We believe in eliminating as much of the inherent conflict of interest in this business as possible.
To us, that means we do not believe in a lot of things that are commonplace in the investment world such as:
- Proprietary products
- Revenue sharing or kickbacks
- Commission-based advice
- Churning accounts for trading fees
- Account inactivity fees
The above are just a few of the things that we believe are not in our customer’s best interest.
We do believe a fee-based account is better for the proactive investor. It eliminates the inherent conflict of interest that comes with a commission-based account and allows us to be completely objective when making buy and sell decisions as well as avoiding the “investment du jour”. The fiduciary model also allows us to put your interest’s first, which is how it should be.
We think that today’s markets require a more proactive approach to investment management. With the global flow of information the markets seem to be somewhat similar to the produce market; some things are “in season” and some things are “out of season”. Identifying what areas of the market are in-season and therefore have relative strength is the cornerstone to our investment approach. Over weighting these areas while under weighting or avoiding weak or out-of-season areas can increase investment returns without taking undue risk.
We believe that there are times to play offense and times to play defense in the markets and knowing which team to have on the field can make an enormous difference in helping you reach your investment goals. When our indicators suggest we should be playing offense or trying to grow wealth, we will invest your portfolio accordingly. Conversely, when our indicators imply we should be playing defense or trying to preserve wealth, we become much more cautious and protective with your hard-earned money. Following our indicators allows us to make investment decisions based upon careful analysis, not emotion. Making an emotional decision is virtually always the wrong decision in investing.
We feel it is always better to lose opportunity than to lose money and try to invest accordingly. That being said, we also realize that it is your money, not ours, and you are the one that has to sleep at night. Loss of sleep is often a good indicator that we may be taking too much risk for you personally. We therefore want and encourage good communication so that we can tailor your investment portfolio to you individual needs.