Our investment philosophy

Our core beliefs are:

1. Free markets are efficient.

   The financial markets adjust to every new spark of information, and competition quickly drives prices to fair value. A stock’s current price is the best estimate of its true value. Attempting to forecast future events or time market movements is a futile endeavour that only burdens investors with higher costs and unnecessary risk.

2. Risk and return are inseparable.

   Stocks and bonds that offer higher average returns relative to the market almost always carry higher risk. Understanding this relationship enables investors to strike a balance between their performance goals and the degree of uncertainty they can accept.

3. Diversification is crucial.

   The most sensible way to seek higher expected returns is through broad diversification across many asset classes, industries, and geographical markets. A well-diversified portfolio balances out the random effects of individual stock performance.

4. Costs matter.

   Whilst you can’t control what happens in the markets, you can control how much you invest in the market. Expenses over the long term can erode investment performance because investment returns are reduced pound-for-pound by the costs incurred. By minimising costs, we can help investors improve their chances of meeting their investment objectives. Skilful portfolio management and smart, patient trading will produce real cost savings over time.