Why and when should I seek the services of a professional investment advisor?

As with many things in life, there are some that can be enjoyable and cost effective to do yourself, and there are others where you need the expertise, focus, and resources of a professional.  We call upon professionals for complex home-improvement projects and medical procedures, yet sometimes hesitate to seek professional advice regarding our finances.  In investment management, a simple rule of thumb is that we can substantially improve the growth rate and preservation of your wealth once your savings exceed your annual compensation.  Additional factors that indicate you have significant opportunities to improve your investment performance include any of the following:

• You sometimes have more cash sitting in money markets than is required by your near-term cash needs;
• You have no investments in asset classes such as Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs), bonds, international and small cap securities, etc.;
• You have more than five percent of your investments in a single place;
• You feel that you don’t spend enough time researching and monitoring your investments;
• Your investments have been disproportionately hurt by market fluctuations;
• Your employee benefits include stock options and purchase plans, and your portfolio is linked inextricably to your employer’s stock performance; and
• You have just come into a sizable sum of money, and you are uncertain as to how to manage it prudently.
  

When should I consider financial planning services?

Once your savings exceed your annual compensation, or you are faced with aging parents to care for and/or college tuition to pay, professional guidance becomes valuable as your financial life becomes complex.  You likely realize that you don’t have either the time, interest and/or aptitude to do it all yourself.  An advisor who provides comprehensive planning and asset management can improve the growth rate and preservation of your wealth, save you time, and reduce your stress regarding your finances.  Other indicators that financial planning services would benefit you:

• You have no source of unbiased advice on insurance, estate planning, education, or retirement;
• You do not have a clear picture of what it takes to achieve certain goals (e.g., retirement planning);
• You are uncertain whether to take advantage of newer tax-advantaged plans (Roth 401(K)s, Roth IRAs, 529 plans for college education savings, Healthcare Savings Accounts (HSAs), etc.);
• You are a retiree needing to consider long-term care insurance to assess the lifestyle you can afford, or to balance the earning power of assets with your need for ongoing income; and
• You are concerned as to whether your investments will sustain you through your life.

How does Berkeley, Inc., create value for me?

We offer to work with you when we are confident that we can add value to your financial life, and when we can improve the security and growth rate of your wealth well beyond our fees, which amount to less than one percent of the assets we manage for you.  We achieve this through the following:

• Better return on your investments.  We have the resources, expertise, and analytical skills to make investment decisions to improve your long-term, risk-adjusted performance. 
• Lower portfolio volatility.  In addition to the skills for managing risk effectively, we have resources that help ensure individuals are fully, intelligently, and cost-effectively diversified. 
• Fuller employment of your assets.  Keeping your assets working for you can improve portfolio performance and easily offset our fees. 
• Tax savings.  Managing the taxes resulting from your investment activities is an integral component of our financial services, and helps boost your after-tax revenue.
• Lower transaction costs.  We are continually talking with our clients’ brokers to identify potential sources of transaction cost savings—money that goes right back into your pockets.  Our clients pay no soft dollars.  We execute all trades with brokers that provide the lowest costs to our client. 
• Lower management fees.  Our fees are lower than those of our competitors because we avoid unnecessary overhead while focusing our spending on tools that add demonstrable value for our clients.
• Favorable trading terms.  Our constant monitoring of the market and extensive trading  experience ensure that your transactions are completed as efficiently as possible.  
• Risk management.  Many clients who hold stock or options with their employers greatly benefit greatly from our hedging tools, which provide upside opportunities, while lowering risk that results from the portfolio’s concentration in one asset.  Similarly, we can help reduce risk where clients have a significant percentage of their assets in a few investments that have languished, due to tax consequences.

Can you work with my existing portfolio? Where does my money reside? 

We do not hold your money.  Everything is kept in your name at a discount brokerage firm.  We prefer to work with your existing portfolio; we can typically better minimize transaction costs and tax impacts that way.  After discussing your needs, we set up and manage your accounts at a brokerage that best suits you.

How would we get started? 

Most people benefit from a comprehensive analysis of their financial situation.  This analysis covers key issues that they raise during the development process, as well as objective, unbiased, and specific observations and recommendations on insurance, estate planning, tax management, and other finance-related topics. 

If, however, we agree that your primary concern is, and should be focused on investment management, we will begin with an asset allocation analysis, which involves several meetings centered on understanding your financial objectives, risk tolerance, and other issues in order to develop a comprehensive investment approach that guides our ongoing, meticulous management of your portfolios.