Research Process

Our research begins by examining the recent past performance of an investment fund. Although past performance is no guarantee for the future we can examine the fund and the fund manager’s track record. We are particularly looking for consistency and a historical analysis gives us a good indication of the fund’s future prospects.

As global economic conditions fluctuate we need to be sure that fund selections are continuing to perform in line with our expectations and we have access to a range of investment tools to check that a fund continues to “do what it says on the tin”.

It is important we keep your portfolio diversified, so ongoing checks are carried out for the individual equities which selected funds are investing into, at any one point in time. For example, we might want to know if the Fidelity Special Situations Fund is investing heavily in Shell, so as to avoid other UK Equity funds which were over over-exposed to Shell shares.

Each asset class will have sub-divisions, usually based on the differences in Risk and Return. For example, in our UK Equity sector we have separate sections covering small, medium and large companies. Generally speaking, smaller companies are more volatile and carry more risk, albeit a greater opportunity for growth. We balance your portfolio investment in the UK Equity market by allocating money to all these sectors.

There are similar splits in other Asset classes. For instance, within Fixed Interest we find Government Gilts and Corporate Bonds. These are instruments used by Government and companies to raise money and both present varying levels of Risk.

Ultimately, Integra cannot predict the future but, we will always invest your money in a diversified fashion, to provide some degree of protection to the volatility of global markets.