Investment accounts
Authorised and regulated by the UK’s FCA to provide investment accounts, we are bound by CASS rules to segregate and protect client assets.
With hindsight, it’s no surprise that The Economist reported late in 2019 that Google had seen a dramatic rise in searches related to “recession”. During the second half of the year in particular, financially, politically, and economically, the UK and indeed the rest of the world experienced turbulent markets and political drama.
As Simon Black writes on page 5, we delivered outperformance across the board in 2019 for our discretionary clients. Simon and his team are broadly optimistic about 2020 and present some of their key convictions on page 7.
Investment performance, although critical, is not the only thing our clients care about, though. Increasingly, investment objectives are changing – both for institutional and private clients. On page 8, Anny Giavelli, one of our investment associates, looks at impact investing, which is poised to grow exponentially.
This is part of a larger phenomenon. The days of companies’ sole goal being increasing shareholder value are over. Organisations of all sizes must find their purpose; investors will increasingly demand it. So it is no coincidence that the thread running through this issue is sustainability: from shipping (page 10), to energy (page 14).
Technology is typically touted as humanity’s main promise in facing those challenges. Yet, as the prominent media theorist and writer Douglas Rushkoff explains in an exclusive interview on page 16, it is essential to question the speed of technology’s development. He urges us to view it critically and upholds real human relationships. On that note, on page 18, we look at how wealth managers are using social media to engage with clients. No surprise: it’s about human relationships more than the channel. As our CMO, Andrew Carrier, says: “Our business depends on trust.”
I couldn’t agree more: key to our business from the outset has been the relationships we have with our partners and clients. That’s why you’ll find something new and, we hope, hugely useful to you in this issue: the first edition of Dolfin Directory, an introduction to the trusted network of specialists we work with closely to ensure that, when you come to us, we can deliver a complete solution.
The times may be turbulent, but our mantra remains: we’re here to help.
