managed in such a way as to ensure that the medium-to-long-term investment goals are consistently met, in accordance with the strategy agreed with the client and a predefined risk level.

 

Collective funds are a well established feature of the stock market and their advantages are widely recognized.

 

These products give a spread of investments in a cost effective form, and they are particularly suitable for clients seeking diversified exposure. In recent years fees have become more competitive and the range of funds has increased. Investors can now choose from many styles, including products such as hedge funds, private equity vehicles, ETFs and UCITS funds.

Our history of involvement with alternative investments from a variety of positions has taught us to follow four simple principles:

 

  • Invest in what we know and understand
  • Be thorough in our due diligence
  • Balance qualitative and quantitative analysis
  • View the investment process from different perspectives

These simple principles are also the pillars of our Funds of Funds portfolio construction. Discipline and adherence to this philosophy coupled with a strong emphasis on client service and proper transparency is what sets us apart from our peers and makes us an effective manager in preserving and creating value for our customers.

Multi-Strategy and Single Strategy Fund of Funds (FoF) management

 

  • Our investment philosophy is focused on seeking the highest possible returns within our risk budgets. The cornerstone of our philosophy is to deliver to investors consistent, above-average returns on their investments with controlled volatility and low correlation to traditional asset classes, while remaining focused on the preservation of capital.
  • The quality of the talented managers is enhanced by sourcing information through an extensive global network of investors, managers and industry professionals. Our hedge fund managers must demonstrate that they:
    • Adhere to strong risk practices
    • Have a successful track record
    • Demonstrate a repeatable investment edge
    • Have the highest integrity
    • Maintain solid operational structures and internal controls

 

  • We have the skills and resources to gain access to some of the most sought-after new and existing fund managers. Our manager selection process (Due Diligence process) entails:
    • Aggregation of investor demand to understand the allocation landscape going forward
    • Initial review of manager information and performance and relative benchmarks
    • Background check, operational due diligence check, reference check, service provider check, legal reviews
    • Face-to-face client meetings and site visits
    • Partnering with external advisors for further verification of findings and due diligence support

 

  • Continuous ongoing monitoring of the fund manager to ensure that they continue to add value and maintain their risk-reward parameters.

 

  • Adding value through strategy allocation is a core tenet of our investment philosophy. Our objective is to ensure that our portfolios are well positioned to benefit from exposure to strategies that we expect to perform well.

 

  • A risk manager would argue that one cannot manage expected return, but one can manage risk. Return is the byproduct of managing risk. Our long-term investment strategy is to define the risks we are willing to be exposed to and manage that exposure accordingly

 

  • Diversification of market, manager, strategy and volatility risks forms an integral part of our investment strategy

 

  • On some occasions we utilize low level of leverage to expand and enhance diversification as opposed to increase existing positions. In that way we reduce the reliance on any single manager.