Hi, folks. Can you please help me with this question?
An asset management firm has defined an annual goal to the fee received by the portfolio manager who take risk in behalf of a client’s account. The incentive fee varies directly with the level of risk assumed. As long as the portfolio manager allocates in more riskier assets, the more “risk fee” will be received. This fee is deducted from the return of the investment, and will be directioned to the asset management firm’s annual revenue.
There’s a unique/legal question here, this account has a minimum guaranteed return by legal issues and the asset management firm says it has adopted this fee as an insurance premium for the guaranteed minimum return.
Is there any conflict of interest regarding the fee annual goal and the portfolio manager assuming more and more risk on the client’s account? Is correct for the asset management firm to adopt an annual goal to this kind of fee received? Doesn’t this compromisses the portfolio manager independence and objective?