Why use independent consultancies?

The companies in our panel of investment consultancies are totally independent of SJP. Like our external fund managers, they’re under contract to provide us with a range of services.

Consultants assess managers via close day-to-day involvement in the investment industry. They don’t rely on investment performance tables, whose value is limited. They work with the Investment Committee to help achieve better investment results.

Our investment consultancies are highly specialised. Their skills aren’t normally available to private clients but are essential if you’re aiming to achieve superior performance. This point was highlighted in a report commissioned by the government to investigate the UK savings and investment market (Sandler Review: Medium and Long-Term Retail Savings in the UK, 2002).

Our independent consultancies work with complete objectivity. This isn’t easy elsewhere, where monitored portfolios include funds managed by a company’s own investment department. Sometimes that department is responsible for its own monitoring.

We believe that superior investment decisions are made by individuals rather than their businesses. Our consultants always look to the individual rather than the company when recommending a manager.

Even when we use a large fund-management company, we insist its portfolio is handled by the individual we trust.

invest with SJP? Why

We undertake thorough research to select the best investments for you. That way we can give you access to as many options as possible.

Everyone who invests with us can call on the specialist skills of our investment consultancies and the Investment Committee. These aren’t available to private individuals or advisers.

This is how we know when a manager in an investment company stops managing, when they start new funds, or when they leave a company altogether. We have our finger on the pulse. We also know when a key analyst known for coming up with good ideas leaves a company.

When our committee asks a consultant to recommend a manager, a risk control process kicks in. They think about how one manager’s style and process will complement our other fund managers’ styles. Using people with different approaches means you benefit from diverse management styles.

Our investment approach means you get constant expert analysis, as well as targeted support from independent consultancies. It’s of huge strategic benefit and we hope it brings you peace of mind.

And should we decide that a change of manager, or the addition of another manager is needed, we’ll quietly get on and do it. Without charges, without tax and without any hassle.

Be informed

The value of an investment with SJP will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select. The value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.