A long time horizon allows an investor to take advantage of market dislocations.
Diversification
Multi-asset class portfolios are critical to ensuring true diversification. Picking which sub asset class will out-perform in any given year is very difficult.
Cost control
Fees are certain and compounding and must be carefully managed.
Scepticism of active managers
Most underperform net of costs, particularly in highly efficient asset classes, but we do believe a small number still justify their existence.
Volatility can be your friend
Having a high and static risk exposure will likely lead to the highest returns over long periods of time. Investors should worry about permanent loss of capital not mark-to-market adjustments.
Simplicity is preferable
The investment industry thrives on complexity. However, in the main, investing should be simple, transparent and easily understandable.
No market timing
Implement and stick to a pre-agreed long-term plan. Time out of the market can be very costly.
Asset Classes
Equity / Equity-like Investments
To provide a core source of portfolio growth (e.g. Developed Market Equities, Emerging Market Equities, Equity Hedge Funds, Private Equity).
Credit Sensitive Investments
To provide an income stream with better downside risk relative to equity (e.g. High Yield, Emerging Market Debt, Private Credit, Distressed Debt).
Duration Sensitive Investments
To provide a modest income stream and capital preservation (e.g. Government Bonds, Investment Grade Bonds, Corporate Bonds).
Inflation Sensitive Investments
To protect against the threat of inflation (e.g. Inflation-Linked Bonds, Commodities, Precious Metals, Property, REITs.
Uncorrelated Investments
To provide a return not correlated to other risk factors which improves the overall risk adjusted returns of the portfolio (e.g. Alternative Income Strategies, Insurance-Linked Strategies, Market Neutral Strategies).
