Step 1
The first step of our process is to learn in-depth about your near-term and long-term goals and aspirations. This means we strive to understand your current financial situation as well as your longer-term objectives. A vital component of understanding your situation is gaining a clear understanding of both your ability as well as your desire to take on risk.
Step 2
Next, we prepare a financial plan. Planning involves reviewing and understanding the key areas of your financial situation, namely: taxes, estate issues, retirement cash needs, and insurance coverage requirements. We look at each specific planning area and identify risks and/or exposures that could prevent you from achieving your dreams. We then propose specific solutions that will allow you to reduce your unique risks. The culmination of the planning process is the creation of an investment policy which lays out the high-level strategy that will be used to manage your unique portfolio of investments.
Step 3
Having developed your unique Investment Policy (IP), your personal strategy will gradually evolve over time as your needs and situation change. However, a client’s strategy does not automatically shift in the face of market advances or declines. Instead, the investment policy is only modified as your needs or circumstances change. We believe that determining the appropriate asset allocation is a vital component in successfully achieving an individual’s goals.
Step 4
Finally, our last step is the continual and ongoing review of your investments. We never stop looking for new investments that are relevant to your existing portfolio. In making these tactical decisions, we assess national and global macroeconomic conditions as well as analyzing both the relative and absolute pricing of different asset types along with evaluating individual and specific securities. We then take action based on both a top-down and bottom-up assessment to determine the most appropriate securities to hold, acquire or sell on your behalf.