The UK-based company, which has a worldwide client network, said the new offerings, called the Advisory Service and Wealth Check, had been developed following the appointment of Hywel George, a former head of European equities at both Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, to the firm.
IAM, which focuses solely on asset allocation through ETFs, said its aim was to move clients’ assets away from potential pitfalls of relying on stock pickers, while increasing returns and charging lower fees.
Richard Yarlott and Nick Dewhirst, partners in the business for more than a decade, said they had always focused on asset allocation and had been using ETFs to execute their strategies since 2003.
Fees
According to IAM, the Advisory Service has no operational overheads, meaning fees are low and the client only pays for IAM ‘intellectual capital’.
George explained: “The Advisory Service is very simple – IAM recommends a monthly portfolio, the client responds with their approval and executes the trades. The service is currently offered direct to high net worth clients and family offices, and IAM is in discussions with distributors with respect to broadening the offering via white label products.”
Through Wealth Check, described as a ‘personal CIO service’, IAM assesses a client’s total portfolio of investment and then makes a series of recommendations designed to increase performance, lower costs and risks.
“Then, if the client chooses, they can move to IAM’s recommended asset allocation by restructuring the portfolios with the existing managers,” said George.
Wealth Check charges a fee of 0.5% of assets under advice. The advisory option also charges 0.5%, paid quarterly. If asset values have fallen over the calendar year, the final quarter’s fee is waived. There is also a 10% performance fee on any gain annually. IAM said 2% of this could be donated to a charity of the clients’ choosing.
