Suitability, sustainability and risk - can you do it all?
Experts: Abhimanyu Chatterjee, Chief Investment Strategist, Dynamic Planner
Facilitator: John Chapman, Consultant, Orion Consultancy Ltd
Key Takeaways:
- Risk is the cornerstone of all investment decisions, we need to be able to understand risk and client suitability including ESG preferences on a scalable, repeatable, consistent basis
- Products need to match a clients’ life stages and remain suitable throughout those life stages.
Expansion stage:
- Ability to maximise return for a risk level
- Ability to tactically engage with the market to increase returns
Consolidation stage:
- Ability to maximise return for a risk level
- Ability to maintain a position within a risk band to consolidate capital
Drawdown stage:
- Ability to mitigate risk of downside loss
- Ability to maintain capital
- Perception of risk has changed and ESG and suitability are becoming more important than any economic risk
In response to this, regulation has changed and ESG considerations and preferences are now to be taken into account in the investment advice process.
All asset managers have to integrate sustainability risks into their risk management processes.
All advice firms are to consider any preference for sustainable products as part of their client need, characteristics and objectives
Context
- Risk is the cornerstone of all investment decisions
- Returns dominate conversation about investments, especially over the shorter term
- Regulators are increasingly focusing on risk.
