AStructured Note Research
We take the term sheet apart. Barrier levels, autocall observations, coupon memory, participation caps and worst-of baskets are each plotted against the market path a client actually expects, so the payoff is understood before it is bought rather than after it is triggered.
- Payoff diagrams drawn for the base, bull and stress path.
- Issuer credit review and collateral quality check.
- Comparison against a plain bond plus option benchmark.
- Written note sheet with the exit cost stated in advance.
Every note sheet ends with a single question: what would have to happen for this structure to disappoint? If the answer cannot be written in one sentence, the note is not ready for the plan.
BPrivate Credit Allocations
Private credit is surveyed borrower by borrower. We examine the lending book, the security package, the covenant set and the recovery path, then size the allocation to the income and duration a client needs. Positions are built in tranches so a single borrower never carries the whole plan.
- Direct lending, trade finance and real asset debt review.
- Covenant and security package mapping.
- Tranche sizing against income and duration targets.
- Documented exit routes and secondary market notes.
We prefer a smaller position in a well understood borrower to a larger position in a story that cannot be verified. Where the security package is weak, the plan says so in plain terms rather than burying the point in a footnote.
CCurrency Overlay Programs
For portfolios held across sterling, dollar and euro, we draw an overlay that matches the reporting base and the spending currency. Forwards, collars and natural offsets are costed honestly, rolled on a published calendar and reconciled to the custodian statement each month.
- Hedge ratio set against the reporting currency.
- Rolling calendar with documented roll dates.
- Collar and forward pricing checked against at least two sources.
- Monthly drag report in basis points.
A currency overlay should reduce uncertainty, not introduce a second bet. We keep the program mechanical so that the only variable is the market, not the mood of the person placing the hedge.
DPortfolio Stress Testing
We run the holdings through rate shocks, credit spread widening, equity drawdowns, currency breaks and liquidity freezes. The result is a one page resilience map showing where the plan bends, where it breaks and which action comes first when it does.
- Macro shock library refreshed each quarter.
- Correlation and concentration analysis.
- Liquidity ladder under a freeze scenario.
- Written action list ranked by urgency.
The purpose of a stress test is not to predict the next crisis. It is to know in advance which holding you would sell first, which line you would draw on, and which decision you would refuse to make under pressure.
ECustody and Settlement Liaison
We sit between the client, the custodian and the counterparty so that settlement dates, corporate actions and currency conversions do not drift. Every instruction is confirmed in writing and every confirmation is reconciled to the statement that follows.
- Written instruction and confirmation trail.
- Corporate action and income collection follow up.
- Currency conversion timing monitored.
- Monthly reconciliation against custodian records.
Settlement is where good plans quietly go wrong. We treat a missed date or a mistimed conversion as a plan failure, not an administrative inconvenience, and we chase it until the record matches the statement.
FInvestor Reporting Suites
Monthly and quarterly packs are assembled around the questions trustees actually ask: what changed, why it changed, what it cost and what happens next. Every figure traces back to a source document held on file, and every pack closes with the route note for the period ahead.
- Performance attribution by parcel.
- Cost and drag statement.
- Holdings and exposure summary.
- Forward route note for the next period.
Reporting is the gate that closes the loop on the plan. If a parcel did not perform as drawn, the report says why, names the decision that made the difference and returns the lesson to the desk that drew the original route.