We bring you edited highlights of IFA Magazine’s insightful live webinar with Brooks Macdonald which took place earlier this month – and bring you your chance to catch up on the conversation.
As we all know, 2022 was a particularly turbulent year for investors – but it was especially so for many of those operating multi-asset strategies. Inflation plus challenging economic conditions led not only to a sell-off in both equities and bonds but also to a dent in investor sentiment too.
On February 1st, IFA Magazine held its latest live webinar to discuss this challenging market environment. It proved very popular with the IFA Magazine audience on the day as they tuned in to hear from two experts from Brooks Macdonald, namely Hector Kilpatrick, Senior Investment Director and Head of Risk Managed Funds, and David Appleton, Senior Investment Director. Hector and David have been managing the Cornelian Risk Managed Fund range for many years, well before the Brooks Macdonald merger in 2020. As this conversation clearly shows, they are very passionate about what they do as well as why and how they do it.
Full and frank
It’s a conversation packed with insight and detail – about markets, risk management, methodology and process as well as why building strong relationships with financial advisers has always been so important to them. In the conversation with IFA Magazine’s Editor, Sue Whitbread, Hector and David candidly share their views on how they see 2023 unfolding. Catch up with the conversation using the link at the end of this article, and you’ll hear for yourself why the team see 2023 as a ‘game of two halves’ from an economic, markets and investment perspective. They also explain why their asset allocation views changed in January and delve into the sectors and asset classes where they’ve been seeing wider investment opportunity sets appearing – such as fixed income.
With the Cornelian Risk Managed Fund range being aimed squarely at the needs of financial advisers and your clients, this is a conversation not to be missed, It really lifts the lid on some of the key aspects of fund management at the moment – some of which proved to be quite controversial. The often thorny subject of underlying costs and the inconsistencies relating to them, prompted strong views from David!
Following the webinar, Hector Kilpatrick said: “We thoroughly enjoyed sharing our thoughts with IFA Magazine on the investment outlook and a few of the current issues confronting multi-asset investors. We were also able to highlight the inconsistent reporting of costs by a number of investment vehicles. I hope that more IFA Magazine readers will download the session and learn why we are concerned that the US economy is heading for recession and what this means for the outlook for risk assets. You’ll also discover which asset classes we believe exhibit decent value and provide diversification benefits. Given the coming twists and turns in the market, we also make the case for an unconstrained investment approach.”
For more information, download the full conversation here
About Hector Kilpatrick
Senior Investment Director, Head of Risk Managed Funds
Hector joined Brooks Macdonald in 2020 and leads the global, unconstrained, risk managed funds team. Prior to this, Hector worked at Cornelian Asset Managers, before its acquisition by Brooks Macdonald, where he was the firm’s Chief Investment Officer. Hector joined Cornelian in 2010 from Scottish Value Management where he managed the SVM UK Alpha fund. Previously, he worked at Standard Life Investments as part of the Continental European Equities team. Hector holds an MBA in Strategic Management from Imperial College Business School, as well as the ASIP qualification.
About David Appleton
Senior Investment Director
David joined Brooks Macdonald in 2020 and is jointly responsible for managing the risk managed multi-asset fund solutions.
Prior to this, David worked at Cornelian Asset Managers, before its acquisition by Brooks Macdonald, where he joined the investment team in 2013 and helped to develop the firm’s risk managed multi-asset fund proposition to financial advisors. He also worked for 10 years at Alder Investment Management, a London-based family office, and has 17 years’ experience in financial services.
David studied Economics at the University of Edinburgh before obtaining an MSc in International Banking & Finance from Heriot Watt University. He is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI).
