Which is why the cornerstone of our investment philosophy is build for each client a well-diversified, risk-controlled portfolio that is appropriate for their specific situation and objectives. And to do that, we strive to build relationships with our clients to make sure that we both understand what the other is trying to accomplish.

What Makes Us Truly Different?
We believe that our research-intensive investment process can add value in five primary ways when building a portfolio of mutual funds, ETFs or bonds for our clients.

1. We Believe There Are Superior Portfolio Managers
First and foremost, We do not subscribe to the view that index funds are inherently superior to actively managed funds, but rather that the best managers can, and do "beat the market" over time. We believe that some managers do have superior security selection skills. We also believe that we have the research infrastructure (people, process, resources) to identify those managers. Based on those views, we primarily analyze and select actively managed funds for our client portfolios.

2. We Prospect In A Larger Investment Universe
We look for promising investments in a larger investment universe than most of our competition. Assuming our research adds value, and all else being equal, a larger investment universe should create more opportunities to produce higher returns over time. Unlike many of our competitors, we will not exclude smaller or newer funds from potential purchase. Our research depth and consistent process enables us to seek out and analyze these typically overlooked funds that can provide outstanding opportunities.

3. We Utilize Unconventional Investments
Another distinguishing element of our investment philosophy is that we may use mutual funds that invest in non-conventional asset classes (which include real estate, high yield bonds, merger arbitrage, long/short strategies, commodities, inflation-linked bonds, and others). Using these types of specialized funds offers the opportunity to generate returns that have very low correlation to conventional asset classes, which should enhance risk-adjusted performance.

4. We Employ Dynamic Asset Allocation Strategies
We do not maintain a static mix of stocks, bonds and cash in client portfolios. We have a base allocation for each client that is determined by their own situation, but we will make asset allocation shifts to adapt each portfolio to changes in the current market environment. If we determine an asset class or sub-asset class is over or undervalued, we will pro-actively adjust our allocations. However, consistent with our commitment to managing risk, our asset allocation moves are not dramatic and tend to be gradual in nature.

5. We Pay Attention To Expenses -- All Expenses
Another central tenet of our philosophy is that costs do matter. Our typical holding has a below average expense ratio relative to similar funds. In addition, our typical holding also has a lower portfolio turnover rate, which means that the fund’s transaction costs are likely to be lower as well. Transaction costs are the "hidden" expenses for a fund - they don't show up in the stated expense ratio, they come right out of gross returns. For taxable accounts, our typical holding also has a lower tax cost (difference between pre-tax and after-tax returns) than similar funds.

There may be some behavioral quirks that many successful money managers have (for instance the ability to do something different than everybody else), but to be successful for all parties concerned, good managers need to have a disciplined and diligent investment approach -- and one that the client needs to understand and be comfortable with.