There is exponential rising interest in ESG-focused investments, and against this backdrop, there exists the heightened risk that managers and allocators make poor investment decisions. This webinar is an informal presentation from Duncan Burden, CFA, Head of Research at Stamford Associates, followed by questions and answers.

It would be impossible to ignore the pervasiveness of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in the investment industry today. Industry publications, discussion forums and conference platforms are awash with the subject, while growing legislative requirements and popular pressure are placing an increasing level of responsibility on fiduciaries to pay those issues serious consideration. In this quarter’s ‘Salient Industry Observations’, we provide a brief background to the recent explosion of this responsible revolution, highlight some of the challenges of incorporating key ESG principles into investment management and how fiduciaries might address these through a proper evaluation of investment managers’ decision-making.

Watch our Founder & Chief Investment Officer Nathan Gelber appear on SALT Talks. This fireside chat discusses the importance of behavioural psychology, its evolution into becoming mainstream, high-profile manager downfalls and how Stamford has successfully incorporated it into the investment manager appraisal process.

The process of selecting people, in business as in social relationships, tends to focus on the “good” characteristics we are looking for. However, as Adrian Furnham points out in this intriguing article, we would be well advised also to look out for those “dark-side” traits that could well give problems further down the line.

Being put under high pressure situations like the current pandemic places stress on individuals, and investment managers are far from immune.

In this edition of our working from home series we have taken a moment to consider the subliminal topic of how the sounds and distractions of the home office may be affecting asset managers’ decision-making process.

What is the relationship between pay and performance, pay and pay satisfaction, pay and job satisfaction? Reward and recognition are emotive topics. Everyone has a preferred approach that they believe will create the right dynamic.

Never has the world effectively closed down quite so quickly and dramatically as it has done in the last few weeks.

When selecting Investment Managers (IMs), some of the most important criteria centre around their investment philosophy, special insights and decision-making style. One of the tests of a high quality IM is that they adhere to their philosophy which guides their decision making. It is presumed, and usually expected, that they sustain that philosophy and process over periods of time on a consistent basis whether it appears to be successful or not in the shorter term.

It seems that new records are regularly set these days – the lowest oil prices ever; the steepest drop in the stock-market; the highest unemployment figures and the largest ever government stimulus.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread human and economic devastation, the effects of which may be felt for many years to come. First and foremost, we trust that our clients, their families and colleagues remain healthy and will emerge from the current crisis unscathed.

Following severe equity and bond market dislocations, long-term investors should be taking stock of their portfolio allocations.

It is almost certain that more and more companies will cut or suspend dividend payments over the coming months, as a direct reaction to the economic implications of COVID-19. We have already seen more than a hundred make announcements to that effect in the past few weeks, from across industry sectors. Prices of FTSE 100 dividend futures contracts suggest the market currently believes approximately 60% of the UK market’s dividends to be at risk in 2020 and 2021.

Who would believe the pictures we are getting from the City of London and Wall Street? The manic trading floor; analysts scanning four huge computer screens simultaneously; people communicating on three devices at the same time? The very definition of freneticism.

Are you sitting comfortably….at home, required not to come into work? Have you been encouraged to “self-isolate” and do your work from the dining-room table, or the spare bedroom office? Is this a novelty, or have you tried it before?

Decades are often defined according to the dominant themes they are perceived to embody – think of the “roaring ‘20s” and the “swinging ‘60s” as perhaps the most iconic examples.

Low interest rates for more than ten years have made it possible for companies to refinance their borrowing at very cheap rates and, if central banks continue on their current trajectory, it is likely that will continue to be the case.

The Pensions Regulator (tPR) has issued its annual funding statement , the content of which is particularly relevant to schemes with actuarial valuation dates between 22 September 2018 and 21 September 2019 (referred to as Tranche 14 reviews).

There are four “dark side” traits that are usually responsible for the failure and derailment in fund management and other careers, writes Adrian Furnham.

In December 2018 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued its final report into the investment consulting and fiduciary management market (CMA Final Report).  We are generally supportive of the report’s findings and its remedies.

Factor investing (or smart beta) has developed into one of the hottest investment trends in recent years.  It has proved particularly popular among investors in search of a new investment paradigm, whether in pursuit of additional sources of return, enhanced risk management or tactical allocation strategies. 

This letter sets out Stamford’s views on the provisional findings and remedies detailed in the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) report titled “Investment Consultants Market Investigation – Provisional Decision report” (the Report).

The costs of leadership failure and derailment are high for all stakeholders and the consequences considerable. Yet, management failure, as opposed to success, has only been studied for the last thirty or so years.