Fund of funds from Santander Private Banking in Jersey offers investors added choice

Paul Clifford, Head of Investment Products at Santander Private Banking in Jersey, looks at the advantages of fund of funds investing

Santander Private Banking in Jersey has joined forces with the award winning Multi Manager team at Santander Asset Management UK to offer its clients an offshore sterling denominated fund of funds range. The Luxembourg domiciled SICAV is targeted at local Jersey and UK resident non domiciled clients.

The new Santander offerings, which have only recently become available, have a multi asset, multi-jurisdictional structure which uses best of breed funds that are selected and monitored for performance by the award winning UK Santander Asset Management (SAM UK) team of Tom Caddick and Toby Vaughan. The product offers clients a choice of three sub funds, depending upon an individual’s investment risk profile and portfolio objectives, and comprises the Santander Conservative Fund, the Santander Balanced Fund and the Santander Growth Fund.

According to The Telegraph, British investors now hold some £63.5 billion in fund of funds products, having invested £3.8bn into the sector in the first half of 2011 alone. Particularly in volatile and unpredictable markets, fund of fund products are felt to offer investors a certain amount of comfort as asset allocation decisions are taken by a professional fund manager, who also monitors on-going performance. Whereas rising bull markets can sometimes tempt investors to run their own portfolios, in more difficult markets such as at present, many investors will prefer to de-risk and subcontract these decisions.

Adopting an open architecture approach, the managers at SAM UK are able to choose from thousands of independently managed bond, equity and cash funds which are then selected on

the basis of a rigorous analysis covering performance, stability and consistency before they can be considered for addition to the portfolio.  At any one time, the Santander fund of funds product could be invested in a range of typically 15 to 25 individual funds to achieve its investment objectives.

This is the first time Santander Private Banking in Jersey has worked together with Santander Asset Management, but it illustrates the potential that is available within the worldwide group of Santander companies for the benefit of its clients in Jersey. It is a collaborative approach which the bank expects to replicate, as other new funds are brought to the market.

Santander Private Banking in Jersey can  now offer clients a comprehensive multi asset, multi region fund of funds range, which is designed to provide a simple solution for investors,  whatever their appetite for risk. The new offerings are available through the bank’s Investment Advisory Service, whose client base has shown a demand for such investment products to complement the existing model Portfolio of Funds and cash and fixed contract deposits currently available. The new fund of funds range is available both as part of a wider portfolio or as a stand-alone investment. Targeting clients with a minimum investment of £100,000 and above, the Fund of Funds gives clients access to structured investment management processes, where all fund level investment decisions are taken by Santander Asset Management UK within the context of the three portfolio risk models.

Commenting on the tie up with Santander Asset Management UK (SAM UK) and the broad appeal of its fund, Head of Investment Products Paul Clifford said, “Our private banking clients in Jersey are now able to draw directly upon the skills and resources which exist within our worldwide Group. Our goal at Santander Private Banking in Jersey is to offer high quality personalised services for clients, so as demand rises, we expect to be launching more products

in conjunction with the Santander Group. Our clients appreciate our approach to private banking which is based on a mixture of service excellence, strength and security. Our fund of funds products are managed by award winning experts and in the current market, offer clients an option where asset allocation and investment choices within the fund of funds product are

made by qualified experts in their field. This can help to insulate clients from the often stressful decisions which cannot be avoided with wealth preservation and wealth growth.”

Globally, Santander Private Banking has over €90 billion of client funds under management and more than 2000 professional staff operating out of over 120 offices worldwide.