Investment Strategy for Trustees

Our goals are to provide trustees with a basic foundation on which to build the most appropriate investment strategy and to assist them in developing an Investment Policy, as required by the Trustee Investment Act 2000(the Act).

We pay particular attention to portfolio risk and adherence to the principles outlined in the Act. Our investment strategy is also heavily influenced by the highly regarded “efficient market” research of academics such as Eugene Fama, Sr. (University of Chicago), Ken French (Dartmouth College), and William Sharpe (Stanford University). Specifically, we will focus on the following policies:

• Portfolio diversification
• Long-term risk and return objectives
• Investment related costs
• Inflation protection & growth of assets
• Our investment advisor responsibilities

As required by the Act, the first step is to prepare an Investment Policy Statement; this is done in consultation with the trustees and encompasses the following:

• Goals and objectives of the trust
• Values of the trustees
• Time horizon
• Suitability of the recommended funds
• Expected return on the recommended portfolio
• Standard deviation (risk level) of the recommended portfolio

Once all of these have been agreed with the trustees the document is created and reviewed regularly. This meets all requirements of the Act as far as investment policy is concerned.

Professional Trustee Tour: Summary of investment factors