our Investment Committee Discover

The cornerstone of our investment management approach is our Investment Committee. Its role is to manage our fund managers, whether we find them locally or globally.

Its aim is to give you the best medium-term investment results by choosing the best people and investment companies to make this happen. It monitors both and makes changes when they’re needed.

Tapping into global talent

Our Committee members are hugely knowledgeable. Yet we recognise that to make the most of managers from around the world, we need a dedicated research team.

So our Committee calls on a panel of leading independent consultancies, each contracted for their expertise in particular investment markets. They also rely on our in-house team of investment analysts. In this way, we put international expertise at your fingertips.

Staying close to the action

Our Investment Committee monitors fund management closely. It does this without influencing managers’ investment policies. Your investments’ performance comes via superior managers whom we hold accountable.

In general, exceptional investors rely on skilful stock selection to perform better than their peers. Our Investment Committee uses a range of tools to analyse and assess these skills. The aim is to avoid managers who occasionally do well simply by betting on the direction of the market.

Our managers typically take a ‘bottom-up’ approach. They look at the fundamentals of individual stocks, rather than sectors or regions, to identify quality investments. This makes growth more likely to be repeatable, as returns are less reliant on ‘winning’ a bet on the market or on a particular area outperforming.

Keeping track of portfolios

The SJP Investment Committee meets at least six times a year, depending on market conditions. Meetings include fund manager presentations, which give us the chance to question managers closely and look carefully at each portfolio.

At each meeting the Committee makes crucial decisions about the best way forward. It has four options:

‹ Leave the portfolio of managers unchanged. The Committee is confident your funds are being managed well.

‹ Keep the investment company but change the manager. The departure of a manager might trigger this decision.

‹ Change both the investment company and manager. The Committee is no longer confident they are managing your funds well.

‹ Introduce a new investment fund or strategy to improve opportunities or performance prospects.