1 August 2026
When monitoring is enough — and when it is not
A quarterly drawdown note helps after a baseline exists. It cannot replace a full reconstruction when the book itself has changed shape.
Clients sometimes ask for “light monitoring” when what they need is a fresh map. The distinction matters for fees and for calm.
Monitoring works when
- A full risk review (ours or a comparable baseline) already exists
- The custody set is stable
- You mainly want to know whether agreed thresholds are approaching
- Someone will read a short quarterly note and act on it
Our ongoing drawdown monitoring is built for that rhythm.
Return to a full review when
- You inherit or consolidate accounts
- You change managers or add a large private sleeve
- Two years of markets have rewritten the concentrations in the book
- The old thresholds no longer match how you live with loss
In those cases a new portfolio risk & drawdown review is the clearer spend. Monitoring on a stale baseline only measures the wrong thing more regularly.
A simple test
If you cannot explain, in a few sentences, which cluster of holdings would deepen the next serious trough, start with a review. If you can, and you only need someone to watch the line with you, monitoring may be enough.