Beating Inflation

Our primary investment goal is to achieve a rate of return equal to or above inflation so when you retire your money has the same buying power as today. Based on this goal, our investing process employs the following principles:

• Embrace market pricing
• Don’t try to outguess the market
• Don’t chase past performance
• Let markets work for you
• Understand what drives returns
• Practice smart diversification
• Don’t try to time the market
• Avoid reactive investing

Our investing strategies are designed to stay the course, except when circumstances indicate a change in portfolio is needed. We avoid reacting to short-term ups and downs of the market while helping you stay focused on your long-term goals.

Financial Planning Process

Making smart investments for your retirement starts with knowing where you are in life and where you want to go. Yet, we find that many individual investors don’t take the time to get clear about these key elements, which can lead to misguided decisions and inappropriate investment instruments for your particular needs.

To help you make the right investment decisions, we offer a six-step financial planning process:

1. Establish and define our relationship with you. This takes place in the initial meeting described above. The most important part is getting to know each other and making sure we understand your goals.
2. Gather your data. Here we get into the details of your current financial status. How much do you earn? How much can you afford to set aside for investment?
3. Analyze and evaluate your status. At this step, we explain the need for a certain amount of risk in any investment portfolio, and determine your level of risk tolerance, or investing “comfort zone.” Your tolerance level, along with other factors, will determine the type of investment products we recommend.
4. Develop and present recommendations. Once we understand where you are and where you want to go, we recommend investment options to help achieve your retirement goals.
5. Implement recommendations. When we are in agreement on the investment tools and strategies, we move your funds into the investment products that best support your plan.
6. Monitor performance. We pay close attention to the performance of your investment vis-à-vis your goals and make adjustments when necessary.

Investment Portfolio Management Process

If you already have clear retirement goals and objectives, we offer a four-step process for assembling the right investment portfolio for your needs.

1. Identify investment goals. Since you have already completed this step, our role is to review and analyze it, identify strengths and weaknesses, and make recommendations for improvement.
2. Determine asset allocation to suit your objectives and constraints. Here we identify the investment products that align with your strategy and time frame. For example, planning to retire in five or 10 years would require different strategies and products than if you still had 30 to 40 years of work ahead of you.
3. Portfolio construction. This involves putting together a balanced portfolio that minimizes risk while optimizing returns.
4. Monitor and adjust portfolio to reflect long-term objectives. Life changes, and so can your retirement goals. We continually track the performance of your portfolio to ensure it remains in alignment with your goals. If not, we make adjustments as necessary.