Why Work With Us
What makes MAM different from other firms?
MAM is set apart from other firms by three things: our disciplined process, experience, and objectivity. We employ our disciplined process with each prospective client to ensure that they are comfortable with their portfolio and that it is appropriate for their risk tolerance. Our industry experience, especially in portfolio management, is invaluable to our clients. MAM’s objectivity is based on our fee based compensation structure, which aligns our interests with clients. Additionally, our lack of conflicts of interest sets us apart, as we have no other businesses, such as investment banking, that could interfere with our portfolio management.
How do I know that a Financial Advisor or his/her firm has no conflicts of interest?
The only way to understand potential conflicts of interest is to ask. Some questions to ask would be: Does your firm have proprietary products? Do they have higher payouts than competing products? Do you receive compensation from any mutual fund company (12b-1)? Do you receive any compensation for selling a particular fund company’s fund over another? Does your firm receive any fees that could place other clients’ objectives before yours? There are many ways to ask these questions, and this list is not comprehensive, but fortunately, MAM can answer all of them with a resounding no.
What is asset allocation, and why is it so important?
Asset allocation is the process of allocating an account among different asset classes to diversify the portfolio and deliver the most return while minimizing risk. It is the most important factor in determining a portfolio’s return, which is why we emphasize asset allocation at MAM. Using many asset classes is extremely important, because no one can know which asset classes will perform best in the future, it is important to own several asset classes to ensure steady growth in your portfolio.
I’ve always heard that diversification lowers risk, but how do I know I’m truly diversified?
Diversification does lower risk because a diversified portfolio includes uncorrelated assets, which means they go up and down in value at different times. A diversified portfolio’s overall volatility is less than an un-diversified portfolio and it delivers a smoother ride in up and down markets. You can only be truly diversified with multiple, uncorrelated asset classes. If you only own US stocks, or a S&P 500 Index fund, you are not as diversified as you could be.
What does it mean to rebalance and how does it help?
Rebalancing is the process of making sure a diversified portfolio stays relatively near its original allocation. As the markets go up and down, some asset classes will go up, while others will go down. This market action could make your portfolio too conservative or too aggressive over time. Rebalancing simply sells the asset that has gone up and buys the asset that has gone down to bring your portfolio in line with its original asset allocation. Additionally, rebalancing can significantly improve long-term portfolio returns.
Why should I pay an advisor a fee for my investments? Is there really added value?
Unless you manage your investment portfolio completely on your own with self directed accounts, use no-load funds, etc. you are paying a manager, even if you don’t realize it. Even with no-load funds, you may not be paying a broker commission or explicit management fee, but the fund itself still has internal management and administrative fees. Basically, the only way to not pay any kind of advisory fees is buying and selling stocks on your own, on which you will still pay commissions. MAM’s fees are institutional level fees and are some of the lowest available for an actively managed portfolio. The real value added is the day to day monitoring and potential rebalancing that would take too much of your valuable time to reproduce at our fee schedule.
How do I know my investments and cash are being safely held?
MAM does not custody (hold) any client assets, as we are not a custodian. Our custodian is Pershing, LLC, owned by The Bank of New York. This bank is one of the largest custodians on Wall Street, with over $1 trillion in client assets. Additionally, SIPC insurance is carried to cover up to $100,000 in cash and $500,000 in securities per customer. Finally, Pershing purchases private insurance to cover all portfolios up to the full value of the account. All of the above insurance covers losses only incurred when an SIPC member firm fails and is unable to meet obligations to clients, not market fluctuations.
Should my heirs figure into my investment strategy?
This is a difficult question, one that needs input from your estate attorney, CPA and MAM. However, a general rule is that the larger your estate and the greater your age, the more important it is to at least take into consideration your heirs, if not include them in your investment decisions. Additionally, as assets grow beyond the needed income level provided, it is wise to consider adding a growth aspect back into a portfolio to match inflation for heirs.
How will I know that I am on target to meet my goals?
MAM will provide you with a comprehensive quarterly performance report, in addition to your monthly statements. This report will show your return, risk, asset allocation, growth of your assets, etc. We will continually keep clients up to date with our outlook on the markets through commentary included in the quarterly statement, and of course, we will always be available to speak with clients.
How can MAM provide continuity as assets move from generation to generation?
MAM’s structure as a team can provide continuity to clients concerned about leaving assets to spouses, children or grandchildren by allowing us to educate family members on critical investment ideas and strategies.
