Philosophy of Investing

An old joke may help explain our philosophy. An old gold prospector, on his way to Heaven, is met by St. Peter at the pearly gates with some bad news. "You're qualified for residence," St. Peter said, "but, as you can see, the compound reserved for gold men is packed. There's no way to squeeze you in." After thinking for a moment, the prospector asked if he could say just four words to the present occupants. St. Peter thought it seemed harmless, so the prospector cupped his hands and yelled, "Gold discovered in Hell." The gate immediately opened and all of the men marched out of the compound to head for the nether regions. Impressed, St. Peter invited the prospector in. The prospector paused, then said, "No, I think I'll go along with the rest of the boys. There might be some truth to that rumor after all."  

Too often, investors chase the crowd and "hope" things turn out all right. At our firm, going with the crowd may be the right thing to do, but it is done consciously rather than simply following the pack. This leads to our specific philosophies of investing:  

1) People who are in or near retirement can’t afford to lose their hard-earned savings and make it up later.  
2) Over time stock markets generally go up but may have significant draw-downs in that journey.
3) It’s easy to sell and get out but much harder to buy and get back in.
4) Rules-based investing is necessary to help eliminate the fear and greed inherent in stock market ups and downs.

We utilize investment strategies designed to provide the opportunity for growth while at the same time attempting to provide some protection from a long term down-trending  market. Of course, like all investing, we can’t guarantee your investments will always increase. While there is risk of losing money, we attempt to reduce that risk.