News & Updates

Linking investor and investment risk requires putting the two into the same language; common approaches to doing this are not fit for purpose.There cannot be a perfect empirical way of mapping investor risk to investment risk.

The biggest barrier to social impact investing is low awareness of its opportunities to align investment goals with social goals. Some investors prefer to consciously trade-off social good and financial outcomes, thereby 'buying' the maximum social good with their wealth.

Financial returns aren't the only thing investors value. Financial returns aren't just a means, they can be an end. Investors need to feel comfortable with their portfolio if they are to succeed.

There is some concern within the industry about the upcoming MiFID II regulatory framework, expected to come into force on January 3rd 2018, specifically regarding suitability and appropriateness.

Chasing past performance represents the sacrifice of future performance in exchange for current comfort. The reason investors make decisions that harm their long-term investment returns is rarely a lack of knowledge.

Valid and reliable measures of risk tolerance and the short-term behaviours investors exhibit in seeking emotional comfort with the investment journey both have crucial roles to play in a risk-profiling process.

Never gamify at the expense of accuracy. Gimmicky games trivialise risk tolerance, they do not test it.Helping clients navigate complexity is better than pretending it can be cost-effectively avoided.

Behavioural Economics is a rapidly expanding field and everyday new research is being developed in academia, tested and implemented by practitioners in financial organisation, development agencies, government 'nudge' units and more.

These are the core principles that define Oxford Risk's approach to suitability. These principles are united by applying academic insights to improve investor outcomes. They are about behavioural finance in real life.