Investment Planning
Investment Planning
Some financial advisors lead with investments because that’s the only way they get paid. They prattle on about rates of return and exotic strategies.
At Sherpa Wealth Strategies, we do things differently. We seek first to understand your goals, your values, your earning capacity and your risk tolerance. We then help you design an investment portfolio to help you work toward the things that are important to you over a time horizon that makes sense. Our asset management and investment plans have been helping clients achieve their financial goals for over two decades.
When possible, we use fee-based accounts to eliminate the conflict of interest that commissions inevitably create. (In some cases, paying a commission is the only way to access a product. When that happens, we’ll disclose all commissions up front.)
Fundamentally, we are asset allocators. We don’t try to time the market. We don’t chase the latest trend or highest interest rates. Instead, we look at your entire financial picture – including outside assets like stock options or real estate – and design a portfolio in which all of the parts are complementary.
What kind of returns do we seek? Enough to help you work toward your goals. We’ve found over the long term that investor behavior is more important than monthly or annual returns.
Our job is to help you make smart choices in the short run so the markets have a chance to do their job over the long run.
Our Investment Planning Approach
1. Assess your goals, values and circumstances. The investment planning process begins during the Discovery Meeting with a discussion of your values, your financial goals, your current assets and whether you will be adding to or taking income from your accounts.
2. Set long-term investment objectives. Taking into account the long-term nature of successful investing, we set objectives for your portfolio that are appropriate for your willingness, ability and need to take risk, and the investment horizon(s) you identify.
3. Evaluate your time horizon and risk tolerance. How long before you need the money? How comfortable are you watching your account rise and fall with the markets? Matching your time horizon and risk tolerance will help you maintain your investment strategy through strong markets and weak ones, giving you the best chance of success.
4. Plan your asset allocation. Asset allocation is the most important investment decision. We help you decide how much of your portfolio to invest in different asset classes, including stocks and bonds, international and domestic, and alternatives like commodities or real estate.
5. Select your investments. With a target asset allocation in place, we select the investment vehicles to implement your portfolio strategy. Three key investing principles guide these decisions: diversification, tax efficiency and the value of remaining invested. We also consider any specific interests, like Socially Responsible Investing or avoiding particular countries or companies. The building blocks for the portfolio typically are institutional-class mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs), an excellent way to implement a diversified portfolio that matches your goals.
Learn from our advisors.