Why do we offer concierge services and customized solutions for your financial situation?
Our clients have access to a selection of proprietary investment offerings, which can be complementary to your existing investments and can improve diversification. We build custom investment portfolios and allocations with an eye towards the future, a framework we think is improved by a broad slate of investment choices available to our clients, which reflects our commitment to grow wealth. While we are required to verify investor suitability before offering strategy-specific information (and therefore encourage you to reach out directly to Jason Clark, CFA or contact him at jclark@kovitz.com), we offer a sample set of enhancements to the typical broad asset classes:
Core Compounders
A diversified core stock portfolio with a Value tilt serves as the main growth engine for most investor allocations. Our Core Compounder approach is focused on multiplying capital efficiently, while keeping risk characteristics top of mind. We seek to bolster returns by opportunistically buying undervalued companies in any market environment and selling them when they’ve reached their appreciation potential.
Factor-oriented strategies (such as dividend/income, small capitalization or international value) function as complementary allocations to core stock holdings. Investments in certain historically rewarded factors seek to enhance the risk-reward calculation, add income via dividends and diversify an allocation without watering down the return.
Store of Savings
A portfolio of laddered fixed income securities is constructed with the primary goal of preserving principal, acting as a Store of Savings. Secondarily, it should produce a meaningful after-tax income yield. From an allocation perspective, the capital preservation goal seeks to provide a source of liquidity that supports active rebalancing in the event of market downturn.
Frequently, a small portion of an investor’s Store of Savings allocation is distributed into mortgage-backed securities, steepener structured notes or other opportunistic bond strategies. We target these areas of the investable fixed income market because they have the potential to produce enhanced income yields without sacrificing credit quality.
Opportunistic Investments
Direct ownership of real assets, including real estate, offers the potential to compound at a rate similar to publicly traded equities (REITs, mostly), but without direct correlation to day-to-day stock market movements and in a tax-efficient manner. In addition to the capital appreciation potential inherent in Opportunistic Investments, direct real estate investments usually deliver periodic cash flow for investors in search of income and liquidity, while sector-specific and diversified offerings can enhance individual allocations in many ways.
Private equity investments are frequently appropriate for investors with long investment time horizons and an appetite for growth. In exchange for longer lock-up periods, private equity placements (often in attractively priced, privately held companies) can offer returns well in excess of comparable stock market index returns, albeit with higher risk.
In environments where uncertainty is pervasive, it can be attractive to add a conversion strategy to an allocation mix. The general goal of these strategies is to generate income via the purchase and sale of options. The ‘conversion’ part occurs when the value of the option drops below a certain level (perhaps 10% or 20%). Crossing the threshold forces the investor to purchase a basket of stocks. This type of niche strategy is intended for funds waiting to be invested in equities as part of a long-term asset allocation.
Diversifiers
Equity hedges can function as an essential Diversifier, offering an enhanced risk-adjusted return in comparison to a traditionally balanced stock-and-bond portfolio. Hedged equity strategies utilize a sophisticated set of options to reduce stock market risk and offer investors potential to benefit from market volatility. Hedging strategies are frequently offered in mutual fund or hedge fund structures, depending on an individual investor’s needs and preferences.
We believe having a robust framework is a critical part of the toolkit needed to achieve sustainable wealth generation. Our equity portfolio management teams have long tenures and replicable processes to unearth undervalued stocks. Our fixed income managers cover thousands of bonds in search of arbitrage opportunities and our alternative investment managers seek to enhance the risk-reward profile and offer stability in times of market stress.
Our broad suite of investment opportunities come together through our comprehensive financial planning capabilities, which are extensive and touch on a wide range of areas, dependent on client-specific needs. We provide an objective and long-term approach to constructing your customized financial plan. We work as a team and function as the “quarterback” between you and your existing attorneys, tax advisors and insurance agents. And, in cases where you aren’t currently engaged with these professionals, we have a network to which we can connect you.
Our wealth advisors and financial planners are seasoned professionals who have spent much of their careers performing objective planning. Our process addresses investment management, estate planning and tax-related issues. Our process typically includes:
- A cash flow plan that serves as a roadmap to ensure you are optimally allocated between Core Compounders, Stores of Value, Opportunistic Investments and Diversifiers, and that you are saving appropriately to achieve your goals – including spending before and during retirement, as well as incorporating philanthropic and legacy goals.
- A comprehensive review – and recommendations on all other aspects of your financial life, including compensation & employee benefits, risk management (personal insurance) and tax planning.
- A review of your existing estate plans and a “coaching” call to prepare you for meeting with an estate planning attorney, once you are at that stage in your financial life.
Our experienced team of Wealth Advisors would love the opportunity to help you achieve your goals. For more information on working with our financial professionals, contact Jason Clark, CFA at jclark@kovitz.com or 949.424.1013.