We are unique in our approach in three primary areas; our ongong client-centered planning, our investment process, and our services.
Client-Centered Planning:
- Most investors focus exclusively on portfolio returns, overlooking their most significant risk: TIMING RISK.
- Market volatility is unpredictable and can have significant positive or negative impact depending upon when your savings and spending occurs. See our paper "Alpha or Wealth."
- Through our Wealthcare® approach we model your priorities and goals. We stress-test your plan thousands of 'lifetimes' through all kinds of market periods to arrive at a confidence level of success.
- We monitor your plan on a quarterly basis. If major market moves or changes to your goals cause your plan to wander outside of tolerance, we'll call to discuss our recommendations to get back on track. Our suggestions are based on your priorities.
Investment Process:
Client Services:
- We strive to provide prompt and complete attention to your special needs.
- We monitor your Wealthcare® plan quarterly or as you make changes.
- We send quarterly and annual tax reports of gains and losses to you or to your CPA.
- While we encourage a long-term view, in the interest in full transparency, we offer daily portfolio updates on our website as well as ongoing market and investment commentary.
Why is TIMING so important to you in your investment plan? Timing represents the impact a sequence of market returns has on your investments over your lifetime. Consider the following example:
Meet Harry:
- He is 54 years old
- has an $800,000 portfolio,
- saves $16,000 per year,
- wants to retire at age 64 on $100,000 annually (in today's dollars).
His advisor:
- Recommends a portfolio of 60% Stocks and 40% Bonds
- Assumes he will receive an avearage return of: 8.43% per year over his lifetime
- And further assumes he will have an estate worth $3.1 Million at age 92.
However actual results can be dramatically different than those suggested by avearage return, depending upon the timing of one's saving and spending plans. Consider Harry's actual savings and spending plan over two actual periods in history.
Actual Market at 9.8% (1960-1998): Broke at 90!
Actual Market at 7.5% (1940-1978): $2.5 Mil Estate!
If Harry were fortunate enough to live from 1940-1978 he never worried about money. However, if he lived during the period 1960-1998, he likely spent his final years regretting the reality that it was too late to remedy his situation.
Through our Wealthcare® planning discipline we embrace market volatility as well as your changing goals. By continually monitoring new data and how it impacts the probability of your success we are able to make relatively small adjustments as needed, rather than larger ones later in life when you have less flexibility.
We are compensated by a quarterly fee which is determined by your relationship or account size. You may choose to have commissions covered by a wrap fee of up to 1.5%, or a fee of 1% which does not cover commission expenses charged by our custodian, Charles Schwab. A complete description of our fee structure is covered in our SEC ADV Brochure.
If you have specific questions or would like to arrange a free, no obligation consultation, please contact us.