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“Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.” supplement Publilius Syrus (100 BC) For today’s discerning financial and investment professional When markets are volatile, you need a steady hand on the tiller. Witan’s multi-manager approach could offer you a smoother course through choppy waters. Everything you Wanted to Know about Investment Trusts (But Didn’t Dare Ask) Witan is the only fully multi-managed, global equity investment trust. Which offers you a double benefit - we’re constantly Multi-Manager Strategies for De-Risking striving to perform better than global equity markets and Targeted Diversification and deliver a growing income - and by virtue of being a multi-managed fund we aim to smooth out the volatility Asia Pacific – Is It Time to Buy? associated with a single manager. In essence, Witan offers you diversified exposure to the world’s major equity markets so that you gain diversification by manager, geographical region, industrial sector and individual stock. It’s all designed to help you enjoy a smoother passage to help realise your investment goals. At Witan, we hope many years of plain sailing await you. Anchors aweigh! Contact us today, to find out more. Witan Investment Trust is an equity investment. Please remember that past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of an investment and the income from it can fall as well as rise, as a result of currency and market fluctuations, and you may not get back the amount originally invested. MULTI-MANAGER FUNDS in association with Visit www.witan.com Call 0800 082 81 80 Issued and approved by Witan Investment Services Limited. Witan Investment Services Limited is registered in England no. 5272533 of 14 Queen Anne’s Gate, London SW1H 9AA. Witan Investment Services Limited provides investment products and services and NOVEMBER 2015 SUPPLEMENT 44 is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Calls may be recorded for our mutual protection and to improve customer service. WIT10749 297x210 HELM WHAT INVEST.indd 1 23/07/2015 11:28 Witan Cover 42.indd 1 26/11/2015 13:47 November 2015 Intro What’s the single most obvious thing that you know about investor behaviour over the last six months? That private clients have been nervous of course - worried by a combination of Eurozone indecision, a Chinese slowdown in the face of a correction, and a growing sense that it’s only a matter of time before the US Federal Reserve starts raising interest rates, in order to hold back a resurgent growth rate that most of us can only wish we had in our own markets What else? That people Tell-Tale Signs being channelled into income- are potentially tapping And would you be impressed producing funds that, with luck into their pension funds to know that the demand for and good management, will keep in the aftermath of the investment company shares this their owners in deeper clover April pension freedoms, Summer was strong enough than the annuities where they and paying off their to push down the average would once have had to go. mortgages and their discount rate by 0.4% to 2.9% Controlling the Risk overdrafts. So, why would in August alone? That’s just anybody want to commit 0.5% off the all-time record low Ah, you’ll say, but investment to equities at a time like of June 2015. And, as we’ll be companies are a little tricky, aren’t this, when prices have explaining shortly, that’s a pretty they? Well, that might once have dropped by 18% or more? convincing vote of confidence in been the consensus in the days the merits of active management when consumers were wary of It might surprise you to at a time when trackers have the unfamiliar aspects of these read the latest data from the been in retreat. (Bear with vehicles. But what’s this? Many of Association of Investment us if the whole business of the strongest-performing, retail- Companies (AIC). It suggests premiums and discounts makes focused investment companies, that net fundraising among your head spin; all will be according to Ms Brodie-Smith, investment companies (which revealed in the coming pages.) are the very big ones, including includes investment trusts, As AIC Communications Scottish Mortgage and Witan. offshore investment companies Director Annabel Brodie-Smith The essential thing here, and venture capital trusts) tells us, it’s not the safe-as-milk according to industry observers, is during the first eight months risk-averse options that are that investors know they’ve got to of 2015 was more than the making all the ground. Rather, take on more risk if they want to total for any full 12-month she says, “it’s the specialist, beat annuity rates, but that they’d calendar year in history. higher yielding sectors which rather leave it to an expert who This is a colossal £3.9 billion continue to raise the most money can diversify the risk while also vote of confidence in a sector and attract the highest ratings.” letting managers do what they’re that used to be regarded I don’t know what that paid to do. It’s all about getting the with a little scepticism. says to you, but what it says right balance and, for many, that Now, for the sake of to me is that clients are will mean using multi-manager clarity, investment trusts getting more sophisticated funds; relying on experts to select (‘IT’s) are often referred to and more knowledgeable the best managers for benchmark- as investment companies, about investment companies. beating performance returns. and we will use these It probably also reflects the We’re not going to spend the terms interchangeably fact that a large proportion of next few pages going through throughout this feature. that pension-freedoms cash is the basics of the multi-manager II Multi-Manager Funds in association with IFAmagazine.com Multi-Manager Funds in association with III Witan - Intro and Contents.indd 2 26/11/2015 13:53 SUPPLEMENT November 2015 Contents II Introduction Sales of investment trusts have hit record levels this year, says editor Michael Wilson. Partly that’s because the pension freedoms have set canny investors on the trail of index-beating returns. How can multi-manager strategies optimise the returns? V Back to Basics Our no-nonsense guide to how investment trusts work - or should we call them investment companies? Remember, you’re among friends. No question is too silly to ask VIII The Multi-Manager Advantage How a dynamically-managed team of active fund managers can enhance market, but of the whole performance, reduce risk and respond to investment trust/investment opportunities faster. Fund of funds or multi- company business itself. managed? We compare and contrast We’ll be comparing the various ways of achieving an efficient, XII cost-effective multi-manager The Witan Experience operation. But let’s 109 years in the business, and going make sure we can strong. Chief Executive Andrew Bell walk confidently explains how the company’s headlining before we start a Witan Investment Trust works baton relay team. Many thanks to everyone who has XVI contributed to this supplement. And Pacific Prospects please do write in Nobody said it was going to be easy this to us at editor@ year. But dynamic geographical allocation ifamagazine. strategies in which China plays a fairly com with any small part have done much to put the comments you may Witan Pacific Investment Trust in the have. right place for a re-emerging region Mike Wilson Editor II Multi-Manager Funds in association with IFAmagazine.com Multi-Manager Funds in association with III Witan - Intro and Contents.indd 3 26/11/2015 13:53 “ Wolde ye bothe eate your cake, and have your cake?” John Heywood, 1546 The Witan multi-manager approach – aiming to deliver both income AND capital growth. Some people don’t think it is possible to do both. At Witan we think differently and, since 2004, our specialist investment managers have helped enable Witan shareholders to have their cake and eat it too. Witan is the only fully multi-managed global equity investment trust. Our carefully selected range of fund managers picks the stocks while Witan directs the overall portfolio strategy. The goal is to outperform the relevant equity benchmark and to grow the dividend faster than the rate of ination. Naturally, this cannot be guaranteed so please read the risk warnings carefully. By playing to the individual strengths of our managers we strive to reduce volatility which can arise from being dependent on a single manager. What’s more, Witan offers exposure to the world’s major equity markets, diversied by manager, geographical region, industrial sector and individual stocks. All of which could help your clients to both have their ‘investment cake’ and eat it… Your clients can invest in Witan Investment Trust plc in a number of ways. Witan’s shares can be traded through many online platforms. Witan is also available for investment via an ISA, share plan and children’s savings schemes. 40 year growth in Witan’s dividends per share versus UK Retail Price Index† 5000 * Witan dividend (pence per share) Witan Investment Trust plc is an equity investment. RPI Index 4000 Please remember that past performance is not a guide 3000 to future returns. The value of an investment and income 2000 from it can fall as well as rise, as a result of currency 1000 and market uctuations and you may not get back the 0 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 amount originally invested.