Investment Advisory Guidance to Help with Your Unique Goals
The truth is, most Americans don’t take the time to think about their financial future. They think having a savings account is enough. But not having a comprehensive financial plan puts you and your loved ones at risk later in life.
Investing is key to making sure that you are letting your hard-earned money work for you. Whether you invest in bonds, stocks, real estate, or other investments, our goal will be to grow your wealth so you can achieve financial freedom. When you work with Thinking Big, you’ll receive expert investment guidance tailored to your unique goals and milestones.
Why Do You Need an Investment Advisor?
Investment management is a fancy term for managing all your assets—anything from your stocks and bonds, to your real estate and artwork. These are things you’ve worked hard to secure. Your assets are a reflection of what you value, and they need protection.
It’s no surprise then that the most common pitfall for new investors is giving into emotional decisions. It’s hard not to: a crisis happens and the market tanks. We panic and pull our money out of our investments. We don’t want to lose the things we’ve worked so hard to gain.
After years of working on Wall Street, I know firsthand that’s the exact opposite of what you should do. When you work with Thinking Big, you’ll have someone to stand between panic and knee-jerk reactions. I’ll support you in playing the long game with your investments, because I want to help you build your wealth, plain and simple.
But investing is bigger than the stock market. Good investment management finds a strategy that fits your vision. After getting to know you, I’ll help you choose the right options for investing your money. That way, you can feel secure—even when the world doesn’t.
Investment Management Services in New York
Thinking Big’s approach to investing is all about controlling the controllables: keeping costs low, managing risky behavior, avoiding things we don’t understand, and keeping an eye on your taxes.
Each investment plan is created with you in 3 steps:
- We’ll assess your plans for your money after we do some financial planning.
- We’ll tailor an investment management strategy, or asset allocation, that fits your objectives and aligns with your comfort level in terms of risk.
- We’ll actively watch and manage your money to make sure it follows the guidelines we set out.
We believe that reaching your goals has little correlation with “beating the market.” Instead, Thinking Big helps you invest sensibly, so you’re not at risk of throwing your money away.
Lastly, I’m a fiduciary, which means I put my clients first. No commissions, no sales quotas; just your interests at heart.
Some Common Questions About Investment Management
How does the process work?
First, we talk about what the purpose of the money you are investing: retirement? a child? a dream home? Once we’ve established the ultimate goal, we’ll then figure out an investment strategy that makes sense for that purpose. We’ll have a conversation about your risk tolerance (and your capacity to take risk). This will establish a comfort level. And then, we will develop an “investment policy statement” for you. This document will provide the guidelines on how I will invest your money based on your situation. Ultimately, your goals and comfort level drive the process.
How much risk do you take with my money?
Before the first dollar is invested, we sit down and have a conversation about what you are comfortable with. We assess you’re ability (or capacity) to take risk and your willingness to take risk. Once we decide on what makes the most sense for you, we will establish guidelines for your investments and stick to those guidelines as we manage them
Will you beat the market?
No! I’m afraid you’ve found the wrong place. It is my firm belief that you don’t need to pick the right stocks to achieve your dream goals. Instead, an investment management discipline focused on protecting your downside and controlling the things in our control — expenses and taxes — are the keys to long term success. The market will take care of the rest.
What do you invest in?
As a general philosophy, my investment management style is concentrated on using a mix stocks and bonds in your portfolio. This may take the form of a basket of individual stocks or bonds or through exchange traded funds (ETFs). I generally shy away from using actively managed products (i.e mutual funds) given the likelihood that you will underperform the market and pay a lot of cost.
Will you help me manage my investments outside of your firm?
Yes! As your investment advisor, I will look over all of your investments held at other firms if you would like –whether that is an old mutual fund, a small business or alternative investments.
How do you charge for investment management services?
The fee for managing investment is included as part of the financial planning fee, which is a formula based on income and net worth. At the outset of the relationship, the fee is calculated and remains flat and resets every two years.
What’s the value of having a financial advisor to manage my money?
The value a financial advisor provides in managing your money is multi-faceted. A financial advisor will tailor an investment approach that is appropriate for your situation. I will add value my ensuring that you are controlling for risk (not being too risky with your money), that you are optimizing where you invest your money (tax advantage or taxable accounts) and finally controlling the controllables. That means I help you to save on expenses and taxes. Oh and most important: helping you to manage your worst impulses when markets go crazy and your markets go up or down a lot.