Growing A Secure Future ~ Together

Investment Management

Investment Philosophy

The investment management philosophy that we adhere to centers on prudent, disciplined, common sense investing. We do not believe that value can be added to investments on a consistent basis over the long term by employing market timing. Consequently, we generally employ and adhere to a buy and hold strategy with respect to all investments. With that stated, changes in economic and market conditions, changes in client cash flow needs, changes in client risk tolerance and periodic rebalancing to desired allocations may require changes from time to time.

Investment Types

There are inherent risks in equity investments. However, equity investments as a group have historically provided a rate of return in excess of fixed income investments.  Therefore, a suitable and properly diversified allocation of equity investments is an appropriate investment.  The portion of the portfolio not invested in equities will be invested in individual fixed income securities, certificates of deposit and or money market instruments to help balance out the risks associated with equities.

Equities

It is understood that investments in individual securities results in substantial risks. Consequently, investments in individual securities occur on a limited basis or when specifically requested and directed or approved by the client. To adhere to the basic rule of diversification, core investments will primarily be accomplished via no-load mutual funds. After completing a Risk Profile Assessment, we and the client will determine what is a suitable portion of the total portfolio for equity mutual fund exposure. Further, a portion of the equity allocation will be invested in international equity mutual funds for greater diversification. 

Predominately, we use Dimensional Fund Advisor (DFA) mutual funds for our equity fund investing.

Non-Equity Investments

We recommend the non-equity investment portion of the investment portfolio be invested in carefully selected no-load bond mutual funds, fixed income securities, certificates of deposits, and/or money market instruments. The liquidity needs will dictate the exact mix of the non-equity portion of the portfolio. We are of the opinion that long-term maturities of fixed income securities may present undue risk. That is, that the current income generated from longer-term securities may not justify the inherent risk of loss of principal. Therefore, the maturities for these types of investments will generally be short to mid-term. However, in certain situations, longer-term securities may be recommended and utilized to meet a specific goal and are discussed in detail with our clients.

We perform the necessary due diligence and take the necessary precautions so that the fixed income investments don't have undue risks in accordance with our client's risk profile. For example, only investment grade corporate securities will be purchased. We will obtain specific approval from our client when considering purchases of non rated fixed income securities or fixed income securities with longer-term maturities.

FDIC insured certificates of deposits are utilized from time to time but will be limited to $250,000 in any one financial institution. Money market instruments will be utilized as well to accommodate liquidity needs.

Account Statements and Reports 

Most of our client accounts are established through Charles Schwab & Company. Schwab sends monthly account statements directly to each account holder. In addition, internally we prepare and distribute a quarterly summary report with market commentary.