Research Driven

We believe high quality research is the key driver of out performance. That is why we constantly strive to generate an information advantage over our competitors. We have access to the best internal and external data available and are always looking for new sources of high quality information.

We undertake research in all the major global equity and bond markets, from fundamental economic analysis to work on the impact of money flows and the influence of market sentiment. We have invested heavily in state of the art technology and have built our own in-house systems which are tailored to meet our every need.

Our investment managers have access to over 60 electronic information feeds and another 140 or so more traditional paper-based sources. Our robust and repeatable investment process together with the Focus On Change philosophy allows us to rapidly gather and interpret information from around the world, and act on it.

Key elements

We take risk very seriously and have a dedicated Risk Management team to measure and monitor risk across all portfolios, ensuring our clients investments are appropriately managed. In addition, our Asset Class Fund Managers and Client Account Managers play a role in managing risk in clients' funds.

Risk can take many forms, from the risks associated with a particular product to the risk related to investing with a certain organisation.

Product or fund risk is simply the risk associated with choosing a particular investment product or fund. Each of our funds has a clearly defined fund specification setting out the parameters within which the portfolio manager can invest. Our clients also benefit from the security of knowing that there are always at least two managers, the Client Account Manager as well as the Asset Class Manager, monitoring every portfolio.

Operational risks are those associated with individual investment houses and their business processes. For instance, fund managers should not be allowed to expose their funds to unnecessary risk by investing in assets outside the remit of the fund specification. Standard Life Investments has a well developed and efficient Controls & Compliance function which reports to the Chief Executive. Their independent monitoring provides comfort to investors that fund specifications will be appropriately controlled.

Market & stock specific risks are those associated with individual investment markets and shares which all investment managers aim to control through effective asset allocation and stock selection. Our House View ensures a consistent approach to managing market risk across our product range. To reduce the potential risk associated with specific companies, we undertake comprehensive research and company visits to minimise the potential risk associated with investing in certain companies. Our Risk Management team also uses computer based risk management programs to monitor each fund's exposure to individual stocks and sectors.