UK private bank launches new portfolio service for high net worth individuals

News - Banking

Tuesday, 15 December 2009 09:49

A new discretionary portfolio service for high net work investors has been launched amid signs that an appetite for investment is returning.

The service from HSBC Private Bank (UK) will provide clients with a choice of three strategies, conservative, moderate and growth, and managed by a portfolio manager at the bank.

The aim is to leverage HSBC's global reach with a cost effective service from a trusted manager. Clients can use the strategy as a complete solution, or to blend this core service with satellite investments.

‘We believe that this is a timely offering as investors start to move out of cash in search of higher returns as this service offers a cost effective solution from a trusted manager with access to the global reach of HSBC,’ said Tracy Maeter, managing director of HSBC Private Bank.

‘Furthermore, total costs are of paramount importance as we move into a lower return environment and this is reflected in our preference for exchange traded funds,’ she added.

Andrew Morris, also a managing director of HSBC Private Bank, said that demand is there from high net worth individuals who are often too busy to keep an eye on everything. ‘We live in an age of information in which economic, political and corporate news is everywhere.
High net worth clients are often too busy running a business or in demanding professional jobs to cope with this volume of information and are looking for a trusted manager to make the right decisions for the long term,’ he explained.

The three portfolios will offer the full range of asset classes, including global equities, fixed income strategies, hedge funds, commodities, private equity and real estate. The asset allocation will be reviewed monthly by HSBC Private Bank's Global Investment Committee and adjusted tactically to take advantage of current events and trends.
In a lower return environment, investors are conscious of costs, so most of the portfolio will be in index matching strategies. However, where active managers can demonstrate consistent out performance, those funds will be included. Alternatives, which have lower correlation to traditional asset classes and have a smoothing effect on the portfolio, will be an important component.