Comprehensive Financial Plan

Strategic Financial Plan

Your Net Worth Advisor

Socially Responsible Investing

What You Can Expect

Planning Philosophies:

Debt/Stress Free Living
Regardless of deductions, or purchasing power, when you are debt free, except maybe a mortgage, you are conscious of the meaning of the term most advisors just throw around but don't fully understand - peace of mind. When you owe nobody nothing, you can really begin to save like never before.

Pay Yourself First
The quickest way to jump on the path to financial freedom is to take a little bit of every paycheck and Pay Yourself First. Before the government gets their share, you can put a little aside so that you don't have to rely on social security.

Develop A Plan
A 1999 Fortune Magazine article released indicated that people with a written plan governing their investments averaged five times more money during retirement than those without a plan. While there is no guarantee that this will happen, the idea is that by developing a financial plan, we increase the odds of a successful retirement and give focus to our retirement vision.

Focus on Net Worth
By tracking your Net Worth (managing assets AND liabilities) you can grow your net worth faster than by following consumerism herd mentality.  Net worth can lead to self worth, allowing you the freedom to pursue interests of self fulfillment, or what Abraham Maslow would call “Self Actualization”.

Investment Philosophies:

Passive Index Strategy
IAM Financial believes in the overwhelming majority of research that suggests that most active managers under perform their benchmarks. We are not stock pickers. While there are managers who beat the market over shorter periods of time, identifying them ahead of time is virtually impossible. Therefore IAM Financial adheres to passive index investing.

Tax Conscious Investing
One of the most overlooked components of investing is erosion of return from taxes. By investing in funds with low turnover, and taking advantage of tax loss harvesting in your taxable accounts, we optimize your return.

Low Expenses
Over a long period of time, expenses erode returns. This theme is echoed by John Bogle, founder of Vanguard when he said “the shortest route to the top quartile in performance is to be in the bottom quartile of expenses.” He should know; of the 57 funds around from 1981 to 2001, his fund, the Vanguard 500 Index Fund, was tied for the 7th best performer over that time period. IAM Financial purposely invests in low expense funds in order to maximize return for our clients because we believe that reducing expenses can lead to increased returns.

Asset Allocation - According to a landmark paper published in 1986 called “Determinants of Portfolio Performance,” by Gary P. Brinson, L. Randolph, and Gilbert L. Beebower, 90% of Investment return comes from asset allocation. The hidden message is that non diversification can ruin the best financial plans along with the biggest savers. We divsersify portfolios in over 10,000 stocks and bonds in 40 different countries.

Reduced Volatility
Lowering volatility in a portfolio is not only less stressful; it may lead to greater return. An article from Kiplinger magazine citing data from Morningstar said that investor returns are often far less than fund returns, particularly with volatile funds. This is because volitility scared investors out of conventional “buy and hold strategies. Conversely, funds with lower volatility did not scare investors into selling their positions. IAM Financial believes in structuring portfolios with low volatility.