Investments
Invest wisely. Retire well.
Our investment philosophy
100% client-focused
Many financial institutions view group retirement services as just another channel to distribute their own mutual funds. Open Access is different. We specialize in providing unbiased and conflict-free money management.
Our client-driven investment philosophy delivers competitive performance, net of fees, over multiple market cycles.
What are our guiding portfolio management principles?
01
Investment success is half as complicated, but twice as difficult, as it seems
Simple strategies lead to powerful long-term results. However, they can be tough to stick with in the short run.
02
Look at active and passive investment strategies
Many people prioritize one over the other – we recommend a healthy mix of both active and passive investment strategies to keep your financial goals on track.
03
Strong risk-adjusted performance is key
High returns in the short-run can be completely undone by volatility. Compounding wealth requires managing both returns and risk.
04
Diversified portfolios beat market timing
Investing and betting are two different strategies. The odds favour the house.
05
Member alignment
High returns in the short-run can be completely undone by volatility. Compounding wealth requires managing both returns and risk.

Dynamic asset allocation
Most money managers focus on stock picking, but the secret to investing well is determining how best to allocate savings across a diversified mix of growth and income strategies.
Companies offering diversified portfolios often adopt a ‘buy and hold’, or, in other words, a ‘set it and forget it’ approach. Open Access approaches investments differently. Our investment team actively rebalance the asset mix of every account.
Members know that throughout market cycles, they have a professional team managing their nest egg. The result is true outperformance – performance that accounts for returns as well as strong downside protection.
Active fund selection
Active fund managers or low-cost index funds – which is best? The answer is subjective and largely based on marketing tactics. Companies take a stand either way in order to support their own products.
Open Access has no in-house products to sell which enables us to provide unbiased wealth management advice to our members. Our investment philosophy is simple. Our portfolios incorporate the strategies that best align with our members’ financial goals. By blending active and passive funds together, plan participants get the best of both approaches.
The Open Access investment team works on our members’ behalf to scan the marketplace of investment strategies and select those poised for sustainable performance.
This investment process entails reviewing four key criteria:

Intellectual Capital
The experience, workload and temperament of the fund management team

Opportunity
The soundness of the investment process and philosophy implemented by the fund management team

Execution
Reviewing historical performance and fund positioning consistency relative to the investment process and experience of the team

Alignment
Assessing fees, compensation and firm culture to achieve congruence with our client’s goals


Doing Well by doing Good
All fund managers on the Open Access Investment platform are signatories of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment.
As a result, our clients not only benefit from strong performance, they are also assured that their investments are aligned with promoting best practices in global Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) matters.
Latest Insights
Market Update & Outlook – July 2023
We highly recommend watching the video that our Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager, Murray McLean, has prepared. The video contains valuable insights on market trends that you don’t want to miss out on.