Record Financial Group (Record) is a British multi-asset

investment management Investment management (sometimes referred to more generally as financial asset management) is the professional asset management of various Security (finance), securities, including shareholdings, Bond (finance), bonds, and other assets, such as r ...

company that specializes in a range of products including currency, derivatives and hedging solutions. It was a pioneer of

currency overlay Currency overlay is a financial trading strategy or method conducted by specialist firms who manage the currency exposures of large clients, typically institutions such as pension funds, endowments and corporate entities. Typically the institution w ...

for

pension funds A pension fund, also known as a superannuation fund in some countries, is any program, fund, or scheme which provides retirement income. The U.S. Government's Social Security Trust Fund, which oversees $2.57 trillion in assets, is the world' ...

, endowments and other institutional investors. The company is one of the largest independent currency managers in the world with an AUM of US$101.3 billion as at 29 February 2024.

Background

Neil Record, a former

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

economist, worked as a commodity price forecaster for

Mars, Incorporated Mars, Incorporated (doing business as Mars Inc.) is an American multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products and a provider of animal care services founded on June 23, 1911, headquartered in McLean, Virgini ...

and during his time there, developed a process for controlling currency risk and exploiting currency market inefficiency. In 1983, he left Mars to found his own company, Record Treasury Management (later renamed Record Currency Management in 2001). The company would offer currency management services to international clients. Neil Record served as the company's CEO and chairman until he stepped down in 2010 and 2023 for both roles respectively. In April 1985, Record was awarded the first institutional currency overlay investment mandate by UK Water Authorities’ Superannuation Fund. In 1994, Record did a survey on the importance of currency management by asking about 50 US pension funds. 40% of respondents regarded the currency component of their investments as unimportant in the long term. 62% of respondents stated they would require over 15% of assets in international investments before they would consider implementing a currency overlay program. In November 2007, Record held its

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

to become a listed company and raised $183 million. In the mid-2000s, currency overlay was a popular strategy as foreign investors in US equities hedged against a weakening USD. However between 2008 and 2009. Record lost almost half its

assets under management In finance, assets under management (AUM), sometimes called fund under management, refers to the total market value of all financial assets that a financial institution—such as a mutual fund, venture capital firm, or depository institutio ...

due to the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

that resulted in interest rate compression and risk averse investors unwinding their currency carry trades which Record relied on. Before the

, 50% of clients were using return-seeking strategies while afterwards only 10% continued to do so. During 2011, Record continued to see profits fall and also lose several clients. In April 2012, Record shut down it flagship fund, Currency Pooled Cash Plus fund which was actively managed. From 2007 to 2010, it lost an average of 22.95% a year. Record changed its business strategy to focus on passive currency hedging. In June 2012, the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

at Record, took a 10% pay cut due to continued decline in financial performance. This was higher than its peers. However, there were some positive developments for Record. During this time there was a growing trend for US pension and mutual funds to increase foreign investments which lead to the need to hedge these exposures which would benefit Record. In addition its main competitors were banks which suffered from reputational damage due to the

, which encouraged clients to employ different currency managers to mitigate risk. Eventually performance picked again. In 2022, as Neil Record planned to retire from his duties at Record, the company underwent a change in structure as part of the succession plan. The company was rebranded to Record Financial Group as it changed its strategy to have a more diversified product offering. Under Record's new group structure, apart from its currency management services, it also offered

asset management Asset management is a systematic approach to the governance and realization of all value for which a group or entity is responsible. It may apply both to tangible assets (physical objects such as complex process or manufacturing plants, infrastr ...

services as well as

fintech Financial technology (abbreviated as fintech) refers to the application of innovative technologies to products and services in the financial industry. This broad term encompasses a wide array of technological advancements in financial services, ...

investing. Record provides currency and derivative management services to clients internationally. In 2023, 66% of its assets under management were from clients in

continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...

while 21% were from clients in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

References

External links

* {{authority control 2007 initial public offerings British companies established in 1983 Companies based in Berkshire Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange Financial services companies established in 1983 Investment companies of the United Kingdom Asset management companies