Enable the next phase.
Your investments provide the resources to enable the next phase of your life.
As you focus on retirement, your investments become even more important.
At Waypoint, our disciplined investment management process is based on your risk tolerance, time horizon, goals and tax circumstances. We pay attention to investment costs. We are a fee-only independent Registered Investment Advisor, required by law to act in your best interest — a fiduciary standard. We are not paid commissions.
We can manage your savings for retirement, IRA rollovers at retirement, and retirement income.
Investment Philosophy
- Long-Term. We invest for your time horizon. We don’t believe in short-term trading or rapid portfolio turnover, which drives up costs and increases risk unnecessarily.
- Asset Allocation and Diversification. We use asset class allocation and diversification with the goal of reducing portfolio risk and providing exposure to gains in a variety of markets and investments.
- Economic and Fundamental Conditions. Some long-term economic or fundamental conditions introduce risk or opportunity, and a portfolio can be adjusted in response.
Elements of Portfolio Construction
- Risk Tolerance. Some clients want less risk, or have modest needs for retirement income from their investments; they want less variability. Other clients are comfortable with more risk more variability. At Waypoint, we use a Risk Assessment survey, and talk with you about investing risk.
- Time Horizon. We integrate your plans for retirement and other time-related goals as we construct your portfolio. You may have specific needs for funds at certain points, and your portfolio should reflect it.
- Goals. We integrate your goals for retirement and other needs as we construct your portfolio. These goals might relate to your family situation, a plan for a future business, or the dream of a second home.
- Taxes. We are sensitive to your tax situation, and look for ways to reduce your tax burden. Some investments have tax benefits, and different types of accounts have different tax characteristics. When deriving income from your investments, it may be helpful to sequence income from different accounts.
- Costs. There is a wide range of fees charged by mutual funds. Research shows that higher-fee funds generally aren’t worth it over the long run. We look for low-fee funds that meet the overall goals for the portfolio.
Investment Process
- Investment Policy Statement. We create a policy statement that defines how your account will be managed.
- Periodic Updates. We prepare a periodic review of your account and discuss it with you in person or by phone.
- Annual Review and Rebalancing. Once a year, we meet with you for an in-depth review and to discuss changes that might affect your investment policy.
Our Fees
Our fees are easy to understand — based on the amount of assets under management, with no minimum size portfolio but with a nominal minimum annual fee. As an independent fee-only Registered Investment Advisor, we do not take commissions and can choose investments from any financial services company. Please see our Services and Fees page and contact us for more information.
Why Pay an Investment Advisor?
The mechanical aspects of investing are easy, but creating a strategy that is right for you and pursuing it in a disciplined way is hard. The results of your investments can have a big impact on your life over time―both good and bad results. Professional investment management provides a disciplined process that constructs a portfolio for your needs, taking into account the topics described above. Sometimes individual investors inadvertently create a portfolio that is exposed to more risk than they realize. Or, they don’t adjust that portfolio to account for changes in their circumstances or economic conditions. Or, they don’t take advantage of their tax situation. Or, they simply don’t have time to do the research, or consider investment options that meet the same goals at lower cost. As a result, their portfolio isn’t optimized for their needs.
To discuss your needs or to arrange a low-key, free initial meeting, please contact us.
Please see important disclosures and information in our Form ADV Part 2. Investing involves risk of loss. Diversification does not ensure a profit or guarantee against a loss.