OUR SERVICES

WHO WE SERVE

We have relevant knowledge and personal experiences that can be applied in many aspects of the investment management and oversight process. Our team has specific expertise with the following types of organizations:

  • Endowments and Foundations
  • Insurance companies
  • ERISA plan sponsors

We typically work with either the Chief Investment Officers or the Board of Directors/Trustees. In either case, we can serve as multi-asset class portfolio management staff to those with oversight responsibility.

HOW WE SERVE

We work with institutions on comprehensive portfolio management engaging in any or all steps in the process. Our services are offered in three formats:

  • Discretionary portfolio management
  • Consulting arrangements

INSTITUTIONAL BOARD SERVICES

  • Outsourced CIO
  • Portfolio construction and risk review
  • Investment policy design and benchmarking

ASSET ALLOCATION AND PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

We manage assets for the multi-asset class portfolio on a discretionary basis, in two ways:

  • Managing the portfolio as a whole.
  • Managing a portion of the portfolio as the marginal asset allocation positioning.

CIO CONSULTING

We provide consulting services on any or all parts of the multi-asset class portfolio management process:

  • Portfolio construction and continuous monitoring.
  • Performance attribution and risk analysis reporting.
  • Investment policy design and benchmarking.

OUR IDEA GENERATION & ANALYSIS

Attractive investment ideas are derived from a number of processes. The individual ideas are vetted both on their own and as part of the entire portfolio to consider the risk and return profile when combined with all other positions.

FUNDAMENTALS

  • What is the macro environment (economic, political, etc.) outlook?
  • Where are the greatest divergences in views between the consensus and our team?
  • What is the underlying composition of the market index?

VALUATION

  • What do the financial results look like currently and on a projected basis?
  • What is the distribution of valuations underlying the asset class?
  • How do the current valuations compare to an historical distribution?

SCENARIOS

  • What is the range of outcomes for the investment?
  • What are the probabilities to assign to various potential outcomes?
  • What are the key catalysts to consider?

TECHNICALS

  • Where is consistent cash flow driving markets regardless of price?
  • Where has speculative positioning become elevated?
  • Where have markets shown the most momentum or extended to extreme levels?

LONG TERM STRATEGY

Investment policy design
Benchmark asset allocation

CONTINUOUS MANAGEMENT

Portfolio construction
Ongoing management and rebalancing

OVERSIGHT

Performance attribution
Risk analysis reporting

INVESTMENT PILLARS

Portside specializes in the management of multi-asset class portfolios. Our portfolio construction process revolves around these pillars:

ASSET ALLOCATION DRIVER

Asset allocation and sub-asset allocation are the largest drivers of portfolio risk and return. Correlations between asset classes can be low or negative.  This creates opportunities for optimal diversification as well as relative value.  Evaluating multiple scenarios and the relationships between assets is critical.

BROAD GLOBAL OPPORTUNITY

Asset allocation should utilize a broad global opportunity set within prudent risk constraints. We look for relative value opportunities across economic sectors, company size, global region, country and fundamental theme. Limits to the size of the position are made depending on its potential volatility and return expectations.

CAPITAL PRESERVATION

Capital preservation is key to long term investment success. The degree of risk that a portfolio should hold is proportional to the expected return. When the outlook for asset returns are lower, the portfolio should reduce exposure in order to be prepared for better opportunities.

DECISION CONTEXT

Investment decisions are always considered in context of the whole portfolio. The portfolio exposure is always viewed as a whole to know what related risks are owned. We use various quantitative analytics to measure the collective risk profile of the portfolio, as opposed to just viewing each position by itself.