We believe that the most important service we can provide clients is to begin the relationship based on a process that provides a strong foundation...the financial planning process.  We are committed to this process.  We must manage client expectations before we can manage assets.  We are not a mutual fund manager; we manage by client goals, objectives, time frame and risk tolerance.  We feel that it is our responsibility to help clients define, quantify and prioritize their goals and to determine a risk tolerance that helps them to sleep during turbulent times.  We believe it is important to participate on the upside potential of the markets, while protecting on the downside potential the markets present.  Our success depends on our clients being successful in meeting their goals; it is not based simply on the rate of return of the portfolio from one quarter to the next quarter.  We provide value to our clients by being involved in all financial decisions that affect their lives.  We want to be the first call they make when a potential crisis arises as well as being the first call they make when exciting news develops.  We see ourselves as part of the family -we hold their hands in difficult times and we celebrate their lives at happier times.  That is why we are so careful in selecting our clients and making certain that we are the right fit for them and that they are the right fit for us as a firm.

Our Investment Philosophy:

Once we have established the relationship, then and only then do we manage assets.  We use investment strategies based upon a carefully designed investment policy.  The first decision that we always consider for all portfolios is the asset allocation decision.  This determination is based on the time horizon for the investment of the funds, cash flow needs from the portfolio, and an evaluation of the client's risk tolerance.   The best way to describe our firm's investment approach, would be to say that we are a balanced portfolio manager that believes in diversification.  For the equity portion of our portfolios, we utilize individual securities, index mutual funds, exchange traded funds and actively managed no-load mutual funds.  We believe that portfolios should be diversified by market capitalization and company style.  Therefore, we maintain an appropriate diversification between large, mid-size and small size capitalization in both the domestic arena as well as within the international arena.  We believe it is important to balance between styles of value and growth in all areas.  We also feel that monitoring the sector weighting for specific industries within the portfolio is important in providing appropriate diversification.  Use of individual securities helps us in this process.  We are always mindful of tax consequences in managing taxable portfolios although we do not believe the tax implications should override sound investment decisions.  We feel that we are in a period of reduced equity premiums and that the cost of management and the tax efficiency of equity portfolios are critical to the overall return.

For the fixed income portion of our portfolios, we use a structured bond ladder approach.  Laddering involves building a portfolio of bonds with staggered maturities, so that a portion of the portfolio will mature each year.  To maintain the ladder, money that comes in from currently maturing bonds is typically invested in bonds with longer maturities within the range of the bond ladder.  We tend to use bond ladders with maturities staggered out to 8 to 10 years, but with an average portfolio duration which usually is five years or less.   We like to have bonds with maturities that are responsive to the current interest rate environment and to the yield curve.  As the yield curve changes over the economic cycle, we monitor the market carefully to make certain that we keep an appropriate duration for the portfolio.  We typically purchase investment grade bonds, those with a Moody's or S&P rating of Baa/BBB or better.  Credit quality measures the financial strength of the issuer and tends to be much lower for higher yielding, "junk" bonds.  A bond ladder can be an effective tool to hedge against changes in interest rate movements and to provide maturing principal for reinvestment or personal needs. Since income is needed from portfolios of some of our retired clients, bond laddering  provides available money on certain future dates, thus avoiding having to sell bonds before maturity, possibly at a loss, or having to sell equity investments in a down market.

Our Team Approach:

The most important part of what makes our firm successful is the people on our team.  No job should be too small and no task too large.  The entire team takes ownership in what the firm does. At the end of the day, what is most important is providing the best service and value to help our clients live a richer and more enjoyable life.