We help you by acting as a buffer between your emotions and your investment behavior. We have seen how greed, hype, fear, despair and pride slip right past the governors of the rational mind and result in investment decisions that range from bizarre to self-destructive. The great thing about having a financial advisor is that you don't have that direct emotional connection with your portfolio. A financial advisor looks at the situation objectively. They remind you of the investment policy statement you came up with together and why those policies needn't change because of some extraneous factor(s).

We spend time developing an Investment Policy Statement, taking into consideration your risk profile, time horizon, life cycle, etc. It's important that you understand how your investments should be allocated, the different types of investments available to you, and the appropriate expectations for those investments. We think it makes sense to spend a few minutes in the "parking lot" devising your itinerary and reviewing your "investment road map," then carelessly darting into different investments and ending up with a "hap hazard" portfolio. We find that when clients take the time with us to develop this blueprint, when the market heads south, they are able to stay focused on their plan, knowing that they have already considered all the obstacles that could impact them and can stay true to their course.

We also carefully review each of your current investments in detail and let you know our opinion of whether you should sell something (and if so, if there would be any consequences to doing so, such as tax gains or surrender charges) or keep it. We want you to understand exactly why we are making our recommendations. Remember, since we receive no third party fees (such as commissions) we have no reason to recommend that you sell (or buy) anything that we don't think is in your best interest. At the end of this meeting, clients are given a list of action items and discussion notes. Our second meeting is scheduled for 4-6 weeks later.

In our second meeting, we review our accomplishments thus far, and answer any questions that you might have from our first meeting. Then we begin to recommend specific investment strategies for your goals. We take into consideration the new money that you will be adding to your investments through your retirement plan at work, or your IRA and how this money will be integrated into your current investment plan. We review your asset allocation with you and make recommendations as to "what you should hold where." For example, we may recommend that you take advantage of using a good Small Cap Value fund offered in your 401(k) and as a result, not put that particular asset class in your Brokerage account. We start with the "big picture" and slowly make our way to each individual investment and where it fits into your plan. For those clients who are on retainer, we will continue to watch the managers of the funds we recommend and make changes as you and we feel necessary. We will also make sure that your allocations remain consistent with your plan.