PROCESS
IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PRODUCT !
PROCESS
IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PRODUCT !
Every tool in my shop has a purpose. Hammers drive nails, wrenches tighten bolts, saws cut wood or steel. Each of us has our own purpose too. We all seek to discover what our God-given purpose, what our skills are, what we are supposed to do.
The same is true with investment tools: each has it own purpose, it’s own area where it is uniquely designed to be the perfect fit. It is critically important to have a “Repeatable Process” for evaluating and selecting investments tools for you. Over our 50 YEAR history, we have honed an investment selection process that fits the requirements of our select clientele.
First, we must determine the PROCESS of selecting any investment vehicle.
1. Evaluation of your goals: You must decide what sort of financial life you intend to build. This is were you dream, you envision, you create. There are no limits at this level. Just ideas, goals, direction.
2. Evaluation of your risk tolerance: It is important to honestly know yourself. All things are possible, but not all things are prudent!
3. Evaluation of the potential investment vehicles that fit your style. Are your goals long term or short? Do you want to manage the investments, or do you need someone else to do that?
4. Evaluation of inherent costs for each investment type: There can be significant internal cost differences between types of investments. Choosing those that provide a reasonable value for the cost you pay is key to your long term success.
5. Selection of diversified investments, sectors, styles. This is where your well diversified portfolio begins to take shape. Be sure to coordinate your various accounts to build a solid, well diversified overall portfolio.
6. Evaluation of each individual investment possibility in this narrowed group. Answer the question “Is this the right investment at this particular point in time”. We use many third-party evaluation tools to review both the quality and timeliness of each possible investment.
7. Evaluate current market action as it pertains to your specific investment choice: Answer the question “Is TODAY the day to invest in this particular investment? Should I wait a little while? Should I wait a long time?!!” There are times when good investments are still out of favor in the market and should be avoided for some period of time.
8. Select those investments that fit within your goals, that appear to match your guidelines, and form a diversified group of assets.
9. Periodically and Routinely re-evaluate each position: Does it still match your goals? Is it still doing what we want and expect? Are there external reasons that this position may experience excessive volatility? This may be the most important step. There will be change in the future. Your challenge is deciding which changes you can live with, which you wish to avoid.
It is only AFTER we use this evaluation process to choose investments that “fit” you that we select from these potential investment types:
Here is a partial list tools we might use:
Individual Stocks
Exchanged Traded Funds
Individual Bonds
Mutual Funds
Structured Products
Third-Party managers
Alternatives, Hedges, and other non-correlated asset classes
Fixed or Variable Annuities
Past performance of any investment is not indicative of future investment returns or results. You should read and understand all prospectuses for any mutual funds prior to placing your investments. No guarantees are either expressed or implied.
WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO HAVE AN IN-DEPTH CONVERSATION WITH YOU ABOUT YOUR OWN “INVESTMENT PROCESS”.
JUST CALL US AND ASK FOR IT !