e believe that:
- Financial decisions are best made after long-term goals have been established and the advisor fully understands those things their clients value most in life. The benefit of a thorough and structured financial advice process is that clients gain understanding, confidence and peace of mind, knowing that their decisions support their values and goals.
- Financial decisions are related to one another and should not be made as isolated events, particularly in reaction to the latest popular media pronouncement. A system of regular update meetings with an advisor is essential to making sure that new strategies and approaches are evaluated with an understanding of their overall impact on the client's situation.
- Successful planning requires consistent actions toward the realization of goals (such as systematic investing) as well as avoiding emotional reactions to whatever is going on around us. Our value as advisors includes encouraging clients to focus on strategic decisions which have the most pronounced effect on long-term, real-life results, while helping them avoid the pitfalls of reactive decisions, such as trying to predict or time the markets which has historically led to underperformance.
- Modern Portfolio Theory is the appropriate basis for constructing investment portfolios. Our process is designed to help clients understand the relationship between investment returns and volatility, and select the approach that is most appropriate for their individual situation. We design broadly diversified investment portfolios, adding low-correlated asset classes as appropriate. Then we choose from a broad range of investment managers and programs, as appropriate for each client's goals, objectives and risk level.
- Portfolios should be monitored on a consistent basis. From time to time, market conditions may cause various asset classes to fluctuate from their original allocation. Re-balancing may be required to re-align the portfolio with its stated objective.
- Financial advice involves much more than simply recommending investments. Our process, which follows the approach developed by the CFP Board of Standards, includes advising our clients in areas such as retirement and tax planning, risk and liability management, and legacy or estate planning.
