Working with Momentum

"The Momentum team combine three capacities each of which are important but almost never found together in UK investment consultants: strong and clear communication, dedication to the solution that is right for the client rather than one from a pre-packed model and strong technical skills. All the Momentum clients that I know have extremely high regard to Momentum's work and their personal relationship, as do I." - Nick Spencer, Founder of Gordian Advice.

Who we are

Momentum Investment Solutions & Consulting (Momentum ISC) is a team of experienced investment consultants established in 2015 to provide innovative and tailored advice to UK pension schemes. We have a wealth of experience spanning strategic advice, risk management, portfolio construction and implementation. In an industry that is moving towards ever-increasing specialisation, our clients see the value of having experienced generalists who can guide them across all aspects of their investment policy to help achieve their objectives.

Meet the team

What sets us apart?

Our mission is to help our clients achieve their desired outcomes by providing innovative and tailored advice. We put our clients at the heart of everything we do and our aim is to build trusted partnerships with our clients so that we are seen as an extension of their team. We believe that we offer one of the strongest investment consulting propositions, based on the experience of our team, and our generalist approach. Ultimately we believe that the best outcomes are achieved through collaboration with clients, other advisors and investment managers.

Our services

We provide advisory services across all aspects of investment policy management, including:

Investment strategy (objective setting, risk budgeting, Asset Liability Modelling)
Portfolio construction
Bespoke mandate design
Manager research, selection and monitoring
Responsible investment advice and reporting
Transition co-ordination

Responsible investing

We believe that ESG-related risks and opportunities can have a material financial impact on our clients’ portfolios. The assessment of risk and risk management, including ESG risks, is a key part of our manager research and investment processes. We take a long-term approach to investing, and believe that engagement (over divestment) is critical to improving investment outcomes for our clients but also in driving meaningful real world change. We advise our clients on setting stewardship priorities and managing climate risks, and actively engage with investment managers to ensure they are being good stewards of our clients’ assets.

Read our Stewardship Report

Setting strategic objectives

Our investment philosophy and approach:

Establish a clearly defined, long-term strategic aim
Integrated approach to determine risk tolerance and time horizon
Translate strategic aims into quantitative risk and return objectives
Regularly re-appraise position and progress relative to the long-term objective

All investment policy decisions clearly link back to investment objectives.

Spending the risk budget

Consider and quantify the impact on risk and reward from liability hedging decisions
Focus on diversifying risk premia or sources of return rather than capital allocations
Focus on asset classes where there is a fundamental rationale for generating excess returns
Focus on assets which generate predictable cashflows

Implementing & monitoring

Structure mandates to be precise (i.e. to isolate the desired risk premia)
Diversify across risks and managers
Strategically focussed monitoring

Governance

Good governance structures enable timely decisions, made by individuals best placed to evaluate the available options
No single solution is optimal for all clients, so we approach governance with an open mind and enthusiasm to debate and consider the merits of different approaches