A concise statement of investment objectives, guidelines and review procedures establishes an important common ground.
  • 650 College Road East
    Suite 3400
    Princeton, NJ 08540
  • TEL:  (609) 452-0300
    (800) 222-0082
    FAX:  (609) 452-1534
  • info@jrhamilton.com

Objectives and Guidelines

Success is not simply about finding investment managers for clients or picking asset classes. No investment program can succeed without clear, practical goals, and a sensible plan to achieve them. A concise statement of investment objectives, guidelines and review procedures forges consensus and establishes an important common ground and vocabulary for discussing, planning and managing the investment program. It is a very important first step.

With any new client, we review current investment programs, the background of its funds, spending policies, trustees, etc. and assess our client's risk tolerance, as well as its likely personal fit with potential managers. Based on these factors, we assist clients in reaching an intermediate-term outlook and help them establish goals, objectives, guidelines and review procedures reasonably related to that outlook. Because it deals with the future, this exercise is both qualitative and quantitative and over most time horizons, more the former.

Our investment policy statements are typically eight to ten pages long and cover absolute and relative objectives, risk control guidelines and review procedures.