Annual Review 2023
The perils of forecasting
Tom May
CEO & CIO
For most investors, the inability to be right about the future does not stop them trying.
We take a different approach at Atlantic House.
Instead of trying to pretend we know the future, we focus on the more manageable and realistic goal of making that future just a little bit less uncertain.
We build investment products acknowledging that whilst we don’t know where the market is going, we are able to say with a high level of confidence how our investments will behave in a variety of different market conditions.
As we prepare to enter 2024, we showcase here, in our Annual Review, what is on offer from us for investors who wish to build predictability into their portfolios.
We will see how the expected return on our flagship Defined Returns fund is higher than it has been for some time. We will also examine how the strong correlations that we have seen over the past year can be tackled to find genuine diversifiers with our Uncorrelated Strategies fund.
This has also been an opportunity to reflect on what has been an extraordinary year for us; multiple fund launches, a decade of our Defined Return Fund, the first annual Derivatives Conference and our 15 year anniversary.
We hope that you find this valuable as you seek to build resilient, more diversified multi-asset portfolios in the year ahead.
CAPITAL AT RISK
The Atlantic House Annual Review
Review of Atlantic House Funds & Solutions in 2023
01
A spotlight on Defined Returns: Marginal gains are key for efficient portfolio management, and Defined Returns can help
02
Bonds: back for good? The portfolio protector returns
03
Mind over markets: how our minds affect our ability to master the financial markets
04
It's all in your head: Can a brain scan reveal what kind of investor you are?
05
2023 Fund Reviews
The Atlantic House Defined Returns Funds
"It's been a strong decade of defined return investing and there are positive signs for the road ahead"
2023 has given most global equity indices a more than solid return, much to the surprise of commentators who predicted a recession a year ago. Jim May, Fund Manager, discusses the strong year the decade old fund has enjoyed as it aims to return 7-8% annualised, irrespective to a large degree of what equity markets do.
Marginal gains are key for efficient portfolio management, and Defined Returns can help
The philosophy that underpins Atlantic House is a conviction that careful portfolio construction making use of derivatives can produce marginal but real gains enabling multi-asset investors to build sound portfolios
The Atlantic House Uncorrelated Strategies Fund
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"So far, so uncorrelated. Since launch, the fund has nearly kept up with global equities while delivering a correlation of almost exactly 0%"
It isn't just the fund's performance this year and since launch that is pleasing writes Tom May, CEO & CIO, but that the fund's correlation to traditional assets continues to be almost 0% and the intricately designed sleeves have each exhibited volatility within the fund, as planned.
Bonds: back for good?
Bonds often do well when inflation is under control, and if inflation has indeed rolled over, then it could be opportune timing to add duration back into portfolios.
The Atlantic House Dynamic Duration
"The dynamic nature of the fund is appealing to investors as it's designed to perform in inflationary and deflationary environments. It's grown steadily since its launch in August"
Policymakers face substantial challenges anticipating future inflation rates. However, our analysis suggests that sound judgments about allocations to fixed income and inflation assets can be made within the Atlantic House Dynamic Duration Fund if careful principles are followed, says Mark Greenwood, Deputy CIO & Head of Investment Risk.
The Atlantic House Balanced Return Fund
"Instead of reflecting on select moments throughout the year to assess the performance of each allocation, we have been delighted to observe, more importantly, a consistency in how well each allocation worked together"
Finishing 2023 as the top performer out of 190 competitor funds, the Balanced Return Fund is demonstrating its effectiveness in helping professional advisers seek more consistent returns across a multitude of economic environments. Fund Manager, Jack Roberts, CFA explains in more detail.
It's all in your head
Atlantic House Solutions
"Structured products have been a silver lining in the grey clouds of multi-asset portfolios this year"
Despite the relatively low equity volatility, the new interest-rate regime has been a strong tailwind for pricing of many structured products this year. Defensive Autocall coupons of 6-7% two years ago are now comfortably above 9%+ and any pick-up in volatility will further improve terms, writes Nick Johal, Head of Solutions.