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Who are your clients?
We
currently work with several hundred families and institutions across the
United States and in several foreign countries. Most of these
accounts are taxable, though a significant number are tax-deferred
or tax-exempt (retirement accounts, endowment
funds, etc.). Our typical client has investments of between $1
million and $3 million; our minimum account size is $500,000, while a few clients are in the $20
million-plus category.
What is distinctive about your approach to working with
high-net-worth families?
There
are several aspects of our management that distinguish us from the
crowd. Among them are the following:
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We take a
hands-on, personalized approach to each of our high-net-worth
families’ portfolios.
No two families are exactly alike, and our
management reflects that fact. We examine each family’s unique
long-term investment goals, spending or gifting needs, risk
tolerance, and other financial considerations and build a
customized investment portfolio to reflect those inputs. For
most families, that portfolio includes individual equities and
fixed income instruments, supplemented where appropriate by
low-cost mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, or alternative
investments (such as private real estate). Of course, as our
clients’ financial needs and goals change over time, we must adapt
accordingly.
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We are good at helping families establish a
long-term investment strategy and implementing that strategy at
a low cost.
How are we able to do this? Marketing expenses are some of the
highest costs that investment clients bear (usually
indirectly). We do little in the way of marketing at Roberts,
Glore & Co. Thus we have fewer operational costs to pass on to
you than many of our competitors. If you’re looking for slick
marketing material from us, you will be disappointed! In fact,
we operate on a nearly 100% referral basis. These referrals
come from professionals such as accountants,
attorneys,
or professors at prominent universities, and,
most importantly, from current clients. This continually
reminds us of an important fact: if we
do the right thing for our clients, they will send new business
our way.
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In keeping with our focus on long-term investing,
our stated goal for stock turnover is to be under 25% per year.
In practice, we are typically around 10% – about
one-tenth that of the average equity mutual fund – which
translates to an average holding period of about ten years. Our
turnover rate for newer accounts could approach 25% due to
portfolio restructuring. The benefit of low turnover to our
investors is an unusually low exposure to commissions, bid / ask spreads,
and short-term capital gains. If you are interested in
working with active traders, Roberts, Glore & Co. is not the
place for you.
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We specialize in helping families preserve and
transfer wealth through the generations. Using
straightforward modeling techniques, we help high-net-worth
families determine how much should be spent or gifted each year
in order to legally avoid or minimize estate taxes. Although we
are not attorneys, life insurance sales representatives, or
practicing accountants, we maintain relationships with top
practitioners in these fields who have shared much helpful
information with us over the years.
How are you compensated?
Most of our clients pay us an investment advisory fee based upon
their assets under our management. Also, as registered
representatives, we generally charge commissions on infrequent,
necessary transactions at a discount to a full-service commission
schedule. The majority of our compensation comes from fees,
and thus our incentive is to achieve strong performance - if your
portfolio doubles, our fee increases commensurately.
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Copyright © 2008 Roberts, Glore & Co. All rights reserved.
Individualized
responses to persons in this state that involve either the effecting
or attempting to effect transactions in securities, or rendering
personalized investment advice for compensation, will not be made
absent compliance with state registration requirements. |
