Wealth managers who really earned their fees… and how they did it

Deciding which people to trust with your money can be tricky in the world of wealth management, with returns and charges varying wildly. But annual awards run by trade publisher Citywire are on hand to help, revealing the specialist investment advisers who top the charts for performance after fees.

For the boldest investors seeking risky investments, the most successful firm in the “aggressive” category was PortfolioMetrix.

It returned 45pc in three years. Nic Spicer, the firm’s UK head of research, said its best investment has been Alexander Darwall’s fund at Jupiter Asset Management. “It has done phenomenally well in capturing European growth,” Mr Spicer said. “He’s been the shining light.”

At the other end of the risk spectrum, the winner in the “cautious” category was LGT Vestra, which returned 18.8pc in three years through investing in funds. Tony Allan, partner at the firm, attributed the success to taking bold positions and sticking with them – a “high conviction” investment strategy. He said: “We haven’t tried to over-complicate portfolios, we’ve seen consistent returns and managed volatility very well.” Specifically, its investments in American technology companies have paid off.

The firm has also switched from a passive US tracker into an “active” manager, the Morgan Stanley US Advantage fund. Phoebe Stone, portfolio manager, said: “We’re seeing the potential end of the market cycle, when it is very much worth paying for an active manager.”

Technology was also named as a major driver behind the winner of the “balanced” category, James Hambro. It returned 24.7pc in three years. James Horniman, portfolio manager at the wealth manager, said it is “a little bit cautious, not all guns blazing”, and is holding a lot of cash. He said it looks for defensive stocks as well as “winner” sectors like tech.

In the “growth” category, PortfolioMetrix came top again, with a three-year return of 38.4pc. The South African firm came to Britain in 2012 and manages £1.4bn in assets.