reduce costs - boost performance - increase flexibility

Is your company missing out on the derivatives investment revolution?
Investment managers who use asset allocation techniques now realise that when their view of a market changes they can implement that change by selling the market rather than the stocks in that market, through using futures contracts. This not only traps the added "alpha", but is a faster approach and a far less expensive approach.

As a result, volume of trading and the resulting "Open Interest" in futures and options contracts are both increasing dramatically on the world's derivative exchanges. Many banks and brokers are adapting to such expansion, by starting to provide services both on and off-exchange to investment managers.

New European legal directives have given life insurance companies throughout Europe the opportunity to use derivatives in more efficient management of their investment portfolios. Similar changes are taking place in retail products, such as unit trusts/ mutual funds. These changes are enabling the creation of innovative investment vehicles and the issuers are boosting their market share compared to their rivals.

Pension funds throughout the world are adapting their investment strategies to take account of markedly different age profiles in their countries. Using derivatives reduces the cost of such adaptations and helps improve performance. In particular, UK pension funds have suffered from the combination of the Government's changes to taxation of dividends received by pension funds and the three year bear market in equities. This has resulted in many corporate pension funds switching from "defined benefit" schemes to "defined contribution" schemes. In turn, trustees are becoming more concerned about the ability of their schemes to withstand a further downturn in the value of their portfolios. A carefully structured programme using derivatives can ease such concerns.

BUT .....

How do you go about getting involved?
What questions should you ask?
Of whom will you ask them?
Should you recruit someone with experience, but who then might want to use derivatives more aggressively than management requires? Would he be willing to organise the intricate details of accounting and administration?
Should you recruit someone less experienced in derivatives, but who might have a background in accounting and administration? Would he have the knowledge to explain to the Board your plans for the use of derivatives?

We solve these problems with you

Getting started? We will guide your first steps in techniques for more efficient portfolio management.
Infrequent user of derivatives? We can supply the expertise, but only when you require it - maybe at your quarterly asset allocation meetings - and you don't pay for a full-time employee, who may get bored by low levels of usage.
Frequent user of derivatives? We can educate the Board or review existing settlement systems, your dealing and compliance reporting - bringing a fresh, external eye to bear and providing a guide to "best market practice".

Are your rivals gaining an advantage through derivatives, but you are not?