A portfolio built for you, managed by us.
Casks and rare bottles selected, stored, insured and monitored on your behalf. You own the whisky; we take the decisions and agree the composition with you in advance.
Entry level for a managed portfolio of Scotch single malt casks and rare bottles, held in your own name.
What it is
A portfolio of casks and already bottled whisky, with a standard weighting of roughly 80% casks and 20% bottles that can change over time. You are the legal and economic owner of every cask and bottle. We handle selection, storage, insurance, cask management through maturation, valuation and, when you ask for it, the sale.
Who it is for
Investors who want the asset without the decisions: a horizon of at least five years, the means to carry a loss on part or all of the amount invested, and an understanding that alternative assets trade slowly.
Two asset types in one portfolio, each with its own horizon, its own market and its own exit.
How a managed portfolio is built
Five stages, from defining objectives to a planned exit per asset type.
Define
Objectives, horizon, risk tolerance and the performance bar recorded in your agreement.
Construct
A portfolio of casks and rare bottles, spread across distillery, vintage and maturity.
Manage
Sourcing, bonded storage, insurance at market value and cask management through maturation.
Report
Valuation at least twice a year from external, independent data, and a report on every holding.
Exit
After the five-year lock-up you choose, following a market analysis and an advisory meeting, how to sell: yourself through The SWEX, the trading platform for SWI investors, or through SWI via external channels such as Whiskybase and auctions. Future bottles can be exchanged for physical bottles, such as MO ÒR.
Managed by us, aligned with your wishes
Asset Management is designed for investors who want the asset without the decisions: we select, store, insure and report. We discuss your wishes in advance, for example the balance between casks and bottles, and take them into account in building the portfolio. Bottles are held in secured storage in Sassenheim or in a bonded warehouse in Scotland; casks rest in our own group warehouse and are checked for evaporation, leakage, strength and flavour development throughout maturation. Market value is established at least twice a year from external, independent transaction data, and that same value sets the insured amount.
What it costs, in full
One annual fee from the start, and a performance fee only on the return above the agreed bar.
| Asset Management | |
|---|---|
| The essentials | |
| Ownership | Legal and beneficial, in your nameCasks and bottles are bought and held for your account. In a bankruptcy of SWI they do not form part of the estate. |
| Term | Indefinite, minimum of five yearsA lock-up period of five years applies. During that period the selling phase cannot be started and bottles cannot be called in. |
| Reporting | Valuation and report at least twice a year |
| Selection | Composed by us, matched to your profile |
| Guarantees | Quantity and quality guarantee on whisky in caskA guaranteed number of 700 ml bottles at bottling, and the guarantee that quality scores at least 85 points on the industry scale. |
| One-off costs | |
| Entry costs | 0%For casks, all future costs are already included in the purchase price: storage, insurance, quality monitoring, bottling, excise duty and VAT, allocated over the remaining term of the cask. |
| Bottling, bottle and packaging | Carried by SWIGlass and design, packaging, labelling and the bottling itself are for our account, for the guaranteed number of bottles. |
| Ongoing costs | |
| Annual management fee | 0.85% of the purchase valueManagement and storage, charged annually from the effective date of the agreement. |
| Insurance premium | 0.25% of the market valueCharged annually on the market value established at the most recent valuation. |
| Portfolio transaction costs | 0% |
| Costs at exit | |
| At the end of the term | 2.5% of the proceeds |
| Conditional costs | |
| Performance fee | 20% above the barThe performance bar sits between 5% and 10% per year depending on the amount invested. With an 8% bar and a 12% return, the fee is charged only on the 4% surplus. |
| Taking bottles out of bond | At your own expenseVAT, excise duty, import duty, transport and transport insurance apply the moment whisky leaves the bonded warehouse. |
Future bottles cannot be called in physically. The full terms are set out in the prospectus and the key information document.
Key Information Document (pdf)
What you ultimately receive
A cask in your portfolio stands for a fixed number of future bottles. At bottling you are guaranteed that number of 70 cl bottles, even if evaporation has taken more volume than expected, at a quality that scores at least ‘good’ on the industry scale. So from the start you know what your investment in cask will ultimately yield in bottles.
Scenarios for an investment of €100,000
Four scenarios from the key information document, based on transaction data from 2018 to 2025.
| Scenario | After 1 year | After 5 years | After 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stress -4.00% growth | €96,000 -4.00% per year | €81,537 -4.00% per year | €66,483 -4.00% per year |
| Unfavourable -3.60% growth | €96,400 -3.60% per year | €83,250 -3.60% per year | €69,306 -3.60% per year |
| Moderate 6.60% growth | €106,600 6.60% per year | €137,653 6.60% per year | €189,484 6.60% per year |
| Favourable 15.30% growth | €112,690 12.69% per year | €186,071 13.22% per year | €361,459 13.71% per year |
Figures include all costs of the product itself, but not any costs you pay your own adviser, and take no account of your tax position. The stress scenario shows extreme market conditions and does not account for a portfolio that cannot be sold. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Fully informed, before anything is signed
Management spreads exposure, it does not remove the risks of the asset class.
Risk class 6 of 7
The AFM classifies this product in risk class 6 of 7.
Value can fall
Including below the amount invested. You can lose part or all of your investment, and no return is guaranteed.
Limited tradability
There is no active regulated market. It can take a long time before a buyer appears, and longer for larger portfolios.
Long horizon
Value and return depend heavily on the holding period.
A natural product
Whisky in cask loses volume to evaporation and maturation can disappoint. Our quantity and quality guarantees cover this in kind.
We advise investing only freely investable capital, with a horizon beyond ten years, and no more than 10% of that capital in whisky. This page is general information, not financial advice. Read the prospectus and the key information document before making an investment decision.
Key Information Document (pdf)Prefer a managed portfolio? Discuss its structure and costs with an adviser, or read the whitepaper first.
Continue with investment options
The other ways to hold Scotch whisky, and how the process works in practice.
Is whisky asset management right for you?
Speak with Jan-Willem Lokerman about how a managed portfolio is built, the costs and the term.
