Altorfer Financial Management Ltd Independent Financial Advisers

NEWSLETTER May 2010

The last two years have provided an unprecedented challenge for asset managers, with extreme volatility in financial markets and the near-collapse of the global banking system. Despite that, our portfolios are in profit over the period. The extremes of investor behaviour presented opportunities as much as threats. Having increased our cash holdings throughout 2007 and the first half of 2008, we were in a position to take advantage of unsustainable mis-pricings in the market caused by irrational fear. Our portfolios were bolstered too by the increased exposure to such assets as gold, commodities and emerging markets, which fared much better than many, more traditional, ‘defensive’ holdings. Our adoption of the Transact platform, on which we now manage over £50 million of assets, has helped enormously in this.

Global economic data is now generally positive, and financial markets buoyant, but we do not discount the possibility of a reaction against the sharp recovery of the last 12 months. Although we have reduced cash holdings considerably, we are still not fully invested; any downturn will present new buying opportunities. The thrust of our current strategy is to move into assets which are both high-yielding and inflation-proof, thereby offsetting the current low yields on cash, and insuring ourselves against the possibility of rising inflation over the next few years.

At the beginning of June we will be installing a completely new computer system, with upgraded hardware and new software. There is likely to be disruption for about two weeks as engineers install the systems and staff adjust to them. Although we will be doing everything possible to minimise interruptions to our normal business flow and communications, there will inevitably be the odd glitch, so I ask for your forebearance during the changeover.

For the fifth consecutive year I will be away voyaging for several months this summer, heading once more into the Arctic Circle, this time in the region of West Greenland and Baffin Island. The team at Altorfer is by now more than capable of ‘minding the shop’ in my absence. My second book, - ‘Mingming & the Art of Minimal Ocean Sailing’ – is published in September (and available for pre-order at amazon.co.uk or at www.thesimplesailor.com).

Kind regards

Roger Taylor
Managing Director
ALTORFER FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT LTD

A FOURTH CONSECUTIVE NOMINATION FOR ALTORFER – January 2009

Altorfer has once more been rated amongst the top five Greater London advisory firms, receiving its fourth consecutive nomination for Citywire’s New Model Adviser award. This award, with its rigorous independent assessment, is considered the top accolade for financial adviser firms. Altorfer is proud to have been named in this elite grouping every year since its inception.

FUNDS UNDER MANAGEMENT STABLE AT £110 MILLION – December 2008

Despite the difficulties in financial markets during 2008, Altorfer’s funds under management have remained resilient. A combination of a conservative asset allocation and new inflows of money have meant a fall in total assets of only a few percentage points. Managing Director Roger Taylor is confident that the usual upward trend of the company’s funds under management will be resumed in 2009.

'VOYAGES OF A SIMPLE SAILOR' PUBLISHED - July 2008

Managing Director Roger Taylor’s book ‘Voyages of a Simple Sailor’ has been published to critical acclaim. Described by Sailing Today as ‘ the best-written book on sea-going under sail in many a year’ and by Practical Boat Owner as a ‘classic’, the book spans fifty years of Roger’s sailing adventures, including shipwreck and a mid-ocean capsize. Roger has been busy signing books at all the major Boat Shows.

ALTORFER NOMINATED FOR THIRD TIME! - January 2008

For the third successive year, Altorfer had been nominated for the prestigious New Model Adviser Award for the Greater London area. Although we did not win the award, Altorfer is now the only company to have been nominated in the top five London companies in every one of the three years since the awards commenced. This is a tremendous achievement, and underlines the consistency of our business model. The awards are organised by the financial media group Citywire.

FUNDS UNDER MANAGEMENT PASS £114 MILLION - January 2008

Altorfer starts 2008 with funds under management now exceeding £114 million. This is an increase of over £10 million during 2007 - a creditable result given the problems and volatility in financial markets.

BACK FROM THE SEA - AGAIN! - August 2007

Managing Director Roger Taylor is safely back from his single handed voyage to northern waters. Strong headwinds prevented him from reaching the Arctic Circle. He did, however, get to the coast of Southern Iceland and also fulfilled his ambition of circumnavigating the whole of the UK and Ireland, including Rockall.

NEW ADMINISTRATOR - August 2007

We welcome our new administrative assistant Katy Calcaterra. Katy is very experienced in Financial Services, having spent 8 years working for the Nationwide Building Society. She is looking forward to getting to know all our clients.

£110 MILLION MARK REACHED - June 2007

Funds under management have now reached £110 million, just 8 months after breaching the £100 million mark. We are delighted with this rapid growth ~ a combination of excellent investment returns and new funds coming under our management. We are on track for our end-of-year target of £115 million.

ANOTHER YEAR ANOTHER VOYAGE - June 2007

Managing Director Roger Taylor heads off shortly on a single-handed voyage to North-East Iceland and the Arctic Circle. Once again this will be in his 20' yacht Mingming, in which he sailed to the Azores and back last year. This will be a tougher (and colder!) voyage lasting about six weeks. If conditions are favourable he hopes to sail back via Rockall to Plymouth.

ALTORFER NOMINATED AGAIN ! - January 2007

For the second year running Altorfer was one of the five nominees for the New Model Adviser of the Year Award 2007, for London and the Home Counties. Last year, the inaugural year of the award, we went on to win it. Against such stiff competition it was too much to expect to win the award for a second consecutive year. However, it was a great honour to be named once again in the very top group of London's advisory firms.

£100 MILLION MARK REACHED - October 2006

After just under 16 years in business, Altorfer client investment assets have passed the £100 million mark. This perhaps signifies the coming of age of the company - the transition point from a small growth enterprise to a mature established player in the financial management field.We are now thinking about a viable target time for doubling those assets to £200 million. Five years? As a separate exercise we have also been tracking the values of our client real estate holdings.When these are added in, total Altorfer client wealth is now close to £1/4 billion.

BACK FROM THE SEA - September 2006

Managing Director Roger Taylor is now back at work after his three months' long service leave. During his leave, Roger sailed, single handed, to the Azores and back in his 20' yacht Mingming. The company continued to operate smoothly in his absence. Funds under management have now reached almost £99 million, and we hope to breach the £100 million mark within the next few months. This will be a major milestone in the development of the company.

ALTORFER WINS TOP AWARD! - January 2006

I am very pleased to let you know that Altorfer has just been named New Model Adviser of the Year 2006, for the London and Home Counties region. The award comes from Citywire, the financial publisher (part owned by Reuters) who publish New Model Adviser magazine. From a UK starting population of about 6000 companies, seven regional awards were made, with Altorfer winning the prestigious London accolade.

The 6000 companies were analysed in detail by both Citywire and independent actuarial consultants AKG. There were a range of criteria covering financial performance, growth of funds under management, business model, client relationships, expertise, qualifications and so on.
Particular emphasis was on the extent to which companies had re-engineered themselves to deliver a comprehensive advisory, rather than sales-based, service.

I am still recovering from the shock of having to go on stage to receive the award at a black tie dinner in the City of London, when an hour earlier I was not even aware that we were one of the six London nominations. Fortunately I was not required to make a speech!

The other news is that after 20 years of relentless effort to build the company, with no more than two consecutive weeks' leave during that period, I will be taking some extended 'long service' leave this summer. I will be away for eight to ten weeks from the beginning of June.

Altorfer now has an extremely experienced and efficient team, who will have no difficulty 'running the shop' during my absence. Planning is already under way to ensure that there is minimal disruption to the normal sequence of annual reviews.

Inevitably there will be some reorganisation during this period. However I am sure that I will not be begrudged a short period of respite after two decades of unremitting effort!

Roger Taylor