Charities, universities and other not-for-profit institutions have valued the personalised service and high quality investment solutions that we have delivered for nearly forty years. We understand the complex matters that charities and institutions face. That is why we would work in partnership with you, to ensure that your investments are aligned with your organisation’s objectives and aims.
Charities, universities and other not-for-profit institutions have valued the personalised service and high quality investment solutions that we have delivered for nearly forty years. We understand the complex matters that charities and institutions face. That is why we would work in partnership with you, to ensure that your investments are aligned with your organisation’s objectives and aims.
Available products and minimum investment by fund type.
£10k
Minimum investment
£2m
Minimum investment
Our philosophy:
Global. Active. Direct. Flexible.
Our investment philosophy has always been based on an actively managed, direct and high conviction investment approach, with a global investment universe providing our clients with the widest possible set of investment opportunities and access to companies/sectors not well represented in the UK.
We construct portfolios of 30-40 stocks and are disciplined in our stock selection. Our unwillingness to compromise on our investment criteria drives our portfolios to be benchmark agnostic but aware.
This active approach helps us to avoid areas at risk of capital loss, with the aim of better protecting capital in periods of drawdown and capturing the upside as markets rebound, thereby compounding superior risk-adjusted returns (in real terms) with the performance of our Global Recommended Portfolio ahead of both the MSCI All Country World Index (MSCI ACWI) and our ARC Equity Risk peer group over the cycle.
Outline of W1M’s Asset Allocation Process:
Asset Allocation at W1M is driven by an Asset Allocation Committee, chaired by our CIO, William Dinning, along with three of our most senior investment professionals. The Committee meets every six weeks, with a broader Forum being held in advance of the meeting for all investment professionals, and recommend the house position on asset allocation for our client portfolios. Conclusions from the Asset Allocation Committee feed in to recommendations across all investment strategies that we run, guiding specific short term tactical asset class weights.
Short term assessment of asset classes is based on a multitude of factors, incorporating, but not limited to, our views on inflation, bond and cash yields, the prospects for earnings (EPS) and our assessment of the economic cycle. These complement our longer-term views on the likely returns from asset classes over time, as built into our mandate guidance.
Unless the client has specific requirements to the contrary, asset allocation decisions are implemented as follows within our Charity portfolios:
– Fixed Income: we would make use of our in-house bond funds alongside an allocation to direct government bonds; our actively managed bond funds provide income with a low correlation to equities, whilst we currently invest in a long- dated UK Treasury (Gilt) which helps to mitigate equity market volatility.
– Equities: direct stocks selected by our analysts on a global basis; equities provide long-term inflation protection and income.
– Alternatives: specialist in-house and/or third-party funds to diversify returns, income and risk.
We believe a portfolio manager needs as much control over the moving parts in a portfolio as possible. Selecting individual securities and buying them directly allows more control over any “style bias” in your portfolio, enhancing the opportunity to target yield, manage any ethical or other restrictions and importantly to manage your withdrawals.
We recognise that the plurality of risk depends on the perspective of the individual client and their own interpretation. Our view of risk incorporates volatility and other statistics but is best described as a permanent real loss of capital. This differentiates W1M from other investment houses, since we rely on our assessment of capital loss and do not operate hard limits on any one specific risk measure. W1M seeks to understand whether there is permanence to a sharp move in market price by understanding the changes in the future revenue streams of the assets we own. Therefore, we will not necessarily sell risk assets in volatile periods. This is a deliberate feature in order to avoid crystallising losses at times of maximum uncertainty. The Global Financial Crisis is a good example of this approach working successfully for our clients and the long-term value of their portfolios.
Risk of permanent capital loss
We aim to prevent the risk of permanent capital loss at portfolio level by:
– Applying appropriate diversification
– Investing in well-capitalised companies which have an enduring franchise and predictable cash flows
– Managing the time horizon and liquidity requirements of the portfolio
These criteria are observed in conjunction with quantitative portfolio risk measures generated by our systems. The data informs portfolio managers and is an integral part of the independent review process.
Risk systems and measures
The primary risk analysis technology we utilise is the FactSet Multi-Asset Class system supported by proprietary software. These systems may provide risk statistics on both an ex-post and ex-ante basis. The quantitative measures used in the investment process are listed as follows:
– Volatility (standard deviation)
– Value at Risk (VaR)
– Tracking Error and Active Share
– Sharpe and Information Ratios
– Maximum Drawdown
– Correlations (asset class, sub-asset class, intra sector, stock-to-stock)
– Concentration Risk and Beta
– Liquidity (Time to liquidate)
Charity Growth Composite* Performance
As at 30 September 2025, Net of fees
1 Year: 11.3%;
3 Years: 44.2%;
5 Years: 57.8%
10 Years: 147.0%
2024: 12.1%
2023: 14.5%
2022: -7.6%
2021: 15.7%
Volatility (short-term volatility is unrepresentative, so we have only included longer-dated data):
3 Years: 8.4%
5 Years: 9.5%
10 Years: 9.2%
*These composite figures are based on the performance of W1M's charity portfolios in all currencies which follow a W1M Growth approach. There were 73 such portfolios with a combined market value of £835m as at 30 September 2025. The composite is updated on a quarterly basis to include any new W1M charitable portfolios which fit this criteria. W1M figures are calculated on a total return basis, net of fees. Composite returns are calculated by asset-weighting the individual portfolio returns using beginning-of-period values. For non-base currency portfolios the market value is converted to base using the FX rate at the beginning of the period and weighted accordingly.
Risk Warning: We would ordinarily provide a graph to accompany this data.
There are 13 members of staff in the Charities Team: 6 charity portfolio managers, 1 assistant portfolio manager, 2 marketing/sales professionals, 1 RFP co-ordinator and 3 assistants.
W1M has been managing charity portfolios for nearly forty years, and has had a dedicated charity team in place for over 10 years. The team works with clients from a variety of different sectors including education establishments, health organisations, conservation organisations and grant-giving foundations. We offer both segregated and pooled approaches to charities depending on their needs and requirements.
We are well-versed at incorporating ethical exclusions. Over a third (34%) of the portfolios we look after on behalf of charities have an ethical restriction policy. Our preference for direct investment lends itself well to the application of an ethical screen and we use MSCI to ensure that our investment ideas will adhere to any restrictions. We also incorporate Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) factors into our investment decisions, which has long formed part of the detailed evaluation process behind security selection in direct equity, credit, third party funds and alternative assets at Waverton. We aim to invest in companies that can sustainably create wealth for shareholders, focussing on those who are leaders in their sector and operate to best practice standards. In an ever-changing world where resources are scarce and we are increasingly aware of the impact of human activity on the environment, assessing the ESG data of a company is a critical part of the assessment process.
For a £7m portfolio, the blended fee would be 0.66%.
This blended fee is based on the following tiered fee rate.
For the first £1m: 1.00%
£1m - £10m: 0.60%
£10m - £25m: 0.45%
£25m - £100m: 0.35%
We have based the below charges on a £7m mandate respectively. In the event that we are entrusted with a different amount, we may adjust the fee rate proposed above to a level which is more appropriate for the sum we are asked to manage.
Estimated Total Expense Ratio
Under MiFID II, W1M is required to disclose costs and charges related to the financial instruments and investment services provided by W1M. The following numbers on are the average costs and charges that W1M expects that you will incur based on the information provided to date. It has been calculated based on an example illustrative portfolio for a growth mandate, as at 30.09.25, and, where possible, on actually incurred costs and charges. Where these actual costs are not available, W1M has made reasonable estimations on a best effort basis. Charges may vary year to year.
Year 1 Total Cost*
Service Cost W1M Management Fee £43,312.00 // 0.62%
Service Cost W1M FX Charge: £5,209.79 // 0.07%
Service Cost W1M Custody Charge: £2,100.00 // 0.03%
Product Cost (Non-Collective Investments: £1,858.28 // 0.03%
Product Cost (Collective Investments): £6,864.20 // 0.10%
Total Aggregated Costs: £59,344.27 // 0.85%
VAT @20% on W1MManagement Fee only: £8,662.40 // 0.12%
Total Costs and Charges including VAT @20%: £68,006.67 // 0.97%
Total Cost* in subsequent years
Service Cost W1M Management Fee £43,312.00 // 0.62%
Service Cost W1MFX Charge: £944.53 // 0.01%
Service Cost W1M Custody Charge: £2,100.00 // 0.03%
Product Cost (Non-Collective Investments: £386.72 // 0.01%
Product Cost (Collective Investments): £6,864.20 // 0.10%
Total Aggregated Costs: £53,607.46 // 0.77%
VAT @20% on W1M Management Fee only: £8,662.40 // 0.12%
Total Costs and Charges including VAT @20%: £62,269.86 // 0.89%
*Excludes performance, cash additions or redemptions. The ‘Service Cost W1M Management Fee’ in the above table is charged on 94% of the total AUM owing to the W1M funds being excluded from this fee. The table above assumes the portfolio started with a cash investment of £7m. We have applied a 18.13% turnover, which has been calculated by weighting all the individual asset classes with W1M’s model turnover rate according to the chosen mandate. The total expense percentage is rounded to the nearest two decimal places.
Total Service Costs:
This relates to all costs and charges paid directly to W1M, which includes our management fee and foreign exchange transaction costs equating to 0.1% of all transactions settled in a non-base currency.
There would be no extra charge for custody, provided custody is with our preferred custodian banks.
Any investment in W1M managed funds is excluded for management fee purposes. W1M’s fee is calculated on a percentage of the value of the portfolio. As the value of the portfolio increases, so will the absolute value of the fee levied.
Total Product Costs:
This relates to all costs and charges paid to product suppliers at the beginning, during the course of or end of an investment. They can include one off product charges, management fees, entry & exit charges, and performance fees for example. W1M bears all third party broker research costs on our own P&L and will therefore only pass on to clients the cost of broker execution for direct equity trades.
Risk warning: The above costs are for illustrative purposes only. These details are based on our understanding of your requirements based on the level of information provided. They may be amended as our understanding develops further and actual costs and charges may differ from those presented above. In line with MiFID II regulations, if you become a client of W1M, you will receive a more detailed and updated costs and charges report (ex-ante) at take-on and a personalised annual report (ex-post) detailing the actual costs and charges incurred for that period with respect to the investment service provided by W1M. The figures reported in the ex-post report may differ from the estimates set out in this document and the updated ex-ante report at take-on stage.
Custody is provided as part of the service, and there is no additional agreement or cost. W1M has chosen SEI as a strategic partner to use its wealth management and operational technology platform. SEI were selected due to its expertise and willingness to support our future business growth and service requirements. SEI have a 15+ year track record of delivering services to the UK wealth management industry and a strong reputation for investment in technology and service delivery. Since April 2023, SEI has provide custody services through several leading global providers such as HSBC Securities Services, AllFunds and CoFunds. SEI is authorised and regulated by the FCA and as such complies with FCA CASS rules for the protection of client assets and money. It is standard market practice for client assets of the custodian to be pooled through multiple accounts of their sub-custodians but are fully segregated from the custodian’s own assets.
Send a direct enquiry to W1M (previously called Waverton). We pass it on through Charity Intelligence so we can follow up and make sure you got a useful response.
