Investment Philosophy
Our investment activities are not simply mainstream. For Fifty years the majority of Financial Institutions and their Advisors, with few exceptions, have generally embraced one form of asset allocation almost exclusively.
We follow the principles that are collectively known as Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT), which are based on the work of Harry Markowitz. Mr. Markowitz won a Nobel Prize in 1990 for brilliantly using mathematical tools of risk and probability to build portfolio models. One of the primary tenets of MPT is that an investor should buy and hold a diversified portfolio regardless of valuations and long term trends. While it can’t be argued Markowitz’s research ( and that of others, such as William Sharpe, Eugene Fama and Kenneth French) has been significant, we believe the application of the works has been incorrectly applied as a method of portfolio management by the investment industry.
It is our opinion these universally accepted investment principles utilize flawed assumptions and thus they are likely to severely underperform during long term bear markets and periods of extreme volatility. While we do believe our clients should maintain sufficiently diversified portfolios, we also believe that portfolios should be managed according to market valuations, current government fiscal policies and global trends. Thus other asset allocation strategies, such as tactically active and alternative investments, should be employed in addition to the buy and hold strategy. Many times the other asset allocation strategies are employed as satellite strategies with buy and hold as the core. Thus we call this a core satellite approach. We feel we can best manage risk by creating a balance between these asset allocation strategies by applying a fundamental analysis of market valuations and other factors that affect market conditions on an ongoing basis.
