Building Resilient Wealth in a Fragmented Global Market

We live in a world of constant change, but we want our wealth to keep track – and grow

In global financial markets, the environment that characterised the past decade - low interest rates, abundant liquidity, and broadly synchronised growth, has given way to a period marked by inflation volatility, geopolitical fragmentation, and accelerating technological change.

For investors, the central challenge is no longer simply identifying sources of return; it is understanding how portfolios behave under stress, and how capital can be positioned for long-term opportunity. Portfolio resilience is a core objective of wealth management, but so is return. At Freedom, we believe active management is the best way to protect and grow capital.

That means we take a “North Pole” approach to investing, we look down at the world as if from the North Pole, seeking the best risk-adjusted opportunities, and collect those returns in the world’s most important and valuable currency, the US dollar.

Investing is one of the few skills where we get better as we get older: we remember cycles; and with the benefit of hindsight, we remember the “reasons why”, that at the time seemed so unlikely. So, at Freedom we source our investment committees with experienced financial professionals from some of the largest investment firms and Sovereign Wealth Funds, with lived experience and professional networks from different financial centres.

For a boutique private wealth firm we have an unusual global investment reach, with our own investment professionals based in Freedom offices in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and speak several times a week with our investment partners in North America. We also make a point of visiting the key economies and investment centres on a regular basis, building our network of primary research and investment insight.

LOOKING BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Our search to build portfolios from first principles and best ideas allows us to side-step traditional portfolio construction models that were built for a different market backdrop.

Those static allocations and historical correlation assumptions have proven unreliable during recent periods of stress, when assets that appeared diversified on paper moved sharply together as liquidity tightened and risk sentiment shifted – a good example of this unexpected correlation was in 2022 when both Equity and Bond prices declined simultaneously when faced with war in Ukraine and rampant inflation

These kinds of risks have always existed, but as geopolitical tensions rise, fiscal pressures increase, monetary policy becomes constrained, and liquidity dries up. The media’s thirst for dramatic headlines and the consequent capital flows all conspire to create a lot of short-term noise in markets.

This is when our experience of financial market history, our on the ground understanding of geopolitics and our vision of technological progress allows us to chart a path where we separate the “wood from the trees” and position portfolios for long-term success.

Freedom for example, has historically been comfortable with an overweight to Emerging markets, departing from the belief that these markets were solely higher risk, or even “uninvestable”. Many so called “Emerging markets” are in fact as sophisticated as developed countries, and with the right manager have delivered superior performance.

Looking at the chart above, in our portfolio we have allocated to a niche value and dividend strategy since 2018, CIM Dividend Income Fund, an Asia Dividend Income strategy that was launched in 2001, which delivered 15.2% annualised return for the last 5 years versus a benchmark of 4.2%, including a yearly dividend over 6%. This performance beats the S&P500 ETF which averaged 14.8% over the same period (see above chart).

Another practical example of this approach was Freedom’s decision to add exposure to gold in August 2025. While gold has historically acted as a defensive asset, the allocation was informed in part by the growing relevance of the US dollar debasement narrative and as some of the Central Banks with a less than happy relationship with the US, decided to stockpile gold instead of owning US Treasuries.

NOT ALL YOUR EGGS IN THE SAME BASKET

The only “free lunch” in investment is also one of the fundamentals rules, diversification. In building portfolios, the investment committees or advisers are encouraged to diversify and find new ideas off the beaten track and outside of the usual sources of alpha and beta.

Freedom always seeks diversification and new ideas, for example, long before our competitors, we added an allocation to the global defence sector in 2024.

OPPORTUNITIES LOOKING TOWARD 2026: AI AND ROBOTICS

Freedom is a strong believer that technological innovation remains a key driver of long-term growth. Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are reshaping productivity, supply chains, and competitive dynamics across industries.

In 2024, Freedom partnered with a seasoned technology investor and his team at 10,000 days Capital to launch a specific strategy: the US Technology VIP Fund, investing at the leading edge of technology. Cody Willard the founder and advisor has been an investor in the technology space for the last 20 years and has a proven track record of investing in big tech names before they become mega caps. During his career, he also had access to the founders of some of those companies which gives him a unique insight in the business models that will truly revolutionise their industry.

Whilst this thematic offers significant opportunity, Freedom approaches them with discipline. This means a deep understanding of technology that will drive the future and understanding the companies that are based placed to harness that technology.

RECOGNITION AS VALIDATION OF PROCESS

Industry recognition serves as validation of disciplined investment processes. The Pan Finance Award received by Freedom Asset Management reflects our consistent emphasis on performance, risk management, transparency, and repeatable execution – together with high levels of client service. Every week, we share our insights with our investors, so our investors never miss a beat.

Freedom is only good if it is shared.

ABOUT FREEDOM ASSET MANAGEMENT

Freedom is an independent asset manager providing investment solutions to private investors, family office and institutions established since 2014. Based in Guernsey, UAE and Hong Kong, it oversees $1.1bn of asset.

Contacts: investors@freedomasset.com

https://freedomasset.com