Investing in the future: The parallels between choosing a school and managing your investments

Choosing the right school for your child requires both patience and consideration. How are these qualities important in successful investment management?

Deciding on the right school and achieving your investment objectives don’t happen overnight. Although longterm investing does require a degree of patience, the advantages are significant.

We spend time with each client to get a clear picture of long-term goals, such as paying for their child’s education. We then build a sustainable portfolio that reflects both those goals and the appetite for risk. This level of personal consideration for each individual portfolio is important to Charles Stanley and has helped to make us one of the UK’s leading wealth managers.

What benefits do managed investments offer future generations?

As well as increasing capital, managed investments can also offer income, which can be particularly important to help fund costs such as school fees, weddings and, potentially, long-term care, as well as creating financial security for children and grandchildren.

Commitment to professional development in its teaching staff is important when considering a new school. How do Charles Stanley investment professionals develop and grow their own expertise?

Expertise is gained through a mixture of advanced professional qualifications, experience and collaboration — with more than 26 years’ experience, it is important that I collaborate and share that knowledge with more junior colleagues.

We are also fortunate that, at Charles Stanley, we have research resources and expert knowledge across the business to draw on. In addition to our 16-strong investment-strategy committee, we also have specialist analysts covering a variety of investments. Keeping on top of emerging trends, such as new developments in technology, is also a key part of our role.

How do you, as an investment manager, face unexpected challenges such as a change in the market?

At Charles Stanley, we are fortunate to have access to the research, technology and expertise that put our investment professionals in a unique position of being able to respond quickly to changes in the market, taking advantage of opportunities and ensuring our clients aren’t exposed to unnecessary risk.

We can also mitigate the effects of market movements by ensuring we build diversified portfolios, which means investing in a variety of different assets. The saying ‘don’t put all your eggs in one basket’ is especially true when it comes to investing. A well-constructed portfolio helps to reduce overall portfolio risk and deliver consistent returns over the long term. Diversification can also provide an opportunity to achieve positive returns in one market, even when another market isn’t performing so well.

Finally, how do you work with your clients?

There is no one-size-fits-all approach at Charles Stanley. We have a collaborative relationship with clients, which starts with gaining a full understanding of the client’s financial situation, including their ambitions, attitude to risk and preferred way of working. We also consider whether they’re investing for the purpose of growth, income or with the next generation in mind.

Something all our relationships have in common is that they’re all built on trust; it’s important to recognise the trusted position we are in and the responsibility of providing stewardship of our client’s assets.

For further information about Charles Stanley Wealth Managers' services, please call 020–3553 7281 or visit www.charles-stanley.co.uk

The value of investments can fall as well as rise. Investors may get back less than invested.

Charles Stanley Wealth Managers is a trading name of Charles Stanley & Co. Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. A member of the London Stock Exchange and a wholly owned subsidiary of Charles Stanley Group PLC.