Investment Process

There is no single investment that provides preservation, high current income, growth potential and liquidity all at once. Investing involves trade-offs, and its important for you to understand the trade-offs involved with your options. We use your financial plan to illustrate how certain investments and strategies can be best aligned to achieve your objectives. When tailoring an investment plan for you, we consider the following:

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Purpose of Your Investment

What is both the current & future purpose of your investment? (for example, your goal might be to create steady income during your retirement, and then to leave the remainder to others.)

Time Frame

How long until you reach your goal? How long does the money need to last after reaching your goal?

Allowable Risk

How much risk are you comfortable with? How much risk do you actually need to take to reach your goal? How much risk can your financial situation realistically bare?

Tax Consequences

What type of investments and what type of accounts are best for your specific goal? (i.e., Roth IRA, Traditional IRA, Taxable account).

Expenses

What investment options will best serve your purpose of realizing your goals while controlling costs?

Investment Experience

Do you consider yourself a knowledgeable investor? How did you feel & react during the great recession of 2009? How do you think you’ll react next time?

Flexibility / Control

How important is investment liquidity to you? Are you willing to give up flexibility for security? Note – When appropriate, we seek to construct investment portfolios that give our clients the flexibility and liquidity to adapt to changing situations and respond to unexpected circumstances, without suffering penalties for making changes. (for example, to help our clients both get predictable income and protect their assets in retirement, we construct portfolios using high-quality individual bonds, CDs, ETFs and mutual funds which all offer liquidity when necessary.

Creating a Growth Portfolio:

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE Long-term growth, tax-efficiency, low expenses, diversification
SECONDARY OBJECTIVE Flexibility, liquidity
STRATEGY Seek higher returns by focusing on controllable factors, such as expenses, portfolio rebalancing, and tax-loss harvesting.
INVESTMENTS Exchange traded funds (ETFs)
FUND FAMILIES Vanguard, iShares, Goldman Sachs
CUSTODIANS Betterment Investments

Creating an Income Portfolio:

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    PRIMARY OBJECTIVE Predictable income, asset protection, growth potential
    SECONDARY OBJECTIVE Control, flexibility, liquidity
    STRATEGY Employ a hybrid approach to fund spending needs precisely and predictably. Deliver the best of pension-like income, along with the higher return potential of a traditional portfolio.

    Step 1 – Begin by carving out and dedicating specific portfolio assets toward a low-risk strategy, which delivers consistent income over your chosen time horizon, regardless of how the markets are performing.

    Step 2 – Remainder of portfolio is invested in a broadly diversified stock growth strategy to replenish the income portion over time.
    INVESTMENTS Individual bonds, certificates of deposit (CDs) and other low-risk or guaranteed investments, along with ETFs and mutual funds
    FUND FAMILIES Dimensional, Vanguard, Fidelity, iShares
    CUSTODIANS Fidelity Investments