This step is a blend of information gathering for us and introspection for you. If you're a High Touch client, we meet with you periodically to discuss your current situation, how and why market prices move up and down, your personal tolerance for risk, how the balance of risk and reward varies across portfolio profiles, actions you can take today to enhance your financial position, your time horizon for retirement, and your financial goals. If you're a High Tech / Low Fee client, you complete our secure online questionnaire designed to capture similar information we collect from High Touch clients, and we use that information to create a diversified financial portfolio that matches your profile. In addition, if you'd like to discuss your situation with us directly, you're entitled to an hour of free personal consultation. The output from this step is your target investment plan and portfolio profile.

Once we've designed your financial portfolio, we open an account for you and adjust your investments to match your plan and portfolio profile. This process starts with opening an account for you at one of our custodians. This account is yours. While we have the ability to make investment decisions for you, we cannot make withdrawals without your authorization. Putting your account in the hands of a 3rd party ensures its safety. Once your account has been set up, you can access it at any time through a secure login process on our website or a secure login process on the custodian's website.

As your investment manager, our job is not only to set up an account that's right for you but also to manage your investments over time. That means we continuously monitor the capital markets, and we adjust your portfolio as appropriate based on market trends and changes in your situation to the best of our ability.

• Art / Collectibles
• Commodities
• Futures
• Gem Stones
• Oil Exploration
• Options
• Precious Metals
• Venture Capital

• Annuities and Annuity Trusts
• Equity Mutual Funds
• Growth Stocks
• Investment Real Estate
• Variable Life Insurance

• Conservative Equities
• (Balanced Funds, Convertible Bonds, Utility Funds)
• Corporate Bonds
• GNMA
• Municipal Bonds
• Residence

• Certificates of Deposit
• Fixed and Indexed Annuities
• Money Market
• Savings
• Treasury Bills
• Traditional and Indexed Life Insurance

Certificates are issued by banks in exchange for a cash deposit, which is held for a certain period of time and a set interest rate. A bank pays the CD holder the principal amount and all accumulated interest once the specified time period is over.

A security that tracks an index, a commodity, or a basket of assets like an index fund but trades like a stock on an exchange. ETFs experience price changes throughout the day as they are bought and sold.

Either purchasing physical gold and special minerals from reputable dealers or buying shares of a company on the stock market that specializes in gold and/or special minerals.

A type of mutual fund that holds bond or stock investments with the goal of matching a specific market index, such as the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (S&P 500). An index mutual fund is said to provide broad market exposure, low operating expenses, and low portfolio turnover.

A protection against the loss of income that would result if the insured passed away. The named beneficiary receives the proceeds and is thereby safeguarded from the financial impact of the death of the insured.

An account combining the funds of many individuals in order to invest these funds in a range of financial instruments. A financial service company usually establishes this type of account.

Real Estate Investment Trust – REIT: A security that sells like a stock on the major exchanges and invests in real estate directly, either through properties or mortgages. REITs receive special tax considerations and typically offer investors high yields, as well as a highly liquid method of investing in real estate.

Equity REITs: Equity REITs invest in and own properties (thus responsible for the equity or value of their real estate assets). Their revenues come principally from their properties' rents.

Mortgage REITs: Mortgage REITs deal in investment and ownership of property mortgages. These REITs loan money for mortgages to owners of real estate or purchase existing mortgages or mortgage-backed securities. Their revenues are generated primarily by the interest that they earn on mortgage loans.

Stock: A type of security that signifies ownership in a corporation and represents a claim on part of the corporation’s assets and earnings.

There are two main types of stock: common and preferred. Common stock usually entitles the owner to vote at shareholders’ meetings and to receive dividends. Preferred stock generally does not have voting rights but has a higher claim on assets and earnings than the common shares. For example, owners of preferred stock receive dividends before common shareholders and have priority in the event that a company goes bankrupt and is liquidated. This is also known as “shares” or “equity.”

Bond: A form of debt created by an institution that wants to borrow money from an investor for a specific period of time at a specific interest rate. Buyers of bonds receive periodic interest payments, with the principal amount of the bond typically repaid as a lump sum by a specified date. They are commonly referred to as fixed-income securities.

Corporate Bond: A debt security issued by a corporation and sold to investors. The backing for the bond is usually the payment ability of the company, which is typically money to be earned from future operations. In some cases, the company’s physical assets may be used as collateral for bonds. Corporate bonds are considered higher risk than government bonds. As a result, interest rates are almost always higher, even for companies with top credit.

Treasury Bond – T-Bond: A marketable, fixed-interest U.S. government debt security with a maturity of more than ten years. Treasury bonds make interest payments semi-annually, and the income that holders receive is only taxed at the federal level.

Government Bond: A debt security issued by a government to support government spending, most often issued in the country’s domestic currency. Government debt is money owed by any level of government and is backed by the full faith of the government. Federal government bonds in the United States include the savings bond, Treasury bond, Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS), and others. Before investing in government bonds, investors need to assess several risks associated with the country, such as country risk, political risk, inflation risk, and interest rate risk.

Definition of 'Savings Account'

A deposit account held at a bank or other financial institution that provides principal security and a modest interest rate. Depending on the specific type of savings account, the account holder may not be able to write checks from the account (without incurring extra fees or expenses) and the account is likely to have a limited number of free transfers/transactions. Savings account funds are considered one of the most liquid investments outside of demand accounts and cash. In contrast to savings accounts, checking accounts allow you to write checks and use electronic debit to access your funds inside the account. Savings accounts are generally for money that you don't intend to use for daily expenses. To open a savings account, simply go down to your local bank with proper identification and ask to open an account.

Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities

A treasury security that is indexed to inflation in order to protect investors from the negative effects of inflation. TIPS are considered an extremely low-risk investment since they are backed by the U.S. government and since their par value rises with inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, while their interest rate remains fixed. Interest on TIPS is paid semi-annually. TIPS can be purchased directly from the government through the TreasuryDirect system in $100 increments with a minimum investment of $100 and are available with 5-, 10-, and 20-year maturities.

Annuity: Refers to the payments made on a periodic basis to an individual under an annuity plan. The payments are generally provided until the individual dies.

An immediate annuity is an annuity that is purchased with a single payment and which begins to pay out right away.

When you purchase an immediate annuity, it is generally with a single lump sum, and your income payments begin within 12 months of the date of purchase. With fixed immediate annuities, your payment from the annuity is based on a fixed interest rate. With variable immediate annuities, your payment is based on the value of the underlying investment, usually a stock and/or bond portfolio.

After choosing an immediate annuity, the annuity owner determines the schedule of payments. This can be done either monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. Another important decision to make with your immediate annuity is how long the payments will last. The annuity owner can choose to receive payments for a specified period of time, an entire lifetime, or even for the life of a beneficiary.

An Indexed Annuity is an annuity based on a statistical indicator, the equity market index, which provides a representation of the value of the securities which constitute it. An index annuity is a hybrid of both fixed and variable annuities. Indices often serve as guides for a given market or industry and benchmarks against which financial or economic performance is measured. An indexed annuity can be based on the S&P, NASDAQ, or the DJIA.

The principal investment into the indexed annuity is protected from losses in the equity market, while gains add to the annuity's returns. This means that once you make a premium payment, you will never have less in your indexed annuity account than your premium payment, and as the index appreciates in value, so does the Indexed annuity. Indexed annuities can be a wise investment and become a great source of additional income revenue.

Fixed Annuity: An annuity contract that provides a guaranteed minimum interest rate and a higher current interest rate for shorter time periods during a deferred annuity's accumulation phase.

Tax Deferred Annuities: A tax-deferred annuity is a contract for people who want to save on a tax-deferred basis for many years and then convert to a payout schedule once they retire. Contrary to an immediate annuity, tax-deferred annuities do not become payable until some years after their purchase. The single premium or regular premiums are capitalized during the deferred period, and then the built-up capital is converted into an annuity.

A tax-deferred annuity stipulates that payments be made to the annuitant at a later date, such as when the annuitant reaches a certain age.

Variable Annuity: A kind of annuity contract that allows the owner to allocate the premium amount among several investments or sub-accounts. The contract value of such a plan may vary according to the performance of these investments. Unlike other annuities, a variable annuity does not guarantee a set rate of interest or earnings, being based instead on fund performance and account averages. However, you can buy, sell and switch funds at any time without incurring taxes until you begin to withdraw your original investment and income after age 59 ½. At that time, your gains are taxed as ordinary income. Transfers between your portfolios can also reduce tax burdens.

• Stock Market Risk – The value of securities in the portfolio will fluctuate, and, as a result, the value may decline suddenly or over a sustained period of time.
• Managed Portfolio Risk – The manager's investment strategies or choice of specific securities may be unsuccessful and may cause the portfolio to incur losses.
• Industry Risk – The portfolio's investments could be concentrated within one industry or group of industries. Any factors detrimental to the performance of such industries will disproportionately impact your portfolio. Investments focused on a particular industry are subject to greater risk and are more greatly impacted by market volatility than less concentrated investments.
• Non-U.S. Securities Risk –Non-U.S. securities are subject to the risks of foreign currency fluctuations, generally higher volatility and lower liquidity than U.S. securities, less developed securities markets, and economic systems and political and economic instability.
• Emerging Markets Risk – To the extent that your portfolio invests in issuers located in emerging markets, the risk may be heightened by political changes and changes in taxation or currency controls that could adversely affect the values of these investments. Emerging markets have been more volatile than the markets of developed countries with more mature economies.
• Currency Risk –The value of your portfolio's investments may fall as a result of changes in exchange rates.
• Interest Rate Risk. The value of fixed-income securities rises or falls based on the underlying interest rate environment. If rates rise, the value of most fixed-income securities could go down.
• Credit Risk – Most fixed income instruments are dependent on the underlying credit of the issuer. If we are wrong about the underlying financial strength of an issuer, we may purchase securities where the issuer is unable to meet its obligations. If this happens, your portfolio could sustain an unrealized or realized loss.
• Inflation Risk – Most fixed income instruments will sustain losses if inflation increases or the market anticipates increases in inflation. If we enter a period of moderate or heavy inflation, the value of your fixed-income securities could go down. In the case of severe inflation, many, if not all, investments may lose value.
• ETF and Mutual Fund Risk – When we invest in an ETF or mutual fund for a client, the client will bear additional expenses based on its pro rata share of the ETFs or mutual fund's operating expenses, including the potential duplication of management fees. The risk of owning an ETF or mutual fund generally reflects the risks of owning the underlying securities the ETF or mutual fund holds. Clients may also incur brokerage costs when purchasing ETFs.
• Management Risk – Your investment with us varies with the success and failure of our investment strategies, research, analysis, and determination of portfolio securities. If our investment strategies do not produce the expected returns, the value of the investment will decrease.
• Options Risk – Options on securities may be subject to greater fluctuations in value than an investment in the underlying securities. Purchasing and writing put and call options are highly specialized activities and entail greater than ordinary investment risks.
• Political Risks – Acts of terrorism and the fickleness of politicians in combining "crony" capitalism cannot be predicted.