Investment Management
Personal planning and advice
Whether we manage your assets or not, a financial plan includes real-time, accurate and secure data aggregation to combine all of your account data into one log-in port and one plan. You can hold your investments at different institutions, and you can finally see them all together in one place! You have full access to your financial plan, right from your home.
Portfolio diversification
With the optimal mix of stocks, bonds, cash and real estate (your home) in your portfolio, you can achieve returns that keep up with inflation and generate growth (capital gains) and income (interest and dividends). We balance your portfolio so that you reap ideal returns over longer time frames while comfortably weathering short-term fluctuations.
Stocks can yield dividends that can provide you with increasing income for the rest of your life. Over the long term, the real return on stocks is about twice the return yielded by things like bonds, certificates of deposit (CDs) and money market accounts.
Fixed investments like bonds can provide steady returns and reduce volatility— they smooth out your investment returns when the stock market is down.
We focus on identifying the right mix for you. Each personally crafted portfolio takes into consideration these factors:
Your spending goals
Your time frame
Your investing experience and expectations
Your risk tolerance (you must rest easy)
Indexed Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
We construct diversified portfolios comprised of no-load (non-commissioned) mutual funds— mainly low-cost, indexed exchange traded funds (ETFs). These funds provide broad diversification among various categories of stocks, bonds, real estate and cash. It may be appropriate for some investors to also hold a small allocation of hard assets, like gold.
The funds are indexed, i.e. they are comprised of a broad basket of securities. For example, an index or ETF tracking the Standard and Poor's 500 Index holds a sampling of the 500 largest-company American stocks. Since you own a basket-full, the performance of one company doesn't have a significant impact on your total returns.
Liquidity
Liquidity is a cash reserve for emergencies, opportunities or monthly income. It is critical to liquidate the right investments at the right time, and it depends on how stocks, bonds or cash are performing in relation to the economic cycle.
It's important to own conservative bond indexes that you can sell rapidly, certificates of deposits (CDs), and cash, for a couple of reasons.
If you need money now, you don't want to sell your home or stocks when the market price is down.
You can take advantage of opportunities to buy stocks or real estate when the price is right.
Liquidity is an important part of investment portfolio construction, especially during job changes, retirement, funding college, emergencies, opportunities or divorce.
portfolio Adjustment
Part of investing is just keeping up with inflation. Based on your evolving situation and developing market conditions, we adjust your portfolio over time. It is critical that you make adjustments for the right reasons— reasons guided by an ethical and experienced CFP who embraces sound investing principles. Erlandson Wealth Management provides proactive and periodic adjustments, and we do not earn commissions on these adjustments.
Proactive reporting
Erlandson Wealth Management sends you quarterly performance (analysis) reports through Morningstar Office, at which time we also touch base with you. Our reports clearly show actual rates of return. Once a year we sit down together with your annual report, and we review and adjust your portfolio.
Because we are investing in index funds, daily monitoring of individual stock performance is not necessary.
Most importantly, we meet or talk on the phone as often as you like, and we are always available during business hours or by appointment.
Fee-only advice for informed, confident decisions
We want you to keep as much of your hard-earned money as possible, without extraneous fees. Because we are fee-only advisors, you enjoy these benefits:
We do not receive any commissions: for products that we recommend, on securities transactions, from the custodian where your accounts are held.
We objectively provide optimal investment recommendations, and we are not limited in the products that we can offer you.
We do not advise you to invest in vehicles that carry surrender charges.
Charles Schwab is our principle custodian for client assets under management. All accounts are fully insured and they are your separate property. Schwab generates monthly investment account statements, and you can view your investment accounts online directly at Schwab.
Flexible options for investment advice
After a complimentary consultation, we charge as follows, depending on which options you choose:
Financial plan only: Flat fee of $400.00. Retirement, investments and more. We can still advise you on your investments, even if we don’t manage them. We use the MoneyGuidePro® software, which you can also access online. Ongoing plan review and adjustment is available at $100.00/hour.
College planning: Complimentary as part of a financial plan. Without a plan, flat fee of $400.00. We use the College Aid Pro™ software developed by Capstone College Partners™, which you can also access online. Ongoing plan review and adjustment is available at $100.00/hour.
Asset management: Charged as a percentage of assets under management at our firm. A financial plan and ongoing planning are included in this fee. We touch base and adjust quarterly, and we meet annually.