My investment solution
I finally decided that I need to build an investment solution in house for my clients. I will use TD Ameritrade as the custodian. TD Ameritrade safeguards your investments, sending you periodic transaction statements as well as valuation reports. TD also has the tools and expertise to help me build a robo-like investment experience so that I can keep fees at the lowest level while continuing to work with you on your financial life plan. I will also include a secure online portal for you to check the performance of your portfolio.
You provide me with a Limited Power of Attorney authorizing me to do these three actions only:
- Rebalance the portfolio periodically;
- Send money back to you;
- Debit fees on a periodic basis.
Don’t worry, I’m not building a robo-advisor so that I can sell it – I’m building an investment experience to fulfill the 3 points above, as well as I see it as an imperative to fulfilling my fiduciary duty (putting your interests ahead of mine, minimizing conflicts of interest) to you.
What makes me any better?
I cannot promise you a certain rate of return (no one can.) What I can promise you is that I will use my best efforts to create a portfolio for you that will support your financial life plan considering your time horizon, your need for growth vs income at what I believe to be an appropriate fee.
I use the Center for Research in Securities Prices (http://www.crsp.com/why-crsp) data combined with Vanguard low cost Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) to develop the following 5 portfolios in increasing exposure to equities:
Conservative Global Income |
Global Income w/Growth |
Global Growth & Income |
Moderate Global Growth |
Global Growth |
I’ve purposely limited portfolio composition to Vanguard exchange traded funds (ETFs) as I’m confident they will be able to continue to keep their cost structure at the lowest in the industry. In fact, they have committed to continue to find ways to lower costs to the end investor. I reserve the right to utilize ETFs from other providers if in my estimation they would provide us some benefit not found utilizing Vanguard solutions.
For a free, no-obligation consultation click the “Book a Meeting” button on the right.
Thomas J Duffy, CFP®, MBA is a NAPFA registered fee-only financial advisor. The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is the country’s leading professional association of Fee-Only financial advisors—highly trained professionals who are committed to working in the best interests of those they serve. Since 1983, Americans across the country have looked to NAPFA for access to financial professionals who meet the highest membership standards for professional competency, client-focused financial planning, and Fee-Only compensation.