Nothing good comes from a bank’s research team warning of a looming “Black Swan” in global markets. But Ambit Global Private Client’s in-house research arm did just that in an April 2020 report with those two dreaded words in the title.
Thinking so apocalyptically as the pandemic hit worked out well for the clients of Ambit wealth management, under chief executive Amrita Farmahan, in the 12 months that followed. Ambit was among the few, and the first, to predict a bear market. Equally importantly, though, it was right about when to get back in the game.
Ambit’s business revenues grew 120% in fiscal year 2021. Assets under management grew to $3.7 billion as Ambit completed seven major transactions.
That performance owes much to Farmahan’s team of 22 private bankers, each with an average 15 years of experience in managing client assets. They oversee the fortunes of 22 billionaires along with more than 1,500 high net worth families.
But the real core of the operation is a research team that tells it like it is. If that means a Black Swan event, then so be it. The key, Farmahan says, is providing institutional and actionable macro inputs to help build the asset allocation strategy. Ambit’s team has been active in addressing changes in the global economic landscape, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy as well as the markets.
Ambit’s priority is providing custom research for HNW clients. Over the last 18 months of Covid disruptions, the firm’s research unit churned out a steady diet of prescient reports. The titles included: “The Pendulum Shifts to Fear, What to Do Now”; “The Consequences of Easy Money”; “Bull vs Bear”; “Riding the Volatility”; and “An Ode to Irrationality”.
Its “Trendonomics” outlook reports are client favourites and garner considerable press coverage. Among the recent topics explored: developments with Covid-19 and vaccines; opportunities in real estate; fixed income risks; corporate governance trends; geopolitics; philanthropy and impact investing; and passion investments.
Thanks to this quality research across macro and all asset classes, Ambit was able to prep clients for a deep fall in the market, and have them positioned properly for the bounce back, cementing its position as an investment research team that understands the pulse of the market.