What is Your Biggest Problem Inside Your Portfolio?

You are taking on too much risk. Most of the losses in people's accounts over the last few years can be attributed to risk. If your losses upset you, then there is a good chance that the risks in your account are much greater than your tolerance. Too many brokers overlook the significance of risk in designing your portfolio.

You are placing your trust in someone to choose investments that are suited correctly for you. If they make the wrong choices, it is your money that will be lost—not theirs. If you are unhappy with results, then YOU have to take actions to correct the matters.

One of the limitations of brokers or planners is the lack of flexibility in the investments they sell you. If the choice was not a good fit, it requires you to sell out of one investment and purchase another. Truth be told, it is almost impossible to assess someone's risk tolerance and make the best possible recommendation from one or two office visits.

As a private wealth manager, we assume from the beginning of our relationship with a client that we are going to have to make adjustments. We learn more about them, they will learn more about us. It is our job to manage the assets and allow for a better fit as a time goes on. We use the same principles that wealthy people demand—flexibility. When you have investments that have no sales charges, you can move within a universe of literally thousands of choices without any additional cost to you. It's like having a tailor made suit or dress that comes with free unlimited alterations!

To hear the Smart Money Radio Show segment where Bruce discusses possible pitfalls inside your portfolio, Click Here! (about 7 minutes long



To hear the full Smart Money Radio Show where Bruce discusses Private Wealth Management, Click Here! (about 25 minutes long)

Is There Ever a Free Lunch?

Sadly, the answer is no! When times are good, people will overlook the possible downsides of a situation. Investors are no different. People ignore risks and pitfalls that can be easily seen if you just use some common sense. When things get bad, people try to absorb an overload of information to understand how and why they got there.

Whether you are buying a house, a car, or an investment, a salesperson points out all of the strengths and benefits of your impending purchase. They will not point out the weaknesses or drawbacks, which will jeopardize their chance of a sale.

The only way to make a smart investment decision that will affect your financial future is to have both the benefits and drawbacks laid out in front of you, equally.

Get the facts, use common sense, and remember there is no free lunch before making a decision that can decide whether your retirement will be a success of a failure!

To hear the Smart Money Radio Show segment where Bruce discusses paying fees for private wealth management, Click Here! (about 7 minutes long)



To hear the full Smart Money Radio Show where Bruce discusses Private Wealth Management, Click Here! (about 25 minutes long)

The True Cost of Fees

One of the biggest objections we hear is that you don’t want to pay a fee for private wealth management service. You’ve already lost enough money in this market and you don’t really want to lose more money to fees.

But the fact is that unless you have your money under your mattress or in a jar, you are paying fees and the amount you are paying would surprise you! There are hidden fees inside your insurance contracts, management fees inside all of your mutual funds, account fees inside your 401(k) or pension plan, and sometimes 2,3, or 4 sets of fees inside your retirement account.

Instead of being billed directly, these fees are taken from your account values, and you get a NET return. In a down market, you are actually using your principle to pay these fees since the account is not making any money.

There is no such thing as a free lunch. Whether you are working with a financial advisor, a broker, or a private wealth manager, YOU are paying fees. The real question is how much are those fees and what are YOU getting in return.

To hear the Smart Money Radio Show segment where Bruce discusses paying fees for private wealth management, Click Here! (about 7 minutes long)


To hear the full Smart Money Recipes Show where Bruce discusses Private Wealth Management, Click Here! (about 25 minutes long)

Is Your Portfolio One Size Fits All? Should It Be?

The simple truth is there is no such thing as a perfect investment. If one existed, everyone would own it. Every program or product is a compromise. You have to understand your goals, take an inventory of the strengths and weaknesses inside your portfolio, and see if there is a reasonable match.

Many times, we see people that have a ‘one size fits all’ portfolio. In private wealth management, the portfolio is much more tailored to the specific needs of the client, yet flexible enough to make future changes without any great expense.

Is it possible for you to have a ‘tailored’ managed account for the same or less money than the ‘one size fits all’? In many cases, it is!!!

To hear the Smart Money Radio Show segment where Bruce discusses finding the right portfolio through private wealth management, Click Here! (about 7 minutes long)


To hear the full Smart Money Radio Show where Bruce discusses Private Wealth Management, Click Here! (about 25 minutes long)

How Good Are Answers if They Fail to Address Your Issues

You, the financial consumer, should expect good communication from any professional regardless if they are a planner, broker, or private wealth manager. We don’t believe that any planner or broker would want to give less either.

However, there are times when many communications and answers given to a client fail to address the issues at hand. This may seem counter-intuitive, so let us give you some examples.

Given the shaky market we’ve seen over the last decade, you were probably told at some point that “You have to realize your investments are long-term”, especially when discussing significant losses.

We fail to see how this answers your concern about losing money. Your investment strategy or philosophy should be long-term, but buying and holding a bad investment will rarely have a positive outcome for the client. Management involves routine evaluation of the investments and removing those that are counterproductive to the goals of the investor

Another common response we hear in response to a poor performing investment is “That’s only a paper loss unless you actually sell it”. An investment worth exactly what its value is on a given day when the market closes. If you invest $50,000 in something three years ago that is worth $30,000, you have lost $20,000. There is no crystal ball to tell us if it will ever come back.

There are many reasons why you may hear these universal answers to your questions. Pride-not wanting to admit failure-could be one. People not liking bad news or sharing bad news is another. Finally, people have a wrong assessment of their own ability when it comes to finances.

Money is NOT that complicated if you use common sense and we use easy to understand terms. If something doesn’t seem right or add up to you, there is probably something wrong!

To hear the Smart Money Radio Show segment where Bruce discusses dissecting the information out there for your benefit, Click Here! (about 7 minutes long)


To hear the full Smart Money Radio Show where Bruce discusses Private Wealth Management, Click Here! (about 25 minutes long)

Wealthy Individuals Use Private Wealth Management, So How Can You Use It?

Most firms require assets of 20 Million dollars before you can gain access into their Private Wealth Management services. But it shouldn’t have to be this way!

You need to understand that sound financial principles are the same whether you are a widow with $50,000 or Bill Gates with his billions. The tax codes, retirement guidelines, and investment strategies do NOT have minimum account size restrictions, BUT YOUR financial planning firm and broker do!

Everyone can benefit from Private Wealth Management. The biggest difference is revenue for the brokerage or broker. It does not pay as well as selling products, so you see it less often.

Using today’s technologies, we are able to give YOU access to smarter and safer strategies for YOUR finances.

Why shouldn’t you be enjoying better services, lower fees, NO sales charges, and safer products?? It is YOUR money, shouldn’t you be getting the most out of it??

To hear the Smart Money Recipes Show segment where Bruce discusses why you haven’t heard of private wealth management, Click Here! (about 7 minutes long)


To hear the full Smart Money Recipes Show where Bruce discusses Private Wealth Management, Click Here! (about 25 minutes long)

A Second Opinion on Your Portfolio

In healthcare, patients look for a second opinion from another medical professional. The key factor is that it is usually not the patient’s diagnosis that is in question, but the recommended treatment for the particular infliction.

Through the years, we have reviewed hundreds of accounts where the people are working with a broker or planner who does take into account many different variables, and our second opinion agrees with the steps taken. Let me repeat that, we don’t always find significant problems in our portfolio reviews.

Most investors can sense when there is something wrong with their portfolio. The problem is that they either ignore these ‘symptoms’ hoping the problem will go away (it doesn’t), or they have no idea where to go to get a second opinion.

By using a balanced approach, we can talk about the strengths and weaknesses of your total portfolio to give you a clear picture of where you are today. By avoiding a sales pitch, you won’t have your portfolio “problems” blown out of proportion. Don’t think it can happen, let us give you a real world example.

Have you ever looked to a buy a new car? Think of the sales process. The salesperson, once he knows what you are looking for, will begin to make comparisons to what you drove onto the car lot. The more benefits of the new car they point out, the more problems you see with your old car. That same thing can happen with a review of your finances.

Remember, your second opinion needs to be objective and avoid a sales pitch to be effective for you and your financial future!


To hear the Smart Money Radio Show segment where Bruce discusses paying fees for private wealth management, Click Here! (about 7 minutes long)


To hear the full Smart Money Radio Show where Bruce discusses Private Wealth Management, Click Here! (about 25 minutes long)