Understanding your attitude to risk

We know it’s not all plain sailing

Ranking portfolios by risk

Risk should be intuitive and easy to understand.

We like to use sailing as an analogy in explaining risk. Just as the force of the wind determines how fast and smoothly a journey progresses, the level of risk in a portfolio influences its potential returns and volatility.

On a general basis, we manage investment risk through methods like diversification – you can read more about that here. But we also allow you to customise the amount of risk you want to take.

Risk levels tailored to you

Our portfolios are rated from Fundforce 3 to Fundforce 7, mirroring the Beaufort Scale of wind force: lower-rated portfolios are steadier and more conservative, while higher-rated ones have greater growth potential but also higher levels of short-term turbulence.

This ensures risk and reward are meaningfully connected, so clients are fairly compensated for every additional step up in risk they take.

The diagram shown on the right (or below if you’re on a mobile device) is a simple visualisation of a husband and wife’s attitude to risk, drawn from the results of psychometric profiling. While simple, visuals like this offer a strong starting point in ensuring investments are managed in a way that works for everyone.

But risk is not just about how much uncertainty a client is comfortable with — it’s also about financial resilience. That’s why we also conduct extensive cash flow modelling to assess their ability to absorb investment losses.

This ensures that each client is invested in a portfolio that aligns not only with their comfort level but also with their financial capacity to withstand market fluctuations, helping them stay confidently on course toward their long-term financial goals.

Psychometric profiling: Case study

Diagram showing risk profiling for a couple

Read more about:

How our portfolios are constructedOur investment strategy

What you said

“

I would like to say thank you for all the good professional work that you are doing in streamlining the complex, self-managed portfolios of my wife and myself, now that we have retired.

For the past many years I have tried, with no particular financial expertise to manage our savings, PEPs, ISAs and equity investments. Inevitably they became many-tailed and time consuming. They probably also became too many slow growing eggs in too many baskets.

Good fortune led us to Montgomery Charles and we are much satisfied with the professional guidance and good efforts of your whole team. Now, we are able to devote much more of our time to the enjoyable activities of our retirement. Many thanks!

A & B, Surrey
“

We wish to endorse the worth and quality of service we have enjoyed with Montgomery Charles, financial consultants. They have handled our financial portfolio with professional ease and competence.

Operating my own orthodontic practice, I placed it on the market, in order to retire. Four years later and suffering from incompetent agents, no sale was in sight.

The turning point was my attendance at a retirement conference in London, where Mike Marigold had an information point. I was immediately pointed in the direction of a decent agent and in 2010 successfully sold the practice.

In conjunction with my accountant, Mike Marigold ensured my finances were safely invested and each year, a financial review keeps me up to date on progress made.

The staff at Montgomery Charles have courteously navigated the finances for my retirement lifestyle and I am deeply grateful for their help and support.

I am prepared to be contacted to validate my recommendation.

B V, Liverpool

You can take comfort in the knowledge that whilst you run your business, we will look after your financial future.

Jurassic Coast, Dorset