McLaren Asset Management, S.L. is a boutique financial advisory company with a truly independent and international perspective, and which places particular emphasis on handling clients’ affairs discreetly and responsibly in the context of honest and impartial advice.  The vast majority of our business is "unit-linked" investment (investment via "collectives") directed through large insurance companies, stockbrokers or banks, well-known to the internationally-minded investor/client.  Such companies offer administrative simplicity, cost-effective fund switching or dealing if required, and access from a minimum lump sum amount of 50,000 € or £50,000, or minimum monthly saving amount of 500 € or £500.

McLaren Asset Management was founded in July 2004 and within less than two years the company became one of the few international brokers in Spain at the time to have been granted an insurance broking licence by the Spanish regulator, La Dirección General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensiones.  In March 2008 the company was granted "passporting" rights to allow it to advise clients in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, so allowing McLaren Asset Management to take better direct advantage of its roots in being founded on the UK financial services system.

The advice of McLaren Asset Management to businesses and individuals alike, is truly independent.   Our aim is simple:  to take care of and manage client money as if it were our own.  We work on the principle that no single Investment House or Insurance Company is or could be an expert in every area.  The statistics bear out this approach, so when it comes to portfolio management and construction, not only are we able to spread the risk of a client’s  portfolio geographically and across the asset classes but we also believe in diversifying across the fund houses.  

Our services are more varied, more flexible and far more personal than those available from banks, insurance companies and other institutions, and are based on the highest professional standards. When advising on a client’s portfolio, we monitor the holdings and performance actively and provide a full review each quarter.   Our active and ongoing approach enables clients to feel right up to date with changing economic conditions, and us to be conversant with changes to our clients´ circumstances.

The vast majority of our advice on portfolio construction centres around the use of collective investments (unit trusts, "OEICs" (Open-Ended Investment Companies, which are capable of being marketed internationally in a way that is virtually impossible with unit trusts), and reporting "UCITS" (Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities, which can be marketed cross-border within the EU).  Because of the amount of research which we buy in and receive, occasionally we recommend individually stocks to clients whose tolerance of the additional risk involved, warrants this.  Our approach enables us to provide the client with “best of breed” managers across the invesment spectrum.  

McLaren Asset Management operates a top-down approach to recommending and advising on client portfolios.  The four stages in top-down portfolio planning are Asset Allocation;  Sector Selection;  Investment House Allocation;  Individual Stock Selection.  Asset Allocation relates to the proportion of assets allocated to UK equities, international equities, bonds, property, alternative investment strategies (hedge funds), and cash.   Sector allocation will determine how much presence should be applied to specific countries, markets, commodities, currencies, and the weighting within each sector will have regard to economic factors.   The choice of investment house will be determined by performance record and, if known, the house outlook for the sector chosen.  Individual Stock Selection will then be the responsibility of the fund manager using fundamental analysis (evaluating earnings forecasts, P/E ratios;  discounting future dividend streams; net asset values; and cash flow), and technical analysis.

We do not pretend to be experts in every field, therefore we have formed close relations with a number of legal and tax firms for specialist local and international tax and legal advice.   

In the main, McLaren Asset Management now operates on a fee-paying basis which, in line with the UK´s Retail Distribution Review ("RDR") applying ot all financial intermediaries from the end of 2012, is designed to make dealing with those providing financial advice more transparent.  In many cases, we are able to negotiate preferential dealing rates, which we pass on to our clients to make it more cost effective when arranging financial plans through McLaren Asset Management.  (Please refer to our Terms of Business for details of our fee structure.)

The core of our operation is based upon the provision of independent financial advice on an individual tailor-made basis to private clients.   Specifically our services include:

• ·          Portfolio management, with six risk categories: Nil; Cautious; Balanced; Market Risk; Adventurous; and Speculative 
• ·          Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pensions Schemes (QROPS)
• ·          Regular Savings Plans for school fee and retirement planning
• ·          Quarterly portfolio valuations and reviews
• ·          Monthly market appraisals and forecasts, circulated by fax or email
• ·          Life and critical illness cover (individual and corporate)
• ·          Trusts and Estate Planning, including Spanish and UK inheritance tax mitigation
• ·          Continuity of advice and informed opinion on personal and group financial planning from more than 17 years industry experience
• ·          Access to local and international accountancy and legal practices
• ·          Access to a UK tax service to handle any UK source income