Like institutional investment departments in the country’s largest corporations, we seek portfolio components that benefit the buyer – you. This means we’re continually searching and reviewing bonds, equity, cash and alternative investment options.

BONDS
Bond ownership is at our core. Bond funds are not. A properly constructed foundation of bond ownership could mitigate volatility for an entire portfolio and provide the basis for a solid, long-term investment strategy. Owning bonds has two key advantages over buying into a bond fund:

• A bond has a maturity. Bond funds don’t. Holding a bond to maturity simply produces the specified coupon and return of principal, whereas holding a bond fund over the same time period means the return of your principal depends largely upon where the interest rates are at the time of the fund redemption.

Knowing the coupon provides assurance and is a major component of the bond’s overall return. There’s no such assurance with bond funds.

Our investment team has extensive institutional knowledge of all fixed income markets, including high-yield, investment-grade corporate bonds, distressed debt, mortgage-backed securities and other structured products. We’re continually scouring the capital markets for those bonds that may lead to exceptional risk/reward opportunities. All of this means greater allocation flexibility for your account.

EQUITY
While equity investments get most of the attention, it’s widely known that boosting equity returns through active management is difficult to achieve, let alone sustain. As such, we feel it is normally more effective to achieve equity performance through a long-term asset allocation philosophy using low-cost index funds.

There are times when selecting individual stocks may provide an attractive balance between risk and reward. So, we continually watch markets for disruptions that provide attractive equity opportunities.

CASH & ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
Diversity is often the key to a successful investment plan. That’s why our investment team may recommend blending alternative options such as hedge funds, commercial real estate and private securities. With prior institutional investment experience, we have the relationships to source, analyze and purchase these types of securities.

We also provide counsel on how much cash and cash equivalents to include in a balanced portfolio. While maintaining some cash or equivalents may result in some reduced short-term returns, it could position you to potentially capitalize on opportunities in the future, which lead to greater long-term performance.