Navigating investment opportunities: Prioritising stability and transparency in wealth management

It is common for our clients to be approached by promoters offering various investment schemes circulating within their social or professional circles. These schemes often tout enticing promises of high returns or claims of uncorrelated returns to traditional asset classes. While the allure of such alternative assets, like Private Placements and Alternative Investment Funds, may be tempting, it's essential to understand the significantly higher risks they carry compared to conventional investments.

We understand that wealthy individuals are often targeted, enticed by the perceived exclusivity and potential rewards of these specialised vehicles. However, it's crucial to recognise that the risk and reward ratio can be highly uncertain, often resulting in permanent capital loss for investors.

Our approach prioritises simplicity, stability, and a clear understanding of risk and return to meet your financial goals. As your family wealth manager and financial advisor, our commitment is to understand your investments and their structures, ensuring an appropriate balance of risk and return within a transparent, high-quality portfolio. And we prioritise security within a well-regulated investment platform and stable jurisdiction.

Therefore, we do not provide professional due diligence on exotic or non-conventional investments, such as Alternative Investment Funds or Private Placements, which do not align with our expertise, regulatory criteria, monitoring standards, or investment policy framework. Our concerns include lack of regulation, transparency, and liquidity.

As Chartered Members of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, our professional expertise in wealth planning and financial advice aligns with conventional well-regulated solutions. These solutions allow for the monitoring of critical factors such as performance, risk, transparency, and liquidity within the conventional wealth management universe.

We understand that some clients may have investment objectives that extend beyond traditional regulated wealth management. In such cases, we recommend considering these proposals within a 'self managed portfolio', that is segregated from the core financial planning, and understanding the associated risks to their capital.

Our wealth management approach is grounded in decades of experience, prioritising deep research and evidence-based strategies. We focus on quality and cost, believing that long-term investment success hinges on intelligent planning including cash flow planning, suitable risk profiling, proper diversification, investing in high-quality assets, financial discipline, and minimising costs.

These principles underpin the wealth management advice we provide to support you in achieving realistic financial objectives.

If you have any concerns over the suitability of any non-conventional investments that you have made or seek assistance, contact us at info@waughmcdonald.co.ke to discuss your situation with us.