The week featured here is 23 – 27 October 2017; a period that saw a number of important global events.
Toni Meadows, Chief Investment Officer of the Omnis Managed Portfolio Service
“My day-to-day work life is broadly split into two roles. One is to monitor and keep in close contact with the managers of the Omnis funds range, while the other is to lead the Omnis Managed Portfolio Service. This is where my team allocates money across the individual Omnis funds according to the risk preferences of the investors whose money we are responsible for.”
Monday
An early start and my first port of call is to check what has happened overnight in Asian markets given Sunday’s Japanese general election. Stock markets reacted well to president Abe’s victory, which is good news for our Omnis Asia Pacific Equity Fund. We check in with the fund manager at Baillie Gifford to see how he reacted and his views on the implications of the result.
The team gets together in the afternoon for our quarterly analyst meeting. While we meet formally every week, this is an extended discussion and our chance to talk in real depth about how we are investing in each of the Omnis funds, as well as upcoming meetings and changes to the global economic environment.
Tuesday
The morning starts with a call with Schroders, who manage the Omnis UK Equity and Omnis Global Bond funds. Of interest to us today is how the funds may be impacted by upcoming policy meetings by the world’s big central banks, one of the tasks of which is to set interest rates.
Later that day, our attentions turn to the US where we recently changed the manager of the Omnis US Equity Fund. We are in regular contact with the new manager T. Rowe Price to get an update on performance, buys and sells within the fund and investment outlook for the country.
Wednesday
Given the amount of client money we manage, it is no surprise we are often invited to various high-level conferences and events hosted by top investment strategists and economists. Today I attend Pimco’s Global Advisory Board summit with fascinating speeches from the likes of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, ex-US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, and Jean-Claude Trichet, who was president of the European Central Bank from 2003 to 2011.
From that, I rush back to the office for the Openwork Investment & Proposition Committee, another valuable safeguard for investors, where I am tasked with running through our investment choices for senior directors and non-executives.
Thursday
Much of today is spent with advisers. Having recently finished our Masterclass events, a series of roadshows meeting advisers up and down the country, I’ve scheduled some follow-up one-on-one meetings. As the Omnis Managed Portfolio Service is a relatively new proposition, it is important to outline exactly how the team works and the benefit we can bring to our investors.
In the afternoon, all eyes are on the European Central Bank, which intends to extend its bond-buying programme until at least September 2018.
Friday
After a busy week, it is good to spend some time catching up on research with notes from external economists. I also spend some time on Bloomberg screens, checking the progress of the Omnis funds and analyst notes on yesterday’s news.
As is often the case, I end the working week with plenty of questions buzzing around my head. What is the likelihood of the Bank of England raising interest rates next week? And how might UK stocks and the pound react? While I am certainly looking forward to a relaxing weekend ahead, I can’t help but ponder what surprises wait for me on Monday.
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