At Stamford, we are proud of our distinctive approach to identifying, researching and monitoring exceptional investment talent and their portfolios. We leave no stone unturned in the search for investment managers we believe will generate superior investment returns over time.

Over 30 years we have built up an extensive proprietary information base of thousands of managers. Our desk research and industry networking approach allows us to discover managers that might otherwise be below the radar. We offer manager selection on a truly global basis, going far beyond locally available or mainstream investment offerings.

Following this ‘talent discovery’ phase, we apply our own rigorous and deep evidence-based manager assessment process in order to evaluate the robustness of the managers' investment approach and the integrity of its application in practice. This includes a thorough analysis of the managers' portfolio footprints, from idea generation to sell discipline and portfolio construction, and invariably requires many face to face meetings with the key investment professionals. Our aim is to ensure an embedded understanding of the decision making dynamics and a holistic view of each manager.

We place equal importance on monitoring investment managers and their portfolios. Our monitoring team requires a high level of access to managers, including far reaching disclosure and portfolio transparency. This is key for our ongoing assessment of each manager and our detailed scrutiny of portfolios, including trading activity, fundamental and liquidity characteristics. When deemed appropriate, we do not hesitate to recommend manager changes irrespective of investment results.

Complementary to our investment assessment, an integral part of our manager selection and ongoing monitoring involves an in-depth qualitative evaluation from a psychological, organisational and behavioural perspective, which is led by our full-time in-house Chartered Psychologist. We believe this yields materially deeper insights and acumen than could otherwise be gained.