Investment Management


Asset Allocation is the cornerstone of sound portfolio management. Studies have demonstrated that almost all of investment returns over time are determined by asset allocation and a very small amount by security selection or tactical changes. Almost half of the performance variation between portfolios are determined by each portfolio’s investment policy.

Our asset allocation approach is formed by comparing past market performance with current market expectations for interest rates, growth and current valuation of asset classes to arrive at a forward-looking allocation.

Starting from a strategic position based on the past performance, volatility, and relationships between broad asset classes with our outlook, provides a starting point for us to determine the most attractive combination of broad types of investments.

Investments include:

  • Individual large cap U.S. stocks and American Depository Receipts
  • Individual investment grade fixed income securities
  • Registered mutual funds
  • Real estate investment trust
  • Exchange traded funds and notes
  • Direct investment in real estate
  • Private equity funds, hedge funds and venture capital for qualified investors.
  • Focus on firms we know and understand.

Research and due diligence resources are in place to make informed choices from the extensive number of securities and funds available.

Tax Efficient Investing

"It’s not what you make, but what you keep” is an old adage at the crux of tax efficient investing. Tax efficiency can be as simple as taking advantage of tax losses to offset realized gains, or there may be opportunities to take advantage of the tax treatment of different types of personal accounts and charitable trusts to limit income and wealth transfer taxes.

A client with a balanced objective (current income and growth of capital) may enjoy higher after-tax returns by using accounts with different tax treatment to protect short term gains and ordinary income from current taxation while taking advantage of lower long term capital gain and dividend tax rates in taxable accounts.

Few of our clients have only a single account and tax status varies by account. Integrating the tax characteristics of different asset classes between accounts with different tax treatment is an opportunity missed by many investment managers to add value in terms of after tax wealth creation or preservation.

Being able to manage different tax regimes within a combined portfolio approach is an opportunity to preserve capital from taxes and enhance wealth creation.

 

For more information or any question, please reach out to Rick Thoreson, CFA.