Evercore Pan Asset

When we set up Evercore Pan-Asset we wanted to offer a better service at a lower cost. Our motto was “Keeping it simple”.  We decided to cut out the risks investors did not need to run, and try to manage the risks they did have to incur in a straightforward way.  So how are we getting on?

We are still living our brand. We feel even more strongly today than three years ago when we started out on our journey that investment advisers should think clearly and avoid the jargon. We are not magicians so we need not talk hocus pocus. Clients who want us to offer alchemy have to be reminded gently that no-one can turn base metal into gold. Investment experts who offer supercharged returns must be running high risk. It may not last. It may not even start well. We like to manage risk and avoid big shocks. That’s why we do not sell short, invest more than the funds available or borrow to invest.

We still believe it is too difficult for many investors to find the managers who can beat equity indices by superior share selection. They are few and far between, and have no obvious distinguishing characteristics before they achieve their run of better returns. That’s why at the heart of our brand is the proposition that you index what you can, and keep the costs down. One way to do better than the average is to incur fewer costs than the average. That is something a manager can achieve reliably. No manager can guarantee making you a higher return.

We did think we might add value by moving from more cautious to more aggressive and back again at suitable times. So far that has proved to be true, protecting clients’ capital in 2008 and exposing it to rising markets in 2009.  We also thought that having more invested in Asia and emerging markets when conditions globally are favourable would serve us better than relying on the traditional western markets. We remain of that view.

Every day we challenge our assumptions and views on the state of the world. The brand rests on keeping it simple, managing risks, and cutting out cost and complexity. We would appreciate your feedback.