Our focus areas

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Eugene Fama hypothesized in 1965 that financial markets are efficient, so no one can gain an edge in them. Billions of dollars are now traded daily where buyers and sellers come together and agree on a price. Given so much competition, we believe current prices reflect both the latest news and the latest outlook for the underlying investment and the economy. Our approach presumes that an investment’s price is the best estimate of the current value, and we don’t try to outsmart the market. We don't believe anyone can do so consistently and in the long run.

This one is perhaps a little more self-evident. But if you want the potential for more returns, you’ll need to accept more risk and likely greater fluctuations in value. Sometimes these risks pay off with more return, but sometimes they result in losses. Although adding more unique sources of risk and return can create a portfolio with steadier growth, you shouldn’t take more risk than you’re comfortable with.

Using a single stock, strategy or investment type is riskier than mixing lots of different types of investments. Holding multiple investments reduces the risk that any single investment will cause a drag on portfolio performance. Because it is impossible to predict which stocks will drive the realized premiums, not being fully diversified exposes investors to greater uncertainty. 

Research has further shown that allocating more of a portfolio to companies that share certain characteristics can increase potential for return. Although these investments typically bring more risk, evidence-based portfolios are built to most efficiently allocate across multiple sources of risk — even if it means performing differently than headline indexes.

We don’t try to predict interest rates, anticipate the impact of government actions or outsmart other traders or advisors. Instead, we focus on the areas that can be controlled — such as setting a thoughtful investment strategy and following a disciplined review process.