Part of equity and property specialist Harwood Capital Management Group, its suite of funds are defined by a volatility risk budget and will follow Philbin’s distinctive blended qualitative and quantitative approach to picking managers.
In addition to a fund range, Durrant, who was a key figure behind Skandia’s Global Best Ideas and Asset Allocator ranges and most recently the CIO of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, said the new business would seek to work with advisers, life companies, fund platforms and affinity groups who are looking for help in furthering their own multi-manager ambitions.
“We are hoping to go beyond partnerships and become woven into the fabric of the businesses that we engage with,” he said.
While full details of Harwood’s fund range have yet to be announced, it is likely that Philbin – ex of F&C and Architas – will manage the funds with a similar approach to the four Elite multi-strategy portfolios he will continue to manage for Hasley Investment Management.
Each of these portfolios are run within a specific volatility range, and as he told us recently, this is central to how he communicates with clients.
“One of the things I do with this range of portfolios is go back to the client and say: ‘If you are in model 1, on a rolling 52-week basis the volatility will be between zero and 4.5 [annualised standard deviation] at all times,” he explained.
“I am committing to the clients that I will not breach these guidelines, so when markets get very volatile I am going to have to take volatility off the table and when volatility gets low I might have to add to that risk.”
