About Us

Most people leave their financial advisor confused about what’s happening with their money. We are just as good at explaining investments as we are at making them. We have analyzed thousands of investment portfolios over the years. Whether managed by a brokerage firm, bank, financial planner, or the investor themselves, sub-optimal decisions are often made that cost people substantial money. We have compiled a list called “10 Common Investor Mistakes”. Please click on the icon in the footer if you would like us to send you this list.

BONDS

Say you are 55 and will likely live until you are over 85. Would you like to guess how many times in history over 30 years bonds outperformed stocks? The answer is zero. If you have a permanent allocation to bonds in your portfolio, and a very long-term time horizon, your advisor is having you make a bet that has literally no chance of working. And you are paying him/her a fee for that?

Say you are 75 years old. Bonds still might not make much sense in the current environment. Yields are near 50-year lows. Carefully chosen stocks likely have the potential to provide much better returns - and a consistent source of income.

MUTUAL FUNDS

The average management fee in a mutual fund is about 1%. If you have a $5M portfolio, that's $50k a year in extra and unnecessary fees you are paying. We design portfolios for our clients using individual stocks and very inexpensive ETFs. Several brokerage firms now offer no commissions for trades. Wouldn't it be better if the cost to implement your investment strategy was virtually zero? Further, owning 20-30 mutual funds means you likely own thousands of stocks and bonds. Diversification is important, but over-diversification often results in watered-down and mediocre returns.

ANNUITIES

Simply, annuities are great for the people who sell them and the insurance companies that issue them. They are generally quite poor as investments. The contracts are often very complicated, but usually analysis reveals exorbitant fees, hefty surrender charges to exit, and poor tax treatment. People invested in annuities are trading attractive potential returns for the feeling that they will not lose money. They are basically allowing the issuer to use their money for the company's benefit while paying out a small percentage of what they actually earned on that money.

There are many other mistakes that investors and their advisors commonly make. Our approach is to assess the problem(s), offer straightforward solutions, and explain the recommendations in easy-to-understand terms so that clients are crystal clear on the strategy and why it is good for them.