Our Beliefs
The founding principles of our firm have been built on our Investment Philosophy.
We believe that investment decisions should be guided by the wealth of academic and empirical evidence available to us. It is this disciplined focus that provides the central investment principle of MASECO.
At MASECO, we focus more on investment exposures, discipline and cost rather than the capability of star managers or short-term performance of investment strategies.
This philosophy helps to provide clear guidelines and informs our BuildingBlock approach to portfolio construction.
Investing is rational and long term
Common sense tells us to accept what we cannot control but to act on what we can control. When others are afraid or overly zealous, we remain calm and rational, avoiding the traps of investment led by emotion.
Market anomalies exist
We invest our clients' portfolios in large groups of securities that share characteristics that empirically result in market beating returns. Instead of relying on forecasting the price of a single investment, we pursue systematic approaches to exploit these so-called market anomalies efficiently and effectively.
Tax efficiency increases net return
We feel managing individual portfolios with an eye to tax efficiency is an often overlooked component of the investment management industry due to its complexity. We believe optimising after-tax returns is one of our key duties and enables us to deliver personalised and tailored portfolios that fit the specific circumstances of each client.
Diversification works
We see layers of risk beyond asset classes - by risk factor, fund manager, currency or liquidity. We spend considerable time ensuring that our portfolios minimise the risks that do not deliver adequate returns.
Portfolio structure dominates risk and return
In building portfolios we focus on what really matters, the strategic allocation of your assets. We work diligently to avoid your portfolio risk drifting significantly.
Costs matter
There is a phenomenon in the fund management industry where investors flock to high cost mutual funds, even though they should know that this material cost drag also stacks the odds against them. The cheapest fund is not always the best, but it should be near the top of the list of controllable conditions on which one should focus when constructing portfolios.
Illiquidity can be beneficial
It is widely accepted that investors can earn a higher return if they are prepared to accept some illiquidity within their investments. The alternative credit market is a good example of an illiquid asset class that generally pays higher rates of interest when compared to investing in traditional fixed income.
Graham and Dodd Scroll Award
In 2017, Helge Kostka, Chief Investment Officer at MASECO Private Wealth, won the prestigious Graham and Dodd Scroll Award of Excellence from the Chartered Financial Analyst. The prizes have been awarded since 1960 to recognise excellence in research and financial writing in the Financial Analysts Journal. Fellow Graham and Dodd winners include Nobel Laureates such as Robert Shiller and Eugene Fama.
