Staying informed on your investments

Most of our clients want regular updates about their investments. However, the level of detail and the frequency of information required varies greatly from client to client. Some people just want to know: “How much has my portfolio gone up or down over the last year?”

On the other hand, others want to know the details of what asset classes or individual funds have driven the returns, every quarter.

Some people prefer to get their information from their adviser during a meeting, others want it in writing, whilst many prefer videos or in-person presentations.

Our aim is to tailor our investment communications to your requirements, both in terms of content and your preferred medium.

Until recently, I have presented a quarterly investment briefing in person. Each quarter, around 100 people would come along, and I would go through our thoughts about what’s going on in the economy, what was driving markets, and how that has affected portfolios. We’d also share some thoughts on the outlook.

Whilst 100 people a quarter is a decent attendance, we’ve always been conscious of those who couldn’t or wouldn’t want to attend.

We used to send out a recording of the presentation to clients, but I always wondered who would want to watch a 45-minute presentation on their computer at home?!

We also used to send a detailed investment review as part of our six-monthly magazine, Equinox. For some people, this wasn’t frequent enough; for others, it was too detailed, and they wouldn’t read it anyway. Both are perfectly reasonable responses!

We have recently adapted our communications to try and accommodate both ends of the spectrum.

We now provide:

• A quarterly written report, providing much of what was previously in Equinox (but more frequently).
• Three short videos summarising our thoughts on the economy, markets, and portfolios each quarter.
• A longer in-person investment presentation every six months where we share our own perspectives and also invite external speakers to join too.
• The Pulse newsletter every month other than when the quarterly report is issued.
• Equinox magazine every six months.

The intention is to provide more relevant information in a variety of formats. For example, those who want a general overview can scan through the written report or watch the videos at their leisure. Conversely, those who want a higher level of detail can read all our publications and attend the investment presentations.

We’ll still happily discuss investments during meetings in as much detail as you like. However, by providing this information in advance, we hope it will lessen this requirement. Instead, time can be freed up in meetings to discuss other ways we can help you live the life you want, help the ones you love, and leave a powerful legacy.

All clients have access to our client portal. You will find links to the above documents, and you can also obtain an up-to-date valuation.

Some clients look at this daily! We wouldn’t recommend that – investing is for the long term as markets can fluctuate substantially. The more often you look, the more acutely you will feel the volatility!

If you have any further questions or feedback, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us on 0161 486 2250 or reach out to your usual Equilibrium contact.