By Kirill Ganin,
Head of Investment Advisory Services at Oracle Capital Group (Geneva office)
We are relatively optimistic with regard to the market in 2014. We believe that rates will remain low and money remain cheap, so in our opinion indices will continue to rise and most likely reach further record highs later this year. We also remain positive on both equity and debt, and plan to increase our positions as and when we spot good opportunities.
Contrary to a number of our peers, we believe that the IT sector and its related industries will continue to drive markets forward in 2014, although much will depend on the direction Twitter takes following its IPO in 2013. If its share price continues to perform well mid to long-term – currently the stock is being driven by momentum investors – we are likely to see further examples of successful placements for other good quality IT companies, something from which we’ll seek to take advantage in 2014.
Risk management approach
Our approach on risk is a function of two factors. First, what risks are we aware of and how can we measure the impact and secondly, risks which we don’t know and cannot measure them. On both points, our approach is consistent whether the application is for clients’ portfolio or providing other services for clients.
• Risks we are aware of and we can measure- these are risks that we come across in our due diligence (whether in investments or other services for clients). Clients objectives are measured to these risks when it comes to final decision making process. This is followed by a consistent monitoring process, in investments this is done via, third party risk manager or third party risk monitoring portfolio systems, while for other services risks are monitored by a regular review of the particular service.
• Risks that we are not aware of and cannot measure- this applies to all aspects of life, not only investments and potential pitfalls that a client face while obtaining other services. Our policy on this risk is awareness and realization that we can never know everything therefore, we remain open to any possibility. However, this does not mean we are passive, we believe that through our regular monitoring we are able to make early detection and take steps to mitigate any potential damage from the arising risk. Additionally, diversification is the cheapest and best way of ensuring that unforeseen risks do not have a material impact on a portfolio or through other client services.
