Investment Management

Decades of collective academic inquiry by financial economists has yielded several tenets for prudent investors:

Markets are largely efficient - Whatever the markets know, they know it almost immediately and they price it just as quickly. Those who try to beat the markets face extremely difficult odds for success.

Risk matters - Over the long-term, investors can expect to be compensated for holding riskier investments. But the risk is very real, and should be managed accordingly within your portfolio.

Costs are critical - Controlling your investment costs is among the most effective strategies for improving your portfolio's total return. After all, you can't ultimately spend what you don't get to keep.

Our strategy is to focus on these investment factors we can expect to control, and help you ignore the ones that will lead you astray.

We custom-build your portfolio to capture expected long-term market returns, according to your circumstances and with an eye toward minimizing costs, designed by applying:

Asset allocation - Distinct market asset classes expose you to different levels of expected risk and reward over time. For example, stocks have exhibited more risk and higher return than bonds; small company stocks and lower-priced, "value" stocks have higher expected risk and return than large company and higher-priced "growth" stocks. By tilting your portfolio toward or away from particular asset classes, we manage for long-term, expected returns.

Diversification - By diversifying your investments globally and across a variety of asset classes, we eliminate the avoidable risk of holding too few individual positions (too many eggs in one basket), and position you to capture broad market returns in accordance with your goals.

Passive investing - Passive investors adhere to the principles of asset allocation and global diversification, avoid attempts to pick stocks or time the market, and seek cost-effective solutions. We apply passive investing to your overall portfolio construction, using fund providers who apply passive investing to their fund management.

If nothing ever changed, we could build your custom portfolio according to sound investment theory and your own goals and risk tolerances ... and then our work would be finished. But of course the world keeps spinning, as do the markets and your own personal circumstances. So we:

Keep in touch with you - We meet with you regularly to determine when life changes may warrant modifications to your portfolio.

Rebalance your portfolio - As the markets move over time, the allocations within your portfolio shift, until your portfolio is no longer balanced as planned. Mindful of trade costs, we periodically rebalance your portfolio to its original allocations, so it continues to reflect your stated goals and risk tolerances.

Seek enhancements - We remain ever vigilant for improved ways to apply our consistent approach. For example, we remain abreast on academic research that builds on our understanding of market efficiency. If a fund manager offers a new or improved solution that is in your best interests, we will consider using it. If Federal legislation changes the financial landscape, we'll oversee your continued care. We remain engaged and informed in market activities, so we can help you stay the course as a long-term, globally diversified investor.