The CPA Wealth Management Process

As with any investment made in life—a family, a home, a college education—the best results are achieved by carefully constructing a plan and following that plan consistently over time. A well-crafted investment plan allows the investor and the financial advisor to agree on specific investment goals and the strategies by which to attain those goals.

While each investor’s situation is unique, investment plans always address certain factors, including the reasons for the investment, the investing horizon and the degree of risk that the investor can comfortably tolerate. This investment plan will serve to guide us as we work to achieve your long-term financial success. Our process centers around six steps:

1. Assess your goals and circumstances. The investment plan process begins during the Discovery Meeting with a discussion of your financial and non-financial values and goals, as well as your existing assets, advisors, processes and interest.
2. Set long-term investment objectives. Taking into account the long-term nature of successful investing, we set objectives for your portfolio that are appropriate for your attitude towards risk and investment horizon.
3. Plan your asset allocation. Because it is so important, asset allocation is the first investment decision. During this process, we decide how much of your portfolio to invest in each of the different investment types, or asset classes, including stocks, bonds, and short-term investments, domestic and foreign.
4. Select your investment approach. With an asset allocation in place, we now select the investment vehicles that you will use to implement your portfolio strategy. Two key investing principles guide these decisions: the importance of diversification and the value of remaining invested.
5. Build your portfolio. Building on the first four steps, we construct a portfolio suited to your needs, goals, investment horizon, and risk attitude. The building blocks for the portfolio are institutional asset class funds, an excellent way to implement a diversified portfolio investment so as to maximize the probability of achieving your goals.
6. Report, Rebalance, Review Progress. When our ongoing reviews of your situation indicate that changes and re-balancing in your portfolio are warranted, we make these as needed. On a quarterly basis, we report on how the portfolio has performed, as well as the specific activity in the portfolio. At our regular progress meetings we discuss portfolio performance, tax planning, progress towards your personal financial and non-financial goals, and any changes in your personal circumstances that might warrant a change in strategy.

The result of this process is a straight-forward, disciplined plan to maximize your probability for financial success.