As an independent registered investment advisor, I help retired individuals, small company retirement plans and self-employed individuals by managing investment portfolios on a full discretion basis. I help you define your goals, assess your return objectives and risk tolerance levels, develop an investment plan, implement that plan and monitor progress towards your goals, adjusting as necessary.
I do things a little differently than most investment firms you have probably talked to or dealt with. Some of the advantages I offer my cilents include...
Disciplined Approach
I take a time-tested, disciplined approach to managing investments. Most people get into trouble with investments because they lack a well thought out, strategic plan. They really have no idea how to value stocks and they jump in when prices are going up and then bail out when they hit bottom. I take emotion out of the equation.
Long-Term Trend Focus. I'm not a short-term trader. I believe in focusing on the long-term and letting the inevitable short-term emotional ups and downs of the market work themselves out. However, that does not mean that when markets are in a long-term down trend that I continue to buy and hold. I utilize long-term trend strategies to protect capital in down markets and grow capital when markets are up.
Sector Allocation. I believe that you should be diversified across many different sectors. Similar to a university endowment approach, I invest in large and small-cap equities, fixed income, real estate, commodities, private equity, and international equities depending upon my client's investment parameters. However, I also attempt to create market beating returns by allocating a greater percentage of capital to sectors that I believe will perform better than the market in the long-term.
Inefficient Market Sectors. In efficient market sectors, I utilize a low-cost, passive approach for my clients. In inefficient market sectors, I attempt to exploit the inefficiency with active strategies. For example, studies have shown that the small-cap market sector is inefficient. Returns above the risk-adjusted rate of return can be generated by those with the most accurate and insightful information and analysis. I focus the majority of my time and attention to these types of market sectors for my clients.
Lower Cost
I believe in providing service directly to you and bypassing unnecessary middlemen that raise your costs. Most investment advisors will charge you an annual management fee between 1 to 2% and then invest your money in mutual funds that add an additional fee of 1.5% per year on average. About 3% of your funds go automatically to management fees every year whether or not your investment advisor or the mutual funds they employ do a good job for you. In addition, many mutual funds charge a sales load of 5.75% when you buy or sell their fund. With all of these fees and charges and underperformance, it is very hard for your investments to accomplish their intended purpose - taking care of you and your family.
At Mustard Seed Capital, my fee structure is very simple. On accounts below $750,000, my annual management fee is 1%. On accounts over $750,000, I charge a performance fee of 20% of profits. There is no fixed annual management fee. In other words, if I don't make you money, I don't get paid. On all accounts, I don't utilize high cost mutual funds, so there is no dual layer of investment management fees. I basically cut your annual managment fee expenses in half by cutting out the middleman.
Focus on You
Focus on Your Goals. I listen to you, help you formulate goals and then implement and monitor the plan to achieve those goals. The focus is always on your goals. Do you really care how your portfolio allocations impact the probable standard deviations of your portfolio returns? No, you care about whether you have enough money to last through your retirement years. I focus my efforts and track my progress against your life goals, not against some abstract financial measurement.
Customized Risk/Reward Plans. I create a customized investment plan for you based upon your return objectives as well as your risk tolerance levels. You have a definite idea of how much risk you are comfortable with and this level of comfort is unique to you. You deserve a customized plan unique to your goals and risk tolerance levels. I endeavor to create portfolios that will maximize your returns while minimizing the risk levels according to your preferences.
Trust
Honor. As President of Mustard Seed Capital, I am making a personal commitment to serve you with honor and integrity. I pledge to address your goals and concerns with the utmost respect and honesty. I promise to devote my time, expertise, experience and effort to the promotion of your financial security and well-being. And, I promise to do it in a transparent way that allow you to hold me accountable, because that's what trust means.
Expertise. When it comes to the increasingly complicated realms of finance, investments and estate planning, you want to know that your advisor has what it takes to make sense of it all. As an attorney and chartered financial analyst (CFA), I have extensive schooling in finance, statistical analysis, economics, financial portfolio management, equity valuation, security analysis and the law, among other things. Add to that over 10 years of investment management experience, and I provide a solid blend of academic and practical expertise to help you chart a course for financial security.
Independence. Mustard Seed Capital is independent. I am not affiliated with any other firm. My sole objective is to pursue the opportunities that are in your best interests. Many banks and brokerage firms have investment banking departments and affiliations with other financial firms and these related departments can earn major fees for underwriting debt and securities offerings for public firms and advising them in major transactions. To win this business, the banks and brokerage firms often push securities onto their investment clients that may not be in the client's best interest. You pay the cost for increasing the bank and brokerage firm's bottom line. Mustard Seed Capital is different. With no middleman and no hidden agenda, what you see is what you get. From my outpost in Texas, far away from the noise and distraction of Wall Street, I serve as an independent advisor with only your best interests at heart.
Performance
The bottom line is how I have performed for my clients. Please click on the link below to access the performance record of Mustard Seed Capital.
