3. Preamble Throughout these notes we have tried wherever possible to use 20 years of data, starting in January 1991 and finishing in January 2011. In January 1991: โข Inflation was standing at 8.95% โข Bank base rate was at 13.88% โข The FTSE 100 was at 2,170 In January 2011: โข Inflation is at 5.09% โข Bank base rate is at 0.5% โข The FTSE 100 is at 5,863. Back in 1991 if you used 10 year GILTS to generate ยฃ10,000 of income you would need (ignoring costs) ยฃ94,429. To achieve the same income using 10 year GILT yields in January 2011 you would need ยฃ269,542, which is an annualised rate of return of 5.38% pa over the 20 year period. During the same period the average annual yield has been 7.2%. Had the FTSE 100 grown by the same sum it would now be at around 6,200 however the FTSE yield has typically been around 2.5% pa. (Bank of England, FTSE and Wren Research statistics).
4. Why Invest in Assets Rather Than Cash? Over the longer term assets tend to perform better than cash or inflation:
5. Are Some Asset Classes More Volatile (Risky) Than Others? So Emerging Markets has an average return of 12.7% but in any one year this varies between -24.2% and + 49.7%. Cash averages at 5.4% but in any one year this varies between 2.9% and 7.9%.
6. What About a Combination of Asset Classes? Empirical evidence has shown that if you combine asset classes not only do you get a much less volatile investment return but you also get a better overall return on your savings. By choosing uncorrelated assets you can achieve reasonable returns in most markets as when some assets are going down, others normally rise. A correlation of 1.0 indicates a perfect association, a correlation of 0 indicates no relation & a correlation of -1.0 is a perfect disassociation (ie one goes up when the other goes down). 02/1991 to 01/2011 1.00 0.22 0.17 0.27 0.10 0.15 0.31 Global Bonds - 1.00 0.67 0.63 0.78 0.84 0.66 Emerging Markets - - 1.00 0.66 0.81 0.57 0.60 Property - - - 1.00 0.82 0.76 0.92 International Equities - - - - 1.00 0.87 0.83 UK Small - - - - - 1.00 0.86 UK Value - - - - - - 1.00 FTSE 100 Global Bonds Property Emerging Markets International Equities UK Small UK Value FTSE 100 Data Series
7. Different Asset Classes For Different People At Swallow Financial Planning we categorise clients into one of 7 risk categories. These are based on your FinaMetrica score (1 to 100). If you want to know how we do this, please refer to our Risk Profile notes. So the most cautious investor (i.e. with a FinaMetrica score of less than 20) is the wary one. On the other hand, the high risk investor (with a score of 90 +) is โGung Hoโ. holding the most volatile assets. Investment option Investor Type FIXED/ CASH PROPERTY EQUITIES TOTAL UK Intl UK Intl UK International Core Value Small Main Markets Emerging Markets 1 Wary 90.00% 10.00% - 100.00% 2 Cautious 60.00% 15.00% 10.00% 5.00% 10.00% - 100.00% 3 Prudent 30.00% 20.00% 15.00% 5.00% 15.00% 5.00% 10.00% 100.00% 4 Balanced 15.00% 10.00% 15.00% 10.00% 15.00% 5.00% 5.00% 20.00% 5.00% 100.00% 5 Adventurous 5.00% 5.00% 15.00% 5.00% 20.00% 10.00% 5.00% 27.50% 7.50% 100.00% 6 Speculative - - 10.00% 5.00% 23.00% 10.00% 10.00% 27.00% 15.00% 100.00% 7 High Risk - 10.00% 20.00% 20.00% 30.00% 20.00% 100.00%
8. Combining Assets Creates Better Returns The High Risk portfolio contains the other asset classes but has beaten all but emerging markets whilst generating far less volatile returns (total return over 20 yrs 704%)
9. Combining Assets Creates Better Returns Whilst FTSE 100, Property and UK Value have beaten the portfolio, the figures are very close and the volatility of the Prudent portfolio is a fraction of the others. (total return over 20 yrs 425%)
10. Different Asset Classes Reduce Risk Risk, in investment terms, is usually different from what a lay person considers as risk. Most lay people consider a risk as the risk of losing the physical value of their money. In investment terms is not the physical risk to the initial capital value, but rather it is the risk the investment will perform better or worse than expected. This is also called the standard deviation to the norm. If we look at the returns for the above asset classes over 20 years we have a table as follows: As you can see, the use of a mixture of assets overall generates better returns at lower risk than does an equivalent asset class. 13.78% 3.01% 5.38% 8.39% Global Bonds 36.18% ( 17.78%) 26.98% 9.20% Property 25.59% ( 9.63%) 17.61% 7.98% International Equities 18.41% ( 1.10%) 9.75% 8.65% Prudent 27.71% ( 9.87%) 18.79% 8.92% FTSE 100 38.47% ( 17.37%) 27.92% 10.55% UK Value 38.51% ( 16.96%) 27.73% 10.78% UK Small 34.15% ( 12.18%) 23.17% 10.99% High Risk 49.73% ( 24.26%) 37.00% 12.74% Emerging Markets Maximum Return Minimum Return Standard Deviation Annualised Return Data Series In About 70% of Time Periods
11. Wary has an average return of 5.7% with a best return of 11.9% and a worst return of 0.9% whereas Hi Risk has an average return of 13.5% however its best return was 47% and itโs worst return in a year was -33% If you donโt like short term risk, you will get a lower long term return. Better Returns Means Higher Volatility
12. The Longer The Term The More Certain The Return If you look at the best and worst returns from a selection of our recommended portfolios you see the following: If you donโt need your money for 10+ years you can afford to take more risk knowing the return is more likely to be as expected. Annual: 02/1991 - 01/2011; Default Currency: GBP Best / Worst Returns High Risk ย Adventurous ย Prudent ย Wary ย
13. This graph shows the average returns over 10 years ending in January each year. As you can see (withy the possible exception of emerging markets) the 10 year returns from all investments have been falling meaning we have to be far more aware of investment costs. Long Term Returns Are Erratic And Are Falling
14. Passive Funds Will Generate Better Returns We explain our approach to investments in โOur Approach to Investment Managementโ notes. In brief, we believe investment returns in future will (on average) be relatively low. If an average passive fund has charges of 1% and an average managed fund has charges of 2.5% then managed funds cannot consistently match passive fund performance ยฃ10,000 at a gross annual return of 5% over 20 years will grow to ยฃ26,500 with no charges, ยฃ21,911 in a passive fund or ยฃ16,386 in an active fund meaning the active fund has to grow by 6.5% to match the passive or a whacking 7.5% to beat the index.
15. (Source: Lipper Hindsight growth total return, default tax rate, in ยฃ to 31/12/2007) This schedule indicates the percentages of funds over 5 years which generate above average performances. With less than 5% of managed funds achieving a consistent return better than average, why take the risk? Managed Funds Do Not Beat The Index Sector Total Number of Funds Funds producing above average returns for: 31st December 2007 3 consecutive years 5 consecutive years Funds % Funds % UK All Companies 346 38 10.98% 13 3.76% UK Corporate Bond 121 15 12.40% 5 4.13% North America 90 10 11.11% 1 1.11% Europe (x UK ) 110 14 12.73% 3 2.73% Pacific (x Japan ) 75 13 17.33% 2 2.67% Japan 63 3 4.76% 0 -
16. Do Not Time The Market! The above shows the juxtaposition of each asset class performance in each of the last 10 years. Buying last yearโs best performer or following pundits is a โmugs gameโ. The Graham and Campbell study of 237 market timing newsletters showed that less than 25% of the โexpertsโ predicted the right outcome once, let alone consistently. If we cannot get the asset timing right, we believe clients should remain invested in their optimum asset classes. 0.48% 0.48% ( 53.67%) ( 16.37%) 4.23% 3.20% 4.64% 3.66% ( 31.35%) ( 18.73%) 8 4.85% 6.52% ( 39.16%) ( 15.13%) 4.55% 4.72% 5.53% 7.10% ( 29.44%) ( 15.97%) 7 16.78% 22.97% ( 34.26%) ( 14.22%) 4.81% 22.84% 5.74% 25.72% ( 28.81%) ( 15.77%) 6 19.26% 30.40% ( 31.23%) ( 1.94%) 6.82% 24.36% 14.34% 27.68% ( 28.08%) ( 8.30%) 5 22.11% 37.19% ( 26.33%) ( 1.59%) 11.29% 26.68% 17.76% 36.36% ( 22.17%) ( 4.93%) 4 22.56% 57.25% ( 18.66%) 5.74% 19.68% 26.96% 19.42% 46.77% ( 12.46%) 2.68% 3 28.03% 59.10% 4.50% 6.29% 25.19% 36.13% 20.63% 55.16% 3.95% 4.88% 2 28.96% 63.79% 6.28% 22.17% 25.48% 58.16% 23.84% 58.88% 12.50% 7.19% 1 Jan 2011 Jan 2010 Jan 2009 Jan 2008 Jan 2007 Jan 2006 Jan 2005 Jan 2004 Jan 2003 Jan 2002 Rank Cash Global Bonds Property Emerging Markets International Equities UK Small UK Value FTSE 100
17. Summary Within this presentation we have tried to show in graphical form why we believe clients should have a diverse range of investments set up according to how much they are prepared to see the capital value of their investments fluctuate in the short term. We have also tried to explain why you should choose different sectors of the market which may well perform better than others over the longer term. Finally we have touched on our reasons for using passive rather than active fund managers. So looking forward, what might the circumstances we find ourselves in now suggest that the next 20 years might bring? Well firstly unless we are to follow the Japanese into complete stagnation fixed interest rate investments can only go one way. If the underlying interest rates now are effectively 0%, then if inflation and economic growth ever return together yields will rise. If yields go up, the capital value of fixed interest securities (i.e. Government gilts and corporate bonds) will fall. One could also argue that the long term outlook for commercial property is also somewhat subdued. If interest rates do rise then there will be some narrowing of the very wide risk margins we see now (typically yield to value are in the region 8% to 10% at present) but eventually the capital values will fall. Against this, however, there is the influence of new build costs to consider so there is always an element of inflation proofing over the longer term. The value of an equity is the value of its dividends over the life of the share, so if the outlook for certain markets is uncertain (i.e. the gradual lowering of western standards of living in comparison with those in developing countries) then one needs to be circumspect over where one invests on a macro level at least. But no one know what is going to happen! One thing we can be certain of is that if you want your investments to keep up with and hopefully beat inflation you will have to accept risk. This presentation explains how we try to give our clients the best returns for the minimum of risk in the years ahead. Andrew Swallow March 2011 .