This week my team and I had the opportunity to speak with Alquity who mainly manage money in Emerging markets. They also have a focused India fund which we chatted about as more and more investors see opportunity in India. Later we will post an article about India and other emerging markets which Alquity favour. [Watch this space for exciting emerging market opportunities in 2024]
Part of the regular work we undertake is to help advisors prepare for meetings with their clients. Our role is to regularly communicate with advisors about their clients and help them to prepare for meetings with those clients. This includes making sure we have their correct risk profile on file and asking the advisor if their are any changes in the circumstances of the client which would affect our decision making with regards to their portfolio. This might be things like a need to withdraw part of the fund or the need to take a regular income. These conversations are a weekly occurrence and this week we have been helping one of our EU advisors who is on the road visiting her clients.
An advisor in Europe also sought our assistance this week in reviewing the portfolio of a prospect who was using the services of another management company. We regularly get these requests as fund management firms becoming bigger and less personal and rely more on technology and AI than the personal human touch. Our approach is always to be available to discuss the clients portfolio and personalise it so we can make sure the portfolio of our clients matches their goals and risk profile. As more and more fund management companies rely more on technology and AI and less and less on the ‘personal relationship’ we see a growth opportunity here for our business.
The team has also researched the tax implication for returning UK residents holding offshore portfolio bonds. Interestingly, there are a few assets that are not permitted under the UK tax law and will be taxed so it is important for our clients to notify their advisors if they have plans to return in the UK.
Lastly, with 2024 fast approaching we are also arranging a podcast with Nathan Sweeney, chief investment officer of Marlborough funds which will enlighten us about the trends and sectors that will likely perform and underperform next year. [We will let you know once this is ready]