Expat Financial Planning Financial Protection
Like construction financial planning is akin to building a house - its essential to get the infrastructure correct at outset - building on fine sand only leads to disaster.
In financial planning terms this means ensuring that adequate financial protection is put in place for you and your loved ones at outset.
The types of protection plans to consider include :
Our client review process will identify if any of these areas should be discussed.
DFM Portfolios
Deep Dive
Improving investment outcomes
Delivering Value With DFM Portfolios
In this age of internet connectivity and the seemingly endless supply of 'data' and 'opinion' on web sites and social media platforms why, you could ask, would anybody wish to engage and pay for a DFM service?
For readers unaware a DFM or discretionary fund management service, is provided by a specialist firm of highly educated and very experienced investment analyst professionals with track records of delivering top class performance for both individual and corporate investment clients alike.
Some would argue that the plethora of 'free' advice that can be gleaned online is all that is required to initially create, monitor and rebalance an investment portfolio and service the portfolio on an ongoing basis. We would emphatically challenge this notion both on the ideology behind such an approach and coupled with our experience of clients after adopting this approach and experiencing investment outcomes that they would rather forget!
There are a multitude of issues investors have to consider prior to parting with their hard earned savings and allocating to investments, some of which include:
• Deciding on the investment objective
• Choosing the investment time horizon
• The investment sums to be invested
• The (all too forgotten) investment exit strategy
• Probably the most important issue of all is deciding on the 'risk' that is appropriate to the portfolio
'Go it alone' investors
Taking account of our experience that spans in excess of 30 years, countless clients who had adopted a 'go it alone' investment path initially, advise that they had relied upon 'recommendations or 'tips' from colleagues and friends. They had not understood the painstaking 'due diligence' that is required in the selection of investment funds or themes.
What little 'research' that had occurred was generally allocating a very short period of time reading a few articles here and there and making decisions based upon scant details - these clients had seriously mis-judged the work required to perform correct analysis.
Given the complexities of these tasks such individuals could be excused as the skill sets required to perform true in depth research requires very disciplined and methodical approaches with access to important company and fund manager data that is generally not available to the general public and very expensive to obtain.
Private investors are therefore placed at an immediate disadvantage compared to professional DFM counterparts.
If you would like to discuss how a TAM portfolio may benefit your circumstance please use the button below.
Handling investment risk
Portfolio risk assessment and rebalancing are fundamental aspects of achieving successful investment outcomes for both individual investors and DFM firms alike.
Such assessments and portfolio creation activities should not be considered a 'fix and forget' set of tasks but rather need to be viewed as tasks that require ongoing reassesments with forensic attention.
In order to fully understand and appreciate global market movements a great deal of data analysis from many seasoned professional specialists is essential.
Not fully understanding or performing such reviews or monitoring asset movements can quickly upend a portfolio and lead to serious and significant loss.
DFM firms that we partner with, work by employing full time specialists, across the globe, focused on a multitude of markets and segements and continually research and evaluate both market weakness and opportunities.
A DFM will examine very closely both the underlying fund managers and the companies that the fund managers ultimately invest into. This ongoing work continually feeds directly into individual client portfolios.
It is this constant attention to detail that separates a DFM service to that of a private investor spending, if available, hours upon hours of very often sub-standard research and analysis.
One of the major and significant costs that a DFM incurs is that which relates to gaining 'institutional data'. This data is generally not available to private investors due to the very high acquisition costs of the data.
Also unavailable to private retail investors are what are known as 'institutional asset classes'. These asset classes are special types of asset classes that are created specifically for institutions with bulk purchasing ability. These 'institutional asset classes' are heavily discounted and once again directly benefit DFM clients.
As you may be realising, private investors without access to all of the research capabilities and cost saving institutional asset classes can very easily be missing opportunities or equally 'missing the boat' when it comes to the timing of asset purchases and sales.
Learn more about discretionary fund management by clicking here
Investor benefits of a TAM DFM service
Prior to illustrating the direct and tangible aspects of using a DFM service it is important to take account of an intangible benefit namely 'stress reduction'.
Let's be honest, investing should not be stress laden that creates worry, anxiety and sleepless nights. Choosing the correct investment path should be about feeling comfortable and relaxed in a world where change is a constant 'given'.
Given their breadth of knowledge and experience, clients tell us that by using a DFM they invariably feel far more relaxed as they appreciate and understand that the guidance and expertise provided intrinsically takes account of:
• Investment history
• Due diligence
• Market trends
• risk dynamics
With all this taken care of clients are free to get on with what matters most - an unshackled life!!
If you would like to learn more about TAM please click here
Redefining portfolio transparency
The following snapshot example of a client valuation is provided to illustrate the many virtues of a TAM portfolio offering. It is not intended to illustrate nor represent potential gains or losses as these will always be market driven.
Sensitive client data has been redacted.
The full valuation document extends to over 30 pages of deep insightful data - valuation documents are available to clients via a dedicated password protected portal 365 days 24hr/7 days.
The detail level, transparency and ease with which valuations can be read is unsurpassed.
Click through the screens below to gain a better understanding of how portfolio information is presented.
Summary
Portfolio Analysis of Movements
This slide provides a quick overview of the position of a portfolio over a selected time period. It shows the risk rating of the portfolio, in this case GBP Balanced. All fees and expenses are clearly shown as illustrated representing just over 1%
Composition
Management Summary
The Management Summary provides both numeric and graphical summaries in addition to the current Top 10 fund holdings at the time of report generation. Of significant importance is the details related to liquidity - TAM never invest into illiquid assets.
Trades 1
Security Trades In Period (1)
A key reporting fundamental that TAM employ is that which relates to the buy and sell trades actioned within a reporting period. The clarity and transparency of each and every trade can be clearly evidenced in this slide.
Trades 2
Security Trades In Period (2)
As with the former slide what is also of major significance is the rationale behind each and every buy and sell action. TAM provide a narrative to support their reasoning for all and any action performed.
Holdings
Portfolio Valuation
Here again clear and transparent detail regarding book costs and current market values are clearly identified in each of the market sectors that assets are held.
Cash
Cash Account Statement
The Cash Account Statement details to the penny all credits and debits in terms of funds sales and purchases in addition to the costs associated of operating the portfolio - all clear and all very transparent.
