Ben Edwards, CFA

Investment Analyst @ Love nothing more than a well-organised spreadsheet 🤓 Views are my own and ≠ investment advice

[Alan Smith @AlanJLSmith]

𝗦𝗼, 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘀 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱?

After the Great Financial Crisis of 2007–2009, my colleagues and I embarked upon a complete review of our investment strategy and the advice we offered to clients.

Before that, we had been recommending active managers and discretionary fund managers, believing that the 'experts' would be able to use their skills and resources to successfully navigate the volatile markets.

The reality was that none of them did, and many funds fell even further than the broad market.

We knew there had to be a better way.

So, we spent a year reviewing the academic data, conducting independent research, and undertaking detailed analyses to build our own in-house model portfolios.

We were meticulous in our approach and relied upon empirical data from impartial sources, not from the investment industry, which has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.

An advantage of being independent is that we have access to the entire market for products and services and do not have to recommend in-house funds.

Our only focus is on what's best for our clients based on the evidence.

We launched our portfolios in 2011 and have been recommending them to our clients ever since.

So, how have we stacked up against our competition?

Independent investment consultancy, Albion Strategic Consulting has audited our performance and compared it with 127* leading managers in the UK, including;

- Brooks MacDonald
- Cannacord Genuity
- Fisher Investments
- Quilter
- Schroders
- St James Place
- Tilney

(*The full list is in the image below)

The analyses confirmed as follows;

- 𝗖𝗔𝗠 𝟲𝟬/𝟰𝟬 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼 - 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝟵𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀

- 𝗖𝗔𝗠 𝟴𝟬/𝟮𝟬 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼 - 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝟴𝟲% 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀

- 𝗖𝗔𝗠 𝟭𝟬𝟬% 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼 - 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝟵𝟭% 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀

How is it possible that a boutique financial planning firm can consistently beat the giants of the industry with all their research teams, armies of economists and sophisticated technology

Simple;

It's not because we’re smarter than them.

It's because we avoid doing dumb things such as timing the market, overtrading, and paying excessive fees,

That's why we call it Intelligent Investing™ and why our clients have enjoyed outstanding investment returns for many years as we guide them to financial freedom.

To learn more about accessing an independent, world-class investing philosophy, download our free guide to Intelligent Investing using the link in the next tweet ⬇️

[Ben Edwards, CFA @Albion_Ben]

Keep your eye on the golden ball. How many reruns until we feel the ball is ‘skilfully’ above average?

Short term (eg 3 or 5yr) performance provides no indication of active fund manager skill. Don’t be fooled by the noise.

App credit (it’s free!): https://t.co/KmPPqTiPyp

[Ben Edwards, CFA @Albion_Ben]

Great to attend @AdviserPodcast at #TRAPLive this evening, and good to meet some of the supporting community. Top work 🎙️

[Albion @AlbionStrategic]

Thank you for the shoutout @AlanJLSmith, we consider ourselves fortunate to be a small part of @capital_tweets’ ongoing success!

Fantastic content on @AdviserPodcast, invaluable insight and guidance for the community, keep up the great work!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#TRAP #investing

[Albion @AlbionStrategic]

New blog | Investment momentum: myth or money-maker? 🤔🎢

Our newest team member, @Albion_Euan, digs into the nuts and bolts of momentum - "the biggest challenge to the theory of financial market efficiency” (Fama, 2007)

Enjoy!

https://t.co/SrJQBSafZk

#investing #momentum

[Albion @AlbionStrategic]

A morning brew and a good read. Delighted to get our hands on #smarterinvesting v4, authored by our very own Tim Hale and available now.

🔗 Smarter Investing: Simpler Decisions for Better Results https://t.co/UgPbFz3T3D

Foreword by @RobinWigg of @FT and author #Trillions.

[Ben Edwards, CFA @Albion_Ben]

You know perf is bad when you have to check the data thinking it's an error.

Over c10 years this MA fund avg 60% equity content, OCF 1.5%, avg assets c£30m (you do the maths), and delivered.... 0% return! I feel for the investors.

Equities delivered 10% p.a. over the same time.

[Ben Edwards, CFA @Albion_Ben]

Looking forward to seeing some familiar faces, and meeting some new ones, at #SUPERNOVA23

All I ask for is no train delays, and a working hotspot on a Cross Country train from Exeter. The latter is probably a pipe dream…

[Albion @AlbionStrategic]

New blog | Jargon-busting: Return "As an investor it is useful to know the context in which the data are presented to you. Stay alert!" 🧐
@Albion_Ben

https://t.co/ex1fRpgSlY #investing

[Ben Edwards, CFA @Albion_Ben]

Graphic from @AlbionStrategic's latest blog, Markets move. If you need to read the headlines, do it. Just don't react in your portfolio - it's all in the price.

https://t.co/xZqDIOXMG8 Visualised with @f_l_o_u_r_i_s_h

[Albion @AlbionStrategic]

New blog | Markets move

"The market is one of the best forward-looking machines we have at our disposal."
@Albion_Ben

https://t.co/621qkOO8cG #investing

[Ben Edwards, CFA @Albion_Ben]

@Albion__James @AWMGFP 👌🏼Exactly. In the wise words of @CliffordAsness: ‘If you have one goal ‘making money’…and then you add a second goal…the second goal is rarely free or else the first goal was satisfied by coincidence’

[Ben Edwards, CFA @Albion_Ben]

@AlanJLSmith @dimensional This comes out similar to some research we recently performed in house. Around 2.2% for an ‘average balanced portfolio’ of non index funds. This was around 2.6% when we reviewed in 2017 (pre new trans cost reporting reqs). Heading in the right direction at least!

[James Baker @Albion__James]

"The 60/40 'Balanced' portfolio is dead" - scrutinise this headline carefully. A well diversified, low cost portfolio has worked, and continues to work, extremely well for long-term investors. Markets work well!

Doesn't look dead to me... #investing #balanced #portfolio #markets

[Ben Edwards, CFA @Albion_Ben]

Never meet your heroes, unless they’re heroes.

@CameronPassmore thank you for organising a great evening @RationalRemind @benjaminfelix

[Ben Edwards, CFA @Albion_Ben]

Bond maths alert ⚠️ Yield rises/price falls do not mean a permanent loss.

Bond holders are now sitting on higher yields, which is great news if your liabilities sit out further than your duration.

src: https://t.co/jNafBt6ryW #investing #bonds

[Albion @AlbionStrategic]

Good afternoon from Birmingham! @Albion_Ben and @Albion__Dan from the team will be about at the #PFSFestival this week - make sure to say hello! 👋

[Albion @AlbionStrategic]

New blog | Bond prices: 'Six of one...'

''... and half a dozen of the other'. Elegant symmetry of bond maths means there is no free lunch when it comes to changing market yields.' 🥚⚖️
@Albion_Ben

https://t.co/w7aKE1lJ3o #bonds #interestrates #investing

[Ben Edwards, CFA @Albion_Ben]

@Albion__James 🤓

[Bond Vigilantes @bondvigilantes]

And...it's gone.

All UK index-linked gilts back trading with negative real yields.