DISCOVER WHAT REALLY MATTERS

  • Until we take the time to discover more about the unique situation each of our potential clients is currently in, we cannot determine what the best plan will be to help them to achieve their goals.  Until we listen, we ultimately don’t know if they need help:
    • ENHANCING WEALTH to achieve a specific future goal
    • PROTECTING WEALTH they have already achieved or inherited
    • PLANNING FOR RETIREMENT to be confident they can have the retirement they have dreamed of
    • TRANSFERRING WEALTH to their children or grandchildren
    • DONATING WEALTH to deserving causes and charities

 

WRITE IT DOWN

  • For your long term success, we develop and agree upon a written investment plan for you. This is not a long, fancy document in a binder. It is a practical roadmap. The investment plan provides long-term discipline and focus to reduce the emotions of decision-making.

 

REVIEW PROGRESS REGULARLY

  • Retirement planning is not a set-it and forget-it exercise. It is dynamic and may change if there are changes in your circumstances.  We will encourage regular meetings to track your progress toward your goals. Our ongoing monitoring helps you stay on track with your plan.

 

CONTROL THE CONTROLLABLE 

  • CONTROL DIVERSIFICATION
    As no one knows exactly which stock, country or asset class will outperform in any given time period, we recommend a broadly diversified global stock portfolio. Diversification is a key aspect to our investment philosophy and implementation.  This type of portfolio will provide you with the best expected investment experience.
  • CONTROL RISK
    We create each client’s portfolio based on their ABILITY to take risk, their WILLINGNESS to take risk and their NEED to take risk.  By assessing these, we take only those risks appropriate for their unique situation.
  • CONTROL COSTS
    We construct our clients’ portfolios utilizing very low cost investments, as most investors don’t realize the hidden costs of their investments.  We don’t invest in anything with front or back end loads or sales commissions.
  • CONTROL TAXES
    We focus on limiting or reducing your taxes through our investment strategy and the placement of certain investments in retirement or taxable accounts.  We also believe that the proper use of tax managed mutual funds can maximize your total investment return – which is really what counts.

 

DON’T DWELL ON THE UNCONTROLLABLE

  • We cannot control the movements of the stock market.  It is extremely difficult to reliably and consistently, over a long period of time, accurately forecast the stock market’s direction, the movement of a specific stock or predict the short term movement of interest rates.  We accept the reality that we do not have a perfect crystal ball. We think this is rational and logical.

 

BE FOCUSED ON THE LONG TERM

  • We focus on the long term achievement of your goals, not on what will happen in the next day, week or month.  To build wealth, you must look beyond the concerns of today (as every “today” has its set of problems and issues) and invest for the long term.

 

BE DISCIPLINED

  • To have a positive long term investment experience, we work with you to provide the discipline that is needed to invest properly, both in up and down markets. We assist you in having the needed discipline through discussions and education throughout our relationship.

 

PROTECT WHAT YOU HAVE

  • We believe safety and return of principal are the key factors in fixed income investing.
  • We do not take excessive risk in fixed income.  Risk is commensurate with reward. We feel risk should be taken in stocks, not in fixed income. Higher yielding fixed income investments subject you to risks that are usually not worth the reward.
  • We generally recommend individual fixed income investments, like CDs, very highly rated government and corporate bonds, not bond mutual funds.
  • We adhere to this strategy because when interest rates rise, the value of bond mutual funds decline. The greater the rise in interest rates, the more significant the loss of the bond fund value. With individual fixed income securities, this risk is eliminated when a security is held to maturity.

“The Science of Investing” Featuring Larry Swedroe, Director of Research for the BAM Alliance

 
 
No investment strategy or risk management technique can guarantee returns or eliminate risk in any market environment. All investments include a risk of loss that clients should be prepared to bear. The information presented is general in nature and should not be considered to be investment, legal, tax, accounting, or any other professional advice.