How We Think
As your partner. As your advocate.
Our entire thought process is cultivated with you and your client at the axis – and we do not take that responsibility lightly. That means saving pennies and always going the extra mile.
Fountainhead
Asset Management
Ponder With Us For A Moment...
In 1990 there were less than $1 trillion in mutual fund assets, ETFs did not yet exist and passive investing was represented by a grand total of 15 index funds with $3 billion in total assets. Tech was still in its infancy: Quants did not rule Wall Street, there was no “Fintech” and the most powerful computer in the world, the Cray-2 supercomputer, was less powerful than an iPhone 6.
Fast forward to today’s investing landscape: There is $20 trillion invested in over 10,000 mutual funds and ETFs. Broader access to institutional and increasingly complex financial strategies – both good and bad – has become a fixture in the investing marketplace. Information accessibility has experienced a paradigm shift, with once unimaginable levels of computing power available at one’s fingertips.
In short, the world has become fast paced, complex and saturated with information. Marketing of investment products is big business, with exotic new themes and performance stats engineered to thrill. A 24/7 news cycle, significantly warped by social media, further intensifies the emotions associated with following the market.
It is a time for specialists. A time which requires an experienced team with the ability to navigate the convoluted market environment, to look deep under the hood beyond the glossy marketing and filter between what is “noise” and what is knowledge.
Dotting I’s and crossing T’s – meaning fighting for every client’s penny, diversifying among strategies and managers and actively understanding the biases our models may hold. Recognizing there is no sure thing. Understanding we need to stay away from what we do not understand.
Never relying on a brand to authenticate a strategy or a manager. We continuously read, learn, analyze and question – everything. These are just some of the disciplines we hold dear as we navigate the realities of uncertain markets in doing our best for you and your client.
The vast majority of client wealth we manage is earmarked for retirement and next generation, typically decades away. We therefore align our thought leadership (and investments) to focus on that journey.
Expected changes in global demographics, the effect of artificial intelligence on future jobs, and continued US dominance on the global stage are just some of the topics we deeply explore, applying our findings to our investment approach and sharing thoughtful commentaries with our client base.
Over the last couple of decades, financial technology has grown exponentially. It has not grown in a straight line, meaning that upstarts consistently innovate to disrupt a service and provide something meaningfully better.
We are not a technology company. We are technologically-aware and technology-enabled. That means we are positioned to take advantage of these disruptions by switching products used on our technology stack in better servicing you and your end client. Our goal is to provide a CIO service that takes advantage of technology – not vice versa.
We have the luxury of being independent, allowing us to leverage the vast, mature asset management industry that has been built up over decades. And we are not shy.
In our position as CIO, we also have the luxury of observing many approaches to efficiently guide and support one’s client. We share our findings and our process freely. Your success equates to our success and vice versa.