Overview

Smith & Williamson provides investment services for private individuals, charities and institutions, with over £8 billion of funds under management (as at 31 July 2008). We operate from offices in London, Belfast, Bristol, Glasgow, Guildford and Worcester and have over 100 qualified investment professionals.

Our services 

The core of our investment service is discretionary portfolio management in the form of direct equity and bond investment.

We also offer a managed funds service, advisory broking and alternative strategies based on absolute returns.

Client portfolios typically range from £250,000 to £5 million but we also manage family office, institutional and charitable funds substantially in excess of this.

We aim to meet the individual needs of clients and we appreciate that there are different approaches to investment, but in the broadest sense we are conservative investors and are conscious that real capital preservation is a concern for most people.

Our clients have direct access to the investment managers responsible for their portfolios. We are an independent company owned largely by our staff and are not affiliated to any other large financial organisation. As such we are free to give independent advice to our clients.

Our investment philosophy

We see our role as helping savers to acquire a stake in the world economy through properly diversified portfolios. The case for buying shares is a long term one. Unlike cash or bonds they do not have a fixed nominal value and their volatility makes them unsuitable for covering short term liabilities. They do however generate a rising income and as such are ideal assets for long term savings, where the main risk is from inflation.

We do not confine ourselves to a particular methodology, but it would be fair to say that we look for value, using such traditional measures as yield, price to book and the discounted value of cash flows. We aim to invest in companies that grow their dividends, in the belief that an increasing income supports capital values.

Contact us 

For more information on our investment management services contact us.