We want to maintain our lifestyle and live with dignity and independence. We don’t want to worry about the day-to-day movements of the stock market.
We invest in equities, equity funds and electronically traded funds (ETFs) in the US, developed countries and emerging markets. Equity investing provides you and your loved ones many benefits:
ETFs, and individual equities increase the number of choices above even this large number of mutual funds available in the world. Source data accurate as of January, 2020. See further World Exchanges and Statista.
Investing in the USA and internationally.
We choose a diverse array of some of the best companies in the U.S. and the world. We may recommend you invest in U.S., foreign, or multinational companies through equities, mutual funds, and exchange traded funds (ETFs). Our internal and external research teams perform quantitative research, qualitative research, and then an onsite visit with fund managers before making recommendations to clients.
One reason for investing overseas is the potential for increased diversification. By diversifying, we intend to increase the investment returns relative to the risks we take. International equities and U.S. equities may move differently; they have a lower correlation than between different U.S. equities. This tilts the odds toward achieving our intentions.
Investors all over the world prefer to invest in their own home markets. If we do not invest in overseas equities, then we miss two important benefits. First, overseas investments allow us to participate in the growth of the global economy. Second, international equities are a powerful diversifier, allowing us the opportunity to potentially reduce volatility without sacrificing potential growth.
We may choose to invest directly in equities without mutual funds or ETFs. We believe the right way to invest is to diversify by style, as discussed further here. When we choose equities, we want to complement our other investment strategies.
Some investors have personal attachment to a particular equity. Perhaps this was a company where they worked for many years. Perhaps it was their father’s or mother’s company. Perhaps it is a company where they have experienced great financial success and thus, they feel a natural affinity. We can work with an investor to mitigate the risks for an overall portfolio, in this situation.
Some investors have large capital gains in a single, or several, equities and we sometimes build portfolios around these positions. For more information, see Single Stock Diversification. We want our clients to be secure as well as financially successful.
As Helen approached her 90s, she knew her money would outlast her life on earth. Her oldest grandchildren were having children. Her youngest grandchildren were approaching college age. Helen wanted to provide them a college education, and she didn’t mind saving taxes either. But she wanted to do something fair to help all the different generations, and also give a little more to those who needed a little more. We:
Discussed fairness, and what it means to Helen, and helped her feel confident in her decision
Set up education accounts and trusts
Funded them in a manner that helped Helen save on taxes
Kept things simple and elegant
Managed the assets prudently
Helen recently passed away. She is remembered by her family for her elegance, prudence and generosity. Her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are all a little better off, financially and otherwise, because of her good decisions.
Uncle James passed away a few years after becoming our client. Because James never had children, he left the assets in trust for his three nieces. While the children grew up, we managed the investments and their father kept their inheritance a secret. When they were college-bound, James’ nieces received a pleasant surprise—college was free, thanks to Uncle James! We:
Set up and help James fund the trusts, making it easy for James
Managed the investments prudently with Uncle James’ goals in mind, making it easy for the trustee
Managed and reduced tax costs
The accounts continued to grow, even after paying for college. James’ oldest niece was able to pay for a wedding and make a down payment on her first home. Uncle James’ generosity will be forever remembered by this family.
Balance the risk and reward between investments to achieve your real-life financial goals.
If you have a large amount of your net worth in the equity of a single company, learn how to reduce your risk, reduce your taxes, protect and grow your wealth.
Learn how we build an investment portfolio around your large equity position and help you diversify—not double-down (or worse) your risk.
Learn about how we manage incentive stock options and nonqualified stock options to help you grow and protect your wealth, reduce your taxes, and achieve your personal goals.
Learn how our team makes recommendations for the portfolio we call “Foundation Income.”
Learn how we carefully select some alternative investments to provide income and growth for some clients.
Learn how we perform investment performance analysis and provide our clients access to this information, on demand, with great technology.
Learn how we solve the complex problem of providing retirement income and reducing income taxes.
For some clients, an annuity may provide a safe and prudent retirement income. We have independent, expert annuity agents with a huge array of providers to choose from.
Learn how we provide retirement plan advice for our clients 401k accounts, and for employers who want to provide advice to their employees.
An initial conversation with one of our experts is always free of charge.
Our wealth management approach may be different from experiences you have had with other advisors.
Contact UsWe offer a broad array of events that broaden our knowledge and experiences.
View All EventsRead this Periscope to learn what today’s politics might mean for our investments and also to get the short, (and long if you like), version of our investment and economic commentary.
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