COUTTS WINS INDUSTRY AWARD FOR MULTI MANAGER INVESTMENT APPROACH FOR THIRD YEAR RUNNING

4th March 2005

Private bank Coutts & Co was last night awarded ‘Best Use of Long-Only Multi-Manager Structures’ at the Private Asset Management Awards 2005, for the third year in a row. The coveted awards are the only awards dedicated to asset management companies within the high net worth (£1m+) sector.

Coutts is one of the UK's pioneers of the use of the multi-manager approach, having launched this service in early 1999. Since launch, assets in the Coutts multi-manager programmes have grown to almost $12bn globally.

"This is a fantastic accolade for Coutts," said Perry Littleboy, Marketing Director, Coutts & Co. "We have spent many years building up our investment expertise, tailoring our service to meet the needs of our clients and, are delighted that our approach has once again been recognised. Investment solutions for the high net worth market are all about innovation and risk management and our multi-manager approach is a great reflection of this combination."

James Anderson, Chairman of Tru-Est, the organisers of the PAM Awards added, "Coutts has made this award its own in recent years, which stems from the fact that Coutts uses multi-manager long only structures as an integral part of the portfolio management process rather than as a default to provide exposure to a relatively marginal region or industrial sector.

"Since Coutts first adopted the Manager of Manager process, more managers have entered this universe and now use this approach to manage client money. However, as Coutts have once again shown, the pioneer still appears to have the advantage."

Coutts has developed an approach to investment management that supports individual client needs by offering a carefully selected mix of equities, bonds, gilts, alternatives and cash, in a risk reducing and potentially tax-efficient structure. This is achieved via the range of specially developed Coutts Investment Programmes that provide access to a wide selection of investment asset classes, regional sectors and major currencies. As Coutts believes that no single manager can have expertise in all of these areas, a number of world-leading managers, who have the potential to maximise returns over the long term, are selected and blended together.

The aim of the Coutts multi-manager approach is to outperform the relevant market benchmarks with less risk. Investment teams select and rigorously monitor each manager to ensure that performance and risk guidelines are maintained. Coutts does not aim to compete in the retail unit trust universe, but aims to consistently achieve top quartile performance for our clients with less risk.

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For further media information contact:

Claire Symonds, PR Manager, Coutts & Co, 020 7957 2650, 07970 001149 or claire.symonds@coutts.com

Calls may be recorded

Notes to Editors

Coutts & Co

  • Coutts is the international private banking arm of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is one of the world's largest banking groups.

  • Coutts manages the wealth of 90,000 high net worth clients worldwide through a network of 50 offices globally.

  • The first Coutts regional office to be opened was Eton in 1961. The most recent new opening was Liverpool, late last year. Today, Coutts has regional offices in Bath, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Eton, Guildford, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Tunbridge Wells & Winchester.

  • Coutts offers clients a range of products and services covering sophisticated investment products together with expertise in trust and fiduciary services and UK tax and banking services.

  • Coutts & Co is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Registered in England No. 36695. Registered office: 440 Strand, London, WC2R 0QS

  • Calls may be recorded

The PAM Awards

  • The annual PAM Awards were launched in 1999 and are viewed as the private wealth management industry’s most sought after and prestigious awards.

  • The Awards are judged, based on rigorous quantitative and qualitative data gathered on the UK’s leading wealth managers.

  • The Awards Judging Panel includes principals from the following organisations: Allenbridge Group plc; Asset Risk Consultants Ltd; Deloitte & Touche Wealth Management Ltd; EFG Reads Trust Company; Jewson Associates Ltd; KPMG LLP; Maslinski & Co Ltd; Mourant Private Wealth; Peritus Investment Consultancy; PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP; Rothschild Trust Corporation Ltd; Tru-Est Ltd; and Walbrook Group.