Unlike many Wall Street firms, the Halbert Wealth Management (HWM) investment philosophy doesn’t focus on “beating the market.”  With so many market indexes and benchmarks out there, it’s sometimes hard to determine just what “the market” is, much less whether it has been beaten.  Worse still is the fact that a money manager can claim to “beat the market” even though the investment had significant losses – as long as the losses were not as great as those of its benchmark. 

We realize that the only meaningful benchmarks are the returns necessary for you to meet your financial goals and the risk you are willing to take to get there.  It is important to us that you only participate in investments that are tailored to your individual needs.  The value we add comes in our ability to provide you with carefully researched investment selections and client service.  Only this way can we earn your trust and build a long-term relationship.

Studies conducted by Dalbar, Inc., a Boston-based financial research firm, have shown that the average mutual fund investor does not always obtain long-term market rate returns because of frequent switching among funds.  This happens because of the investor’s natural urge to exit losing investments and look for the next “winner.”  Unfortunately, the latest “hot” funds may be the next to get cold (ie – lose money), so investors often end up buying high and selling low.

We seek to combat buying and selling on emotion by offering a number of different investment alternatives, all of which are designed to reduce the risk of being in the market.  By managing the downside risks, our programs offer the potential for absolute returns, which are defined as consistent, positive returns in both up and down market environments.  Of course, there are no guarantees that they will do so.

All of the investment programs offered by HWM also share our conviction that investors who allow professionals to manage their money often do better than those who try to do it on their own.  HWM attempts to stack the deck in your favor by selecting only those money managers who meet our strict guidelines, and then we monitor each of their programs on a daily basis.

We have been in the investment business long enough to have experienced a variety of market and economic cycles.  We know that the market doesn’t go up forever, nor does it always go down.  Each type of market environment presents its own unique risk profile, AND its own way to potentially make money if you have the appropriate strategies in place.

Ongoing monitoring is another important part of HWM’s services to our investors.  A money manager’s program may work well in one type of market, but not in others.  Personnel changes at the management firm also have the potential to negatively affect your return.  If you invest directly with the money manager, he or she will likely never tell you to reduce your exposure or terminate your investment, even if the performance is poor.  The money manager is best served by having your money remain under management.

In contrast, HWM can make recommendations to move to other money managers should our ongoing monitoring indicate it is advisable to do so.  We monitor each money manager’s performance and trading activity on a daily basis, and recommend changes to you if and when market conditions and/or changes at the money management firm merit.  At HWM, we are on your side of the table. 

Most importantly, we believe that our own investment dollars should be invested in the programs we recommend to our clients.  Thus, the final part of our investment philosophy is to be invested alongside our clients.  Both Gary D. Halbert and HWM’s senior management have holdings in the very programs we recommend to you.  We watch your money like it’s our own because part of it IS our own!