HBS is an independent multi-family office with offices in Geneva and Dubai, supporting wealthy families with wealth management and family office services. We sat down with Andrea Laurent, Chief Investment Officer, to discuss why transparency is so central to their investment process, how his team uses Performance Watcher in day-to-day decisions, and why objective measurement is essential for managing performance and risk.
Could you tell me a bit about your company and your role?
HBS is a family office with 22 years of history. Our head office is in Geneva and we have another office in Dubai. We provide wealth management and family office services. I have been Chief Investment Officer for six years.
What influenced your decision to use Performance Watcher?
We value transparency when it comes to measuring our performance and our risks relative to our peers, in order to be transparent both with ourselves and with our clients.
Could you share specific examples of how Performance Watcher has improved your daily operations or decision-making?
Yes. We realised that we tended to be a bit too defensive. In terms of risk‑adjusted returns, we were well positioned compared with the market, but in terms of pure return – which is what clients mainly look at – we were perhaps a bit too defensive, given that historically, markets have tended to rise roughly 80% of the time.
What is your favourite feature of Performance Watcher? What do you like most about using the platform?
I like to look at the evolution of returns, the evolution of risk and the risk‑return profile. I also really like the scatter plots, which show the distribution of clients’ risk‑return profiles. And we make extensive use of the API to load data and create customised reports for our own needs.
Would you recommend Performance Watcher? Why or why not?
Absolutely, yes. I believe it is important to know where you stand in terms of performance and risk, because if you do not measure, you do not manage.
How would you describe Performance Watcher? What words or ideas come to mind when you think about it and its place in your professional activity?
It is an objective and reliable source of data on the returns and risks of our portfolios, updated on a daily basis, which allows us to see exactly where we stand in relation to the competition.
