PCP Background

The Asset Allocation Committee...

Private Client Portfolio(PCP) is an amalgamation of leading international fund management houses, who decided to set-up under an independent name, PCP International Marketing Ltd.(PCP IML). These management houses pool their resources to approach the market using the expertise of each individual adviser in their own respective field in a joint approach. 

PCP's Asset Allocation Committee (AAC) is the core of PCP's diverse investment management process.
Asset allocation accounts for 80% of a portfolio's long-term performance, so we take it very seriously by using diverse sources of expertise. The committee is made of specialists from PIMCO, Forsyth Partners, Morgan Stanley Quilter and Swiss Life , who meet on a regular basis to determine the asset allocation of a PCP Global Managed Fund - PCP Balanced. By integrating a short-term outlook into our long-term investment strategy, we can extract and combine the best of both schools of thought.

The procedure that is used by the AAC is as follows:
· Each member researches, analyzes and forecasts market trends
· The combined results are debated until a consensus is reached on the most promising markets to invest in (short-term)
· The consensus is then applied to the weightings of the global funds

Composition of The Committee

PIMCO

PIMCO, a leading institutional money manager with over USD348.8 billion in assets under management, was established in 1971 and today is a member of the Allianz Group - Europe's largest insurance company. PIMCO's funds have a record of outp erforming the major bond indices in both bull and bear markets. PIMCO's consistent performance record can be attributed to several factors including a conservative investment philosophy with a long term orientation, a history of innovation, an organisational structure that remains focused and flat and high quality staff with depth and continuity.

Forsyth Partners Limited

Forsyth Partners Limited is a private company in the UK. The Company was established in March 1991 by Paul Forsyth. The Company is an independent company owned by its senior executives. Forsyth Partners Limited is regulated in the conduct of investment business by the FSA in the UK. The Company is an ISD company and has an outward passport to conduct investment activities in a number of EC member states.
Forsyth Partners specialises in identifying the finest investment managers globally. The results of their work are presented through subscription based research services, which are provided, to institutional investors, asset managers and financial advisors in 45 countries. Over the last ten years, they have provided research, consultancy and investment management services to over 450 organisations. As a research driven investment house, which is, involved in providing research services on a subscription basis, as well as managing investment portfolios, Forsyth Partners Limited consider that their independence is a crucial distinguishing factor. In addition, they do not believe that there are any direct competitors who provide the level of pro-active investment research into international fund managers, their strengths and weaknesses and how they are responding to changing market conditions. The focus of their research is not research for its own sake - it is intended to be usable as a dynamic investment tool. The emphasis that Forsyth Partners Limited place on a qualitative analysis, as opposed to simply looking at statistics provided by data services such as S&P Micopal and Reuters Lipper, is a futher distinguishing factor. They aim to be predictive and do not want to be seen as focusing on historical events.

Morgan Stanley Quilter

Morgan Stanley Quilter is a specialist in bespoke investment management services. With approximately £4 billion in funds under management as at 30th June 2003, its clients include UK and international private clients, charities and trusts, pension funds, corporate bodies and life companies. The company employs about 300 staff based in London and at 10 branches throughout the UK, in the Channel Islands and Ireland.
Morgan Stanley Quilter works to meet individual client's financial objectives and personal risk requirements. Its investment managers work closely with clients' other professional advisers, recognising that an investment portfolio may form part of an overall financial planning strategy. A disciplined investment process is followed and uses agreed benchmarks to moniter performance. A highly effective administration team, individual attention and frequent communication ensure an exceptional level of client care.
Since 2001 Morgan Stanley Quilter has been a wholly owned subsiduary of Morgan Stanley, a global financial services firm and a market leader in securities, investment management and credit services. Morgan Stanley Quilter and its clients can therefore benefit from the backing and global resources of a firm with offices in 27 countries and assets under management of $421 billion as at 31st May 2003.

Specialist Members

Andrew Buchanan, FSI

Andrew Buchanan is the chairman of the Asset Allocaton Committee and formerly was employed as Investment Director of Close Investment Management (IOM) Limited, a specialist private client asset management company, and part of Close Private Bank. Prior to joining Close Investment Management (IOM) Limited in 2001, he was Managing Director of Royal Bank of Canada (International) Limited in Jersey and was responsible for the British Isles investment operations of the Bank. Before moving to Jersey in 1996, Andrew spent seven years in Hong Kong managing both private client and institutional funds, winning an award as the best HK equity over one, three and five years.

Yiannis Repoulis

Yiannis Repoulis is a Vice-President and account manager of PIMCO. He joined the firm to focus on the development of European client servicing. Prior to joining PIMCO Europe Limited's London Office, Yiannis was associated with EFG Private Bank. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in international political economy from the London School of Economics, and an MBA from the J L Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University.

Peter Toogood, MSI 

Peter is Managing Director - Investments & Research and a Principal of Forsyth Partners. He graduated with a BA (Hons) in accountancy from the University of Exeter and has the FPC - Financial Planning Certificate - from the Chartered Insurance Institute. Before joining Forsyth Partners in 1994, he worked for two UK independent financial adviser groups and a UK building society. He is a regular 'guest host' and contributor to CNBC and appears frequently on Bloomberg TV.

Mike Broadhurst BSc, MSI

Mike Broadhurst, a Senior Associate at Morgan Stanley Quilter, is a member of the strategy committee and chairs the firm's unit trust selection committee. Mike has 13 years experience within the private client division of both Morgan Stanley Quilter and previously one other leading private client fund manager.

Martin Oberholzer

Martin Oberholzer is a client relationship manager for Man Investments, based in Pfaffikon, Switzerland. He is responsible for the Swiss markets. Prior to joining Man Investments in 2003, Martin Oberholzer was a relationship manager for RMF. Martin Oberholzer started his career in 1986 when he joined Credit Suisse/Credit Suisse First Boston in the equity and fixed income capital markets division and held several positions in Zurich, London, New York and Frankfurt as syndicate manager. In 1997 Martin joined Merrill Lynch in Zurich to head up the CHF fixed income new issue desk. In 1999 he became the country manager and managing director of Templeton in Switzerland responsible for establishing the business operation. Martin joined the Swiss Life Hedge Fund Partners AG in 2001, and subsequently RMF in 2002. Martin has a degree in marketing from the School of Economics and Business Administration, St Gallen.