Investment Management

Our Core Investment Principles

  • We believe a fiduciary relationship is critical and our primary role – it is the highest standard of care with extreme loyalty to clients; a relationship of trust & confidence, acting in the client’s best interest.
  • We believe establishing clear investment objectives is crucial to long-term investment success. GOALS-based investing relates to “where you are living life.”
  • We believe asset allocation guidelines best translate investment objectives into a sound investment strategy.
  • We believe proper diversification reduces portfolio volatility while enhancing investment return.
  • We believe client education and communication contributes to long-term investment success, and builds trust.
  • We believe asset based service fees ensure that our motivation matches that of our clients.
  • We believe in “eating our own cooking” - we invest all our own assets using the same investment processes used in client portfolios.

A Diversified Asset Investment Approach

Nvest Wealth Strategies invests client portfolios through a "Diversified Asset Investment Approach". Portfolios are constructed using no-load, no transaction fee mutual funds and ETF investments with the primary goal of constructing a diversified asset mix that seeks to take advantage of the upcoming investment climate, reduces overall portfolio risk, and provides an attractive rate of return.

A Disciplined Management Process

Step 1: Plan
Establish Portfolio’s Investment Objectives
Step 2: Develop
Written Statement of Investment Policy
Step 3: Build
Implement Investment Policy Utilizing no-load, no-transaction fee mutual funds and ETFs; including timely implementation of ideas on full discretionary basis
Step 4: Protect
Utilize portfolio optimization techniques For mutual fund and ETF investment selection and market sector weightings
Step 5: Monitor
Rebalance portfolio regularly Influenced by dynamic investment strategy called “Active-Value” Approach.
Step 6: Communicate
We Communicate Frequently Via client meetings, quarterly reports and newsletters.

Investment Selection Process & Portfolio Management:

  • Select mutual funds, ETFs, and investments that should do well given economic and performance expectations
    • Identify “best” funds in each style category using both quantitative and qualitative factors
    • Identify managers with strong historical performance, the product of a compelling investment (buy/sell) discipline.
    • Prefer funds where investment managers invest their own money inside with client shareholders
    • Monitoring process is initial and ongoing
  • Evaluate fund tax efficiency; fund operating costs
  • Portfolios are managed by predetermined allocations for asset and fund mix. Target allocations are tactically adjusted based on economic research/outlook (dynamic process)
    • Asset class styles may be tactically over- or under-weighted when “fat-pitch” or “lay-up” opportunities/themes are identified as likely to outperform the broader market
  • Rebalance portfolio by selling above-target exposures and/or buying under-target exposures (buy low, sell high)
  • Disciplined process strives to avoid emotional investing

Research

The first step in the investment process is top-down research, beginning with the macro-economic environment and funneling down toward sectors. Much research is performed and reviewed in order to fully assess and understand the macro-economic environment for the past, present and future direction. This is the starting point for determining our tactical asset allocation, and serves as the basis for our style weighting that may be deemed an opportunistic shift slightly away from style neutral (neutral implying roughly equal asset allocation among large/mid/small cap and value/blend/growth).

Tactical Management

We seek to identify economic and market themes we believe will prevail for a reasonably long interval of time (2 years or more) and make tactical adjustments accordingly. Sectors are analyzed with respect to research being gathered and conclusions that can be drawn from economic data, forecasts and projections. The broad economic environment can tell us a great deal about which asset class looks to be more favorable than the overall market given the economy and current asset class and sector valuations. Similar to using individual securities, the market too evolves through phases in which certain areas become overvalued (undervalued) relative to economic outlook. We look to focus additional weight (or reduce weight) to specific sectors or market corners only when we can identify styles that are undervalued (or overvalued) in consideration of the economic outlook; these are the valuation opportunities analogous to a baseball hitter’s "fat pitch".

“Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty”

–Proverbs 21:5