Satis has offered institutional quality portfolios since its inception. The constituents of these portfolios have evolved and changed over the years. The Satis Investment Committee controls the investment policy of the firm.

Clients who move from a large discretionary competitor to Satis are often used to seeing a lot of activity on their portfolios. Our investment committee builds world class portfolios to compete with these traditional retail portfolios. They are based on academic evidence which, amongst other things, suggests that cost control is critical to successful investment outcomes. For this reason, the investment committee is careful to only make changes to the portfolios that we believe are very likely to enhance the outcome or investor experience. Also, our use of funds rather than direct equity holdings gives us both a cost and a tax advantage over conventional discretionary investment houses, but obscures trading at a stock level.

All the above might lead clients to think there is not much going on, on the investment front. The truth is the reverse – the investment committee working closely with the best investment houses and academics in the world, holds lively meetings to debate modern portfolio construction. And between the meetings there are further discussions and due diligence exercises.

Read the article below that talks a little more about the work of the investment committee.

By the way, we do keep careful records of how our portfolios perform against our much larger and better known competitors. It makes interesting reading…

BS

August 2024

Satis Investment Committee

What is the Satis investment committee?

• The Satis investment committee is a group of both internal Satis members and independent external observers who oversee the investment strategy and portfolio management of Satis. The committee has a defined structure, and each member has clear roles and responsibilities.
• The committee meets quarterly to review the performance, risk, and asset allocation of the Satis portfolios, and to make any adjustments or recommendations as needed.
• The committee also monitors the external fund managers and platforms that Satis use and ensures that they adhere to the highest standards of quality, transparency, and ethics.

Why is the Satis investment committee important for you?

• Meeting your goals requires high quality, ongoing financial planning backed by a well evidenced, highly diversified, and low-cost investment proposition. It is the investment committee that is responsible for this proposition.
• The Satis investment committee ensures that your investments are aligned with your goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon also ensuring you have access to best-in-class investment products that are monitored effectively and that are appropriate for your needs.
• The investment committee utilises the expertise and insights of the Satis employees and independent members, to deliver optimal outcomes for you.

How does the Satis investment committee operate?

• The Satis investment committee follows a clear and documented process that is in line with our investment philosophy, and based on evidence, experience, and discipline.
• Many clients expect the investment committee to regularly be making changes to our portfolios, but we do not believe in timing markets and chasing trends and instead advocate a well-researched, long-term strategy that invests in the best funds and is monitored regularly.
• It may seem like not much is happening, but this is far from the case, the regular research and monitoring to ensure that we act in the best interests of clients includes reviewing the whole universe of available funds for those that meet the low cost, highly diversified, systematically constructed, and sensible philosophy that we aim for.
• We regularly seek to challenge the status quo but the empirical evidence that supports our philosophy, results in changes that are evolutionary and happen in the context of wider market developments rather than  revolutionary changes that seek to jump on the next new trend.

• It takes discipline to not chase the new and ‘exciting’ parts of the market such as crypto, gold, the magnificent seven etc. and the investment committee aims to provide a stable and thoughtful plan to navigate the everchanging investment landscape. We do not change the portfolio to look busy but instead offer piece of mind and evidence to support staying the course.

Who is on the Satis investment committee?

• Ben Sherwood – Chairperson

Ben is a Financial Planner and Director of Satis Wealth Management that many of you, if not all of you, will know well. Ben is the chairperson and is responsible for guiding the committee’s activities to ensure effective decision making and risk management. Ben holds various qualifications including Chartered Wealth Manager, Certified Financial Planner and Chartered Financial Planner.

• Nick West – Operations Director

Nick is the Operations Director and his focus on the investment committee is guiding the firm’s day to day operations and ensuring the firm’s investment philosophy can be executed through the platforms we use as well as ensuring we meet our duties to clients and regulators through the investment committee. Nick has worked in many aspects of financial services including compliance and operations oversight and is a Fellow of the CII.

• Lee McGuinness – Associate Planner

Lee is an associate planner and investment manager and focuses on the internal research and ensures follow up actions from the investment committee are carried out. He also prepares the relevant materials for the meeting to be reviewed and discussed by all members. Lee holds an MSc in Financial management and is currently studying for CFA Level 1.

• Albion Strategic Consulting

Albion provide third-party, independent input and challenge to the investment committee, as a guest member. Albion provides research on investment matters including reviewing the latest evidence supporting or challenging our approach.

• External industry expert

They have vast experience in managing businesses and the risks associated with this, as well as vast investment knowledge through their previous roles which include CEO of a large financial institution and several roles as the head of investment management. They provide an independent critique of the investment committee and ensure that the committee acts in the best interests of clients and carries out the duties that it was set up to complete.