Asset Manager Selection - Details

Asset Manager Selection — Details

Here you will find further details on the Asset Management Selection service and our approach.

Selection of asset manager and custodian bank

A professional and systematic selection process as well as considerable knowledge of the economic, operational and legal criteria and risks are key issues of a successful selection. We have long-standing experience and expertise in both non-public tendering and public tendering in accordance with the WTO agreement. Our selection process is systematic and clearly structured and allows for the selection of providers in strict adherence to the principle of free and open competition and the equal treatment of all participants. Our selection process adheres rigorously to the requirements of best governance.

Best Fit

In our process, we consciously avoid standardized lists, but select possible candidates based on clear guidelines and criteria in terms of best fit. Based on your investment guidelines, the corresponding benchmarks and further specifications of the tendered mandate (asset management, global custody, etc.), we develop a recommendation regarding the requirement profile, the mandate specifications, the legal requirements and specific selection criteria. Important parameters, e.g. admissibility of securities lending, use of derivative instruments, retrocessions, reporting and legal requirements are factored in at an early stage of the selection process and increase the probability of successfully awarding the mandate.

Assessment by expert

The analysis and evaluation is made by proven experts with an excellent education and professional experience. Our expertise is combined with our detailed knowledge of the managers’ investment activities we acquire by our investment controlling as well as our legal know-how. For each asset class there is a specialist supported by several deputies. The partners and employees of PPCmetrics are proven experts and regularly active as consultants/lecturers in their field of expertise. They regularly share their expertise with a broad public by writing various publications. We have been active as investment consultants and controllers for a variety of institutional investors in Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and other European countries. Thanks to our long-standing experience as legal consultants, we have broad investment-specific know-how as well as deep knowledge of various legal systems including the Anglo-Saxon common law.

Open selection process

Every tendering process that we conduct is based on our open data base. This data base is regularly updated and currently includes the leading custodian banks as well as more than 1’200 asset managers for various asset classes such as equities, bonds (government and corporate bonds), mixed mandates, real estate, and alternative investments such as hedge funds, commodities, private equity, insurance linked securities, etc. Every manager can register for free and is systematically considered in the selection process.

Assessment based on clear criteria

The analysis and assessment (tenders, due diligence) are based on clear and structured economic, legal and operational criteria such as:

High level of stability and specialization of the asset manager or the custodian bank
Excellent education and professional experience of the responsible people
Comprehensible investment approach, clearly structured processes and appropriate risk management
Market-compliant asset management fees, custodian bank fees as well as transparency of costs
Performance in the past / track record

Best Governance

The PPCmetrics selection process adheres rigorously to the requirements of best governance. Written tenders, our evaluation of tenderers, including recommendation and – if required – a presentation by tenderers, enable clients to make an informed and transparent decision when awarding a mandate. The open process, clear criteria and our comprehensive documentation ensures a fully objective and documented conduct. We register the fees offered by tenderers, from contract negotiations we conducted and from the investment controlling mandates. Thus, we have an overview of the current fees as well as the historical development for the evaluation and benchmarking of the tenders. This ensures competitive market conditions for asset management. Our process is rigorously tailored to the needs of our clients.

Interaktive Tools

We use advanced tools for analysing the tenderers and a tailored comparison of the asset managers and portfolios as well as the quality of services offered by the custodian banks. We use our proprietary software that we have been developing for several years.