Editor's note

Amid a difficult year for investors, MPS providers, who are mandated to invest in all kinds of assets across the globe, have been providing solid returns to investors.

As at the end of September, the average balanced MPS proposition has returned almost 8 per cent this year, according to Morningstar data.

This is a solid showing, suggesting active mandates are doing well, with good fund selection helping managers deliver more for advisers and their clients.

Model portfolio provider Fundhouse, which recently finalised its takeover by Mercer, told FT Adviser the strong performance of its active range comes down to "fund selection".

In October, Rory Maguire, chief investment officer for Fundhouse, said the main contributor to performance was fund selection, "where our active fund selection allocations have done better than passive fund equivalents".

This year, US consultancy firm Mercer — a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan — bought the UK business of Fundhouse as it moved to strengthen its presence in the wealth management market. US insurance conglomerate Marsh & McLennan is an S&P 500 company with a market capitalisation of £78bn.

Fundhouse was founded in South Africa in 2007 by asset management veterans Rory Maguire and Peter Foster. In 2010, Maguire left South Africa to start Fundhouse UK, which has become a leading provider of investment services to the wealth sector in the UK and Europe.

Over the past two years, Fundhouse has performed strongly in the Financial Adviser Service Awards. This year it won its second five-star rating in a row, as voted for by thousands of financial advisers.

A testimonial on Fundhouse's website from UK IFA Hocketts says the team has "always been absolutely unconflicted and fully committed to independence, which is aligned with my principles when working with clients".

Contact Details

[email protected]
+44 (0) 173 723 3979

About Fundhouse

Fundhouse is a multi-award-winning investment firm with a differentiated business model, one that places commercial independence at its heart. Since 2007, we have pursued a simple goal: to deliver truly independent investment services that are free of commercial bias and focused on the end investor’s experience.

We provide investment consulting services to UK and European wealth managers and supports financial advisers with institutional-quality model portfolio solutions, driving better client outcomes through rigorous research, transparency, and a robust process.