In our firm’s first years, we principally provided clients with tax returns, retirement and estate plans, and investment strategy recommendations, but not investment management. Our clients trusted our judgment and believed in our diversified investment philosophy. Several remarked that they wished we could implement the portfolio suggestions. Those clients led us to create our registered investment advisor affiliate in 1997. As of January 1, 2011, Palisades Hudson Asset Management, L.P. managed more than $1 billion.
Unlike many investment advisers, I think of us as financial planners who manage money, not as investment managers who do financial planning on the side. When working with clients to develop and implement an investment strategy, we prefer to understand all of a client’s financial affairs. This affords us the opportunity to better align all of a client’s goals, needs and objectives before presenting an investment plan.
We customize investment strategies that fit the client’s short-term and long-term financial goals, resulting in a target asset allocation for the portfolio. We neither attempt to time the market nor try to profit from cyclical market swings. We believe the best way to build capital is to invest for the future using diversified portfolios. All investments can lose value in the short run, but diversified investments in publicly traded companies have shown a remarkable ability to outperform other assets over long periods of time. We build well-diversified portfolios in order to reduce risk from any one company, industry or market sector.
The equity portfolios we manage include companies that are large and small, U.S. and foreign. As the market fluctuates, we rebalance each portfolio to bring it back in line with its target asset allocation. This forces us to be disciplined and unemotional, which leads to better portfolio results. For instance, as the market declined in late 2008 and early 2009, portfolios with stocks and bonds became too highly exposed to bonds. In those accounts, we bought stocks and sold bonds to return these portfolios to their target asset allocations.
We are compensated solely by our clients. This eliminates the potential for certain conflicts of interest. Our only priority is helping our clients’ portfolios grow. Aligning our interests and compensation with those of our clients is the most efficient way to achieve that priority. Our independence and objectivity are among our strongest competitive advantages.
After exploring our website, please feel free to contact me or one of our client service managers.
