How We Invest
We recognize the immense trust you place in our team when we work together, and we want to help ensure that each investment we select and recommendation we make fits your long-term needs. We build and manage an array of portfolio options and will work with you to determine the structure that suits your circumstances. Our investment options include:
- Investment portfolio series, which allow you to pursue your goals with investments that fit your risk tolerance and timelines.
- Specialty funds, which address your specific goals, such as income generation or socially responsible investing, with tailored model portfolios.
- Custom portfolios, which offer you full personalization and access to investments beyond stocks and bonds.
As we construct your portfolio and bring your financial plan to life, you can expect the following four actions to build the foundation of our disciplined support.
1. Determine Your Total Risk Tolerance
Your wealth management should be a source of confidence and inspiration — not worry and concern. However, if you own investments that do not align with your true risk tolerance, you may struggle to feel comfortable, especially during inevitable market fluctuations. We spend considerable time determining what risk levels are right for you before we begin to build your portfolio.
During this process, we will use a scoring test to quantitatively determine your risk tolerance. Since we believe your comfort levels are more complex than a number can fully capture, so we also include qualitative analysis of your risk perspectives and a review of your complete financial picture, including investments you may hold elsewhere. By clearly defining your unique circumstances, our objective is to pursue your most ambitious goals while only taking as much risk as you feel comfortable with.
2. Segment Your Investments According to Your Goals
Once we understand how much risk is appropriate for you from a big picture perspective, we build your unique investment portfolio to balance this risk while pursuing your goals. During this process, we analyze each piece of your wealth management plan — which may include pension, income, growth, and more. Then, we allocate the individual segments into components of our investment portfolio series, so that each piece of your financial puzzle has the specific investments we believe it needs. Together, these segments align to work toward your goals, respect your risk tolerance, and preserve your hard-earned wealth.
3. Control Fees
When measuring market success, investors and advisors often focus on investment returns. While returns are important, especially over the long term, we believe that the fees you pay for investing can have just as significant an effect on your financial health. Over time, high fees can erode your portfolio’s returns — thus limiting your growth or pushing you to seek more aggressive investments than are appropriate for your needs.
At APS, we want you to be able to grow your wealth as efficiently as possible, so we pride ourselves on having fair fees that are typically lower than what clients expect — and include a wealth of hands-on service.
4. Provide Discretionary Support
We typically support clients with discretionary investing, an approach that allows us to make timely portfolio updates without interrupting our clients’ incredibly busy lives. In addition, depending on your needs and opportunities, we may also enhance your portfolio with support from money managers we hand select to help pursue your goals.
What to Expect
By conducting thorough, comprehensive research, we strive to go beyond standard advice and the status quo to find opportunities that help achieve your goals — while minimizing your risks.