Philosophy
Principles
At Egan, Berger and Weiner, our independence allows us to make our clients the center of everything we do. In order to ensure this, we have four key principles that guide us at all times.
Our Planning Process
The financial planning process may seem intimidating at first. Our goal is to make it as simple as possible by taking you through our six step process, the Financial Planning Spectrum. As you make your way through the Spectrum, you will go from financial uncertainty to clarity as each step opens up new possibilities.
Asset Allocation
Asset allocation is the process of spreading your money across multiple types of investments in an effort to control risk. Different types of investments respond to economic conditions in different ways. Some may do very well when the economy is humming along, but do poorly when things turn down. Others may do better when the economy is struggling. Gains in some investments will hopefully offset losses in others. Asset allocation isn’t likely to make you rich, but it can help you to better manage your risk and pursue your goals.
Your ideal asset allocation depends on several factors. As together, we move through our six step process called the Financial Planning Spectrum, we’ll help you to determine your ideal asset allocation strategy.
Asset allocation is an investment strategy that will not guarantee a profit or protect you from loss.
Risk Management
At Egan, Berger and Weiner, risk management is of paramount importance. We are not trying to “beat the market”. By better controlling the ups and downs the market naturally goes through, we feel that we can help our clients pursue their life’s goals over time, with less drama. By combining different types of investments in varying amounts, we can create strategies that range from conservative to aggressive. Each client’s ability to take on risk is one of the things that make them unique and depends on many factors. Through our six step process, the Financial Planning Spectrum, we will get to know you, your attitudes towards risk and your ability to take risk and apply this to your personalized strategy. Along the way, we will educate you on key investment concepts to help you understand risk and make the best decisions for you and your family.
Manager Selection
There are over 10,000 mutual funds and ETFs in existence today. At EBW, we have a defined process to select the funds that fit best into our strategies. There has been considerable debate over the use of active management versus passive management. Active management uses a portfolio manager and research team in an attempt to either outperform the fund’s benchmark index or to better control risk relative to their index. Passive management, also known as indexing, does not have a human element and seeks to mirror an existing benchmark index. Active management carries higher fees than does passive management and therefore must overcome those fees in order to add value for the investor. Our research has shown that active and passive management do well in different economic conditions. Rather than chose sides, our philosophy embraces both strategies in attempts to manage risk, participate in robust markets and control costs.
Our Investment Policy Committee starts selecting our mutual funds by applying filters to the entire mutual fund and ETF universe in order separate those funds that meet our requirements from those who do not. That first screen includes:
- Performance
- Consistency
- Manager tenure
- Expenses
- Style consistency
- Risk
Once we’ve narrowed the field down to the few funds that meet our criteria, we hold meetings with each fund’s management team to better understand their people, process and philosophy. After we are satisfied that we have collected all of the relevant information, our Investment Policy Committee will vote to determine which of the funds will be added to our model strategies.
After being added to our strategies, we continuously monitor each fund for adherence to our criteria. If we identify that a fund no longer meets our requirements, we place the fund on a formal “watch” list, subjecting the management team to increased scrutiny and more frequent communication. At the end of this process, our Investment Policy Committee will determine if the fund should remain in our strategy or be replaced with a new fund.
Before investing in ETFs and mutual funds, investors should carefully consider a fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. Fund prospectuses contain this and other information and may be obtained by asking your financial advisor. Read prospectuses carefully before investing.