Times of crisis can be disconcerting for everyone. But Allie McMahon (pictured below), Business Development Manager at Quilter Cheviot, says the investment firm is on hand to provide the support needed during the current situation
A global pandemic is something we have never experienced before, although certain regions of the world do have some experience – Asia and the SARS pandemic of the early 2000s. Regardless, Covid-19 has caught many people by surprise.
It has caused people to change their daily routines like never before, not just adjusting how we work, but balancing our work/home life too. This has become increasingly difficult since staying at home has become an obligation.
With schools and universities shut for the foreseeable future, your house has become the new playground, daily exercise the highlight of your day, and parents the new teachers (all while balancing a full-time job). I think we all very much look forward to seeing the back of this.
As far as business goes, we have all been working hard to adapt over the past few months. At Quilter Cheviot, we have been putting in extra precautions to prevent financial fraud, first testing and then implementing our remote working capabilities for all areas of the business and including extra commentary with our usual client valuation packs.
These are all essential measures to help our clients and ensure they feel confident that their wealth is being well looked after.
We are closely monitoring Covid-19 developments and the care and wellbeing of our clients is at the forefront of everything we do, as it has been for over 240 years.
In such times, reassuring our clients is our main priority. This is something we live by as a company and what our highly experienced Investment Managers are doing on a day-to-day basis.
Our new coronavirus ‘hub’ features topical podcasts, market updates and other relevant articles to support our clients.
We are, of course, continuing to produce our regular commentaries, which aim to address any worries or concerns throughout the pandemic.
It is at times like these that we need extra reassurance – and that is something we pride ourselves on as a company. We are doing everything we can to give all of our clients peace of mind and comfort during this period.
We pride ourselves on having one of the largest research teams in the discretionary fund management space, with more than 40,000 hours of research carried out annually. We have been working hard to bring these insights to clients and advisers through a range of articles, videos and podcasts.
But perhaps more importantly, our research helps us to adjust portfolios as necessary, moving money from harder-hit areas and adding to beneficiaries such as the providers of cloud computing services.
In addition to the extra commentary on how we are dealing with Covid-19 in the regular client valuation packs, active communication with our clients is something we are very much used to.
Portfolio valuations, transaction schedules, capital and income statements, tax-year-end packs and commentary on market conditions are all included in our regular reports to our clients.
We have a regulatory obligation to notify clients when their portfolio falls by 10% or more, and making sure our communications are informed and provide context is highly important to us.
Our open-door policy is still very much applicable now, just like before. With our investment managers having an average of 16 years’ service at Quilter Cheviot and 19 years in the financial sector, our clients’ goals and expectations are at the heart of our investment philosophy.
It has been an eye-opening few weeks and a time to reflect. That long list of household chores you had has remarkably been crossed off, the ever-growing pile of books you wanted to read are now solidly engraved in your brain, and your culinary skills… Well, let’s just say Gordon Ramsay better watch out.
Despite such productivity, however, this has also been an incredibly difficult time. Away from loved ones, out of your usual routine and staying at home for this long isn’t something we’re used to. We understand this and we are here to support our clients in any way that we can.
Should you have any worries or concerns, or simply want to get in touch to find out more about our services, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Find out more: contact the Quilter Cheviot Jersey office on 01534 506070
• This advertising feature was first published in the June/July 2020 edition of Businesslife magazine