Consulting

Fiduciaries have the legal responsibility to make investment decisions on behalf of beneficiaries. Investment governance frameworks are designed to assist fiduciaries – many of whom are not investment experts – to make rigorous and defensible investment decisions according to a repeatable, documented process. DWC assists fiduciaries to establish, document, and operate investment governance frameworks with the objective of supporting them in fulfilling their duties.

DWC services include:

• Governance framework development;
• Investment policy statement (IPS) development;
• Investment governance reviews;
• Risk management process development;
• Benchmarking against best practice; and
• Frameworks for addressing the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) aspects of investing.

Fiduciaries, together with the executives that act on their behalf, are tasked with designing and implementing investment portfolios to assist beneficiaries to achieve their goals. Such a process involves properly framing investment objectives before identifying a plan design and/ or investment strategy capable of achieving them.

DWC services include:

• Plan design;
• Investment strategy; and
• Asset class research.

Investing is, at its core, an exercise in decision-making under uncertainty. DWC’s modelling and analytic capabilities allow investors to understand the potential of a plan design or investment strategy, and how it might assist in the achievement of the fiduciaries’ investment objectives within the associated risk parameters.

DWC services include:

• Modelling plan performance;
• Risk modelling, including stress and scenario testing; and
• Application of parametric and non-parametric methods to financial problems.

Increasingly, investment organisations are acknowledging the importance of first-class investment governance and are seeking to demonstrate their adherence to objective standards of fiduciary excellence.

The Centre for Fiduciary Excellence – or CEFEX – is an independent global assessment and certification organisation that certifies organisations to fi360’s Global Fiduciary Standards of Excellence for Investment Stewards, Investment Advisors, and Investment Managers. CEFEX analysts can assist organisations to prepare for CEFEX certification, conduct Readiness Reviews and Assessments (known as “Level 2 consulting”), and conduct formal, independent Certification Assessments (where no conflicts of interest exist).

Drs Drew and Walk are two of only a few AIFA^® designees in the Asia-Pacific region, and are the only CEFEX analysts in Australia. See the CEFEX website for further information.

One of DWC’s existing clients – Capital Partners, of Western Australia – was the first Australian firm to receive CEFEX certification.

DWC was founded on a unique combination of advanced training, peer-reviewed research, and broad, current industry experience. This makes DWC ideally situated to provide and support expert witness testimony.

DWC services include:

• Expert testimony and reports;
• Lost profits and damages analysis; and
• Economic analysis.