Skip to main content

Comprehensive Investment Management

As disciplined investors, our goal is to protect and grow your wealth prudently and intelligently.

Investment Approach
Manager Selection
Equity Investment Process
Fixed-Income Investment Process

Investment Approach

Customized Asset Allocation Strategy

Academic research has shown that how investments are allocated between various asset classes drives portfolio returns more than market timing or stock picking can. Our goal is to create a portfolio that is diversified amongst investments that are uncorrelated (responding to market conditions in different ways) that attempts to achieve a higher rate of return for a given level of risk. Your asset allocation analysis will attempt to determine the most tax-efficient portfolio strategy for you.

Deliberate Asset Placement

Asset location is a critical but often overlooked consideration in managing an investment portfolio. Because taxes are one of the few considerations in portfolio construction that can be controlled, we attempt to determine where to place specific investments based on tax classification.

Disciplined Rebalancing

Over time, some investments will appreciate and come to represent a greater weight in your portfolio than initially targeted, while others will decline. Systematic rebalancing provides a number of benefits — such as purchasing equities when prices are declining or locking in profits after significant market advances — while keeping you in line with your asset allocation strategy.

Manager Selection/Due Diligence

A Core/Satellite Approach

The investment world has long debated whether a passive or active strategy is
more effective.

  • A passive strategy, such as an index or exchange-traded fund (ETF), seeks to mirror the market in holdings and returns with minimal cost.
  • An active strategy attempts to beat the market by investing in a unique portfolio of securities.

We pair the two strategies — utilizing passive funds as the core of your portfolio and enhancing it with active managers who can provide the opportunity for excess returns.

Carefully Selected Active Managers

The process of identifying and evaluating active managers is a long and rigorous one, utilizing quantitative and qualitative analysis, as well as ongoing internal debate
and discussion.

  • We look for managers who have historically outperformed their peer groups and benchmarks over various market cycles and environments, identifying the decisions that added value — such as sector bets, stock picking or tactical positioning.
  • We communicate directly with selected management teams to better understand their investment philosophy and process to determine if we believe their strategies are repeatable and can provide value in the future.
  • We select managers with a specialized tactical experience (such as flexible allocation funds or a manager with a contrarian approach) as well as those who operate in less efficient markets (namely, international small cap, emerging and frontier markets) and have the market insight to exploit those inefficiencies.
  • We regularly monitor our approved managers to ensure they continue to add value and adhere to their processes.

Equity Investment Process

With domestic securities we seek to diversify portfolios between large, small and mid-sized companies. Within each of these segments, we allocate between both “growth” and “value” investment styles.

We utilize positions in international equities that provide exposure to both developed and emerging markets.

To reduce volatility by promoting negative correlation we include allocations to precious metals, commodities and real estate investments trusts.

Fixed Income Investment Process

We maintain exposure to multiple sectors of the bond market, including government, investment grade corporate, high-yield corporate, mortgage/agency-backed, inflation-linked, floating rate loans, municipals, and emerging market debt.

We ladder the maturities of our holdings and modify the average duration of our positions depending upon our outlook for interest rates.

When appropriate, we incorporate FDIC-insured (traditional and structured) certificates of deposits.

We consider the marginal tax bracket of each individual client to determine the appropriate allocation between taxable securities and tax-free municipal bonds.

Unlock the potential of your assets with tailored financial solutions.

Start a Conversation

Gradient Capital Advisors, LLC is a Registered Investment Adviser. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Gradient Capital Advisors, LLC and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure.  This website is solely for informational purposes.  Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital. No advice may be rendered by Gradient Capital Advisors, LLC unless a client service agreement is in place.

Disclosures
Legal Disclaimer
Client Relationship Summary
Privacy Policy

© 2024 Gradient Capital Advisors