Investment Management | Strategic Financial Services

Strategic portfolios

EVIDENCE-BASED INVESTING

We believe in investment management that is driven by science not speculation. All too often investors succumb to emotion, making decisions that damage portfolio performance over time. Our investment process is built on a foundation of evidence we call our “Guiding Principles.” These principles keep the focus on what is most important to our clients: long-term wealth creation.

Our Guiding Principles

Academic and industry research identify that certain investment management techniques provide an advantage to client portfolios over time. We use this data-driven evidence to form our Guiding Principles which govern our investment management process.

Science Not Speculation

Investment professionals often resort to practices which generate excitement but are not in the best interest of their clients. Active stock-picking, hedge funds, fad-chasing, and market timing all make for good talking points but are not proven to benefit portfolio returns. Every piece of our process is backed by evidence, with a goal of enhancing your long-term performance.

The Right Questions

Investing is emotional. Large market swings drive fear, excitement, joy and sadness all of which lead to common behavioral mistakes. Questions indicating an investor is headed down the wrong track include:

Is it time to exit the market? (market timing is a proven losing strategy)
What stocks do you think will double? (this is gambling, not investing)
Should I invest in the latest fad? (fads, like cryptocurrencies, are not investments)
Are we due for a recession? (the unknowable future should not impact your decisions)
Should I be investing in alternatives? (high fees eat away at long-term performance)

Evidence-based investors know that when you follow the facts, the only important questions are:

Is my financial plan on track?
Is my asset allocation aligned with my risk profile?
Are the Guiding Principles being followed?

The Lifetime Partnership

For 40 years, Strategic Financial Services has fostered lifetime partnerships with our clients. A focus on the long-term enables our clients to rise above the emotion and noise of the market, giving them the best chance to achieve their best life.