Bournebridge Financial Services

Bournebridge Financial Services provides independent financial advice to clients across London and the South East. The company was established in 2017 by a team of highly experienced advisers who had previously worked for large, well-known wealth management companies. We spoke to Jason Ricketts, a Financial Planner, on why finding the right Discretionary Fund Manager (DFM) was crucial to the ongoing success of their business, and why FE Investments became their DFM of choice.

While their background in large, well respected wealth management companies gave the founders of Bournebridge many years of excellent training and experience, they were ultimately brought together by the desire to provide a personal and trusted advice service for their clients. More than anything, they wanted to be able to put their clients at the centre of the process, not the other way around.

They quickly recognised that the level of analysis and knowledge required to manage the funds within their client investment portfolios over the longer-term was a full-time job for several people. As a whole-of-market IFA, they needed a trustworthy and respected fund management service to underpin the advice they were giving, so they decided to use a discretionary fund manager (DFM) to fulfil that.

They carried out a rigorous selection process to find the best partner for their needs, and Jason gave us some of the key reasons why they chose FE Investments, and specifically the Mosaic portfolios.

1. A solid investment philosophy

We really liked FE Investment’s philosophy of using quantitative analysis to narrow the field, qualitative analysis to get under the skin of every fund manager, and then more quantitative work to align the funds they invest in to the risk requirements and objectives of each portfolio.

2. Excellent knowledge and analysis

We also liked that FE Investment’s analysts make a point of regularly getting out and talking to fund managers, so they really know what’s going on. And with the backing of FE Analytics, it was hard for any other DFM to come close to their levels of knowledge and market analysis.

3. A range of portfolios to choose from

Because our clients vary widely in terms of their financial needs and stage in life, the range of 15 Mosaic portfolios gave us the breadth we needed to suit different risk profiles, and also different durations to account for the amount of time the client is likely to be invested for.

4. Invested across more funds

We tend to use the Mosaic portfolios with clients who have over £500,000 to invest. This ensures they are invested over more holdings, which provides more holdings and less concentration risk if one fund underperforms or closes.

5. Not trying to be too clever

The portfolios are constructed in a simple way, so it’s easy for our clients to see what they are invested in. Also – because FE Investments don’t use complex tools such as derivatives, the portfolios always perform the way we expect them to.

Looking after your clients in good times, and bad

Jason Ricketts went on to say “It was a big decision choosing the right DFM to support our business. We went through a rigorous process, looking at the whole market before narrowing down to a select shortlist of four firms. FE Investments came out on top for their overall proposition and their excellent analysis capability.

“The measure of any fund manager is how they perform in the bad times, not just the good. Having just experienced the market falls and unprecedented economic collapse associated with coronavirus, we feel our choice has been fully vindicated. While our clients have had to suffer losses, those losses have been within their risk tolerance. This has helped our clients see for themselves the benefit of paying for active management across a diversified portfolio.

“FE Investments have always provided us with excellent ongoing communications, but when the crisis hit this came into its own. We were given regular briefings that could be re-branded and sent straight out to clients. And we were also given access to key people throughout the crisis.