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ABOUT SIG

STOLBERG Investment Governance AG ("SIG") takes on asset management mandates on a discretionary basis and, in exceptional cases, advisory mandates for professional investors only.

Funds are diversified across

(a) major asset classes such as equities, bonds and hedge funds and

(b) external investment managers of outstanding quality who are mostly unknown to the general public.

I will take single positions in certain stocks and bonds if all the stars align but deliberately invest the bulk of clients’ assets across individuals who promise outstanding results independent of each other. The latter can be referred to as „Investment Governance“. The term describes the systematic outsourcing to and monitoring of external managers in order to achieve superior results and to be sufficiently (but no more!) diversified at all times. You may call SIG a family office but I prefer the expression „investment office“. This is because I focus on making good investments and not much else. I am perfectly happy to leave related services to providers who are better at it and may work for the client already.

The firm was founded in 2007. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, fully owned by myself and hence independent from outside interests such as banks, asset managers, other financial institutions or clients. My only source of revenue is what clients pay me – directly and knowingly. I employ no salespeople and have no urge to do so in the future. I avoid distractions of any kind and work in a quiet and investment-centric atmosphere with minimal administrative workload. The company has a license from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA as an asset manager and is further supervised by OSFIN Organisation de surveillance financière.

There are three main challenges:

1
Outstanding investors are rare and typically found way off the beaten track of mainstream asset management. I believe it takes a little bit of experience to identify them.
2
Having excellent managers doesn’t render timely allocation decisions, conviction and patience obsolete. Leaning against the wind and avoiding lemming-like behavior is as difficult on a governance level as it is on the individual manager level.
3
Staying rational and disciplined in the face of adverse market action can be difficult indeed. Clients must have made a conscious decision to relinquish control and feel comfortable with all investment decisions being made by someone else within a prespecified and fully transparent framework.

Prospective clients usually find me by recommendation. I need to be in direct contact with my clients and ask for your understanding if I refuse to communicate through intermediaries. I do not pay anybody for recommendations – and I most certainly never will.

Georg Stolberg