OUR INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PROCESS
Our investment management process starts by gathering information and gaining a thorough understanding of your current situation and future objectives.
We then create a Strategic Asset Allocation that is specific to your return requirements, risk tolerance, time horizon and liquidity needs.
Ongoing portfolio management consists of continuous portfolio evaluation, tactical changes when required, rebalancing and tax loss harvesting. Through open communication and quarterly reviews, we address any life event changes that will have an impact on, and would require any changes in, your liquidity needs and investment strategy.
Asset allocation does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.
Tactical allocation may involve more frequent buying and selling of assets and will tend to generate higher transaction cost. Investors should consider the tax consequences of moving positions more frequently.
Our investment philosophy –
Our investment portfolios are based on time-tested, academically supported strategies. The central tenets of our investment philosophy are:
i. An Investment Portfolio is Client Specific
An investment portfolio should be designed to target specific financial objectives that are aligned with an investor’s objectives, risk tolerance, time frame and liquidity needs.
ii. Focus On Things that You Can Control
No one can forecast where the markets are going with any certainty. However, by diversifying, reducing expenses, and minimizing taxes, an investor could increase the probability of achieving success.
iii. Asset Allocation is the Most Critical Factor for Generating Long Term Returns
A well-allocated portfolio should include three broad asset classes: equities for appreciation; bonds for income and stability; and cash equivalents to protect capital.
iv. Global Diversification
A well-diversified portfolio – by asset class and within each asset class, in geography, market capitalization and style – should reduce risk and volatility, and provide for multiple return opportunities.
v. Capital Markets Have Rewarded
Long Term Investors – Stay Disciplined
By adhering to an Investment Plan and maintaining discipline throughout all market cycles, long term investors have historically been rewarded for the risk that they have taken. It is important to “turn off” the daily noise from the press and TV commentators.
No strategy assures success or protects against loss. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. There is no guarantee that a diversified portfolio will enhance overall returns or outperform a non-diversified portfolio. Diversification does not protect against market risk.
Evaluate
We gather information and analyze your existing investment accounts and positions. At the same time, we discuss your financial needs and goals, the investments items that are of greatest importance to you, and your willingness to endure short and long term market fluctuations.
During this stage, we are assessing and evaluating your current investment strategy and portfolio, to determine if it is, or not, consistent with your goals, objectives and risk tolerance.
Construct
Portfolios are designed to capture as much of the market returns, maximize after-tax returns and minimize risk in line with your risk tolerance level. These are the themes of a strategic Investment Plan:
Asset Allocation
The most critical factor influencing future investment success is the proper allocation of a portfolio among broadly-defined asset classes. Within each broad asset class, it is prudent to diversify across styles, geographic regions, and market capitalization. The first step in constructing our client's portfolios is matching your investment goals and capital market expectations to determine a customized Asset Allocation.
Asset allocation and diversification do not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.
Equity Tilt
You invest to build wealth and keep pace with the rising cost of living. Our portfolios are designed to have an equity bias because time has shown that investors who maintained discipline have been rewarded for holding more equities than bonds.
Asset allocation and diversification do not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.
Stock (equity) investing involves risk including loss of principal.
Global Diversification
The US Stock Markets account for approximately half of the global market capitalization, with the other half of the market capitalization attributed to the rest of the world. Our portfolios are broadly diversified across all major geographic regions, including countries in the Developed and Emerging Markets. History has shown us that investing in the international markets has produced diversified return opportunities and reduction in overall volatility when added to an allocation with US Stocks. Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.
Tax Efficiency
Maximizing after-tax return is our primary focus when managing your portfolio – specifically, investing in tax efficient vehicles. When applicable, we also direct tax inefficient asset classes to tax-deferred accounts and tax efficient assets to taxable accounts, otherwise known as Asset Location.
Cost Control
Minimizing your cost in investing is one of the few things an investor can control. In our portfolios, every decision we make takes into consideration the impact of fees and expenses.
Monitor
The last step in the portfolio management process is to track everything that has an effect on your portfolio. As time passes, we focus on three themes:
- i. Changes in your wealth, lifestyle, and investment constraints
- ii. Current market conditions
- iii. Changes in asset values that alter your Strategic Asset allocation
Rebalancing
Rebalancing is the investment strategy that involves both selling the asset class that has appreciated and buying the asset class that has depreciated to bring the asset mix back to intended allocation. We always consider transaction costs, such as taxes, when deciding to sell a particular position in your portfolio. The technology we use enhances our ability to analyze the rebalancing strategy and the effect it has on your portfolio.
Tax-Loss Harvesting
To maximize after-tax returns, Tax-Loss Harvesting is an investment technique that we use to realize losses to offset any realized gains or investment income in a particular year.
Performance Review
We review portfolio performance by account and asset class with our clients to make sure we are on track to meet your return goals. We measure performance on a total return basis, which takes into consideration both investment income and capital gains. We benchmark our portfolios to major equity and fixed income indices.