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

With many things in life, there are some which 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 which indicate you have signficant 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 5% of your investments in a single investment
• You feel as if 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 inextricably linked to your employer’s stock performance
• You have just come into a sizable sum of money, and you are uncertain as to how to prudently manage it
  

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 college tuition to pay, professional guidance becomes more valuable as your financial life becomes complex, and you realize 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 retirement
• You do not have a clear picture of what it takes to achieve certain goals (e.g., retirement plans)
• 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, assess the lifestyle you can afford, or balance the earning power of assets with need for ongoing income
• You are concerned 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 1% 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 expertise to effectively manage risk, 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 alone can improve portfolio performance well beyond our fees. 
• Tax savings.  Managing the taxes resulting from your investment activities is an integral component of our management services, and helps boost your after-tax returns.
• Lower transaction costs.  We are continually talking with our clients’ brokers to identify potential sources of transaction cost savings—which go right back into your pockets.  Our clients pay no soft dollars.  We execute all trades with brokers that provide the lowest cost to our client. 
• Lower management fees.  Our fees are lower than those of our competitors because we avoid unnecessary overhead and focus our spending in tools that add demonstrable value for our clients.
• Favorable trading terms.  Our constant oversight of the market and trading experience ensures your transactions are completed as efficiently as possible.  
• Risk management.  Many clients hold stock or options with their employer greatly benefit 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 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 discount broker 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 would begin with an asset allocation analysis, which involves several meetings focused on understanding your financial objectives, risk tolerance, and other issues in order to develop an investment approach that guides our ongoing management of your portfolios.