Investment Management
3 Investment Principles to Align Your Portfolio With the Life You Want Next
When you’re approaching retirement, every investment decision plays a role in your future lifestyle.
My investment philosophy is designed to reduce unnecessary risk, improve long-term, after-tax outcomes and keep your money aligned with your goals, not the headlines.
Most investment strategies fail not because they are wrong, but because they are disconnected from the life they are meant to support.
I work with University of Rochester professionals who want their investments to reduce uncertainty, not create it. The principles below guide how portfolios are designed to support real-life decisions, not headlines.
Related investment insight:
Why the Risk You Took in Your 40s Could Hurt You in Your 60s
1.) Keep Investment Costs Low
Morningstar’s research shows that investment cost is one of the best predictors of future returns. Funds with lower expense ratios have historically outperformed high-cost alternatives.
That’s why we build retirement portfolios primarily with low-cost index funds. Lower costs do not just improve returns. They increase the probability that your plan works without requiring higher risk.
2.) Own Tax-Efficient Investments to Keep More of What You Earn
Taxes can quietly erode your retirement savings. We build portfolios to minimize avoidable tax drag by placing the right investments in the right accounts, capturing long-term capital gains rates, planning for Roth conversions and RMDs, and harvesting losses when markets dip.
The result: more after-tax return and a smoother, more predictable tax bill throughout your life & retirement so your lifestyle is not compromised later.
3.) Own the Right Asset Classes
Not every available investment belongs in a retirement plan. We focus only on asset classes supported by peer-reviewed academic research and combine them in a way that improves diversification and helps cushion market shocks.
For example, some corporate bonds behave like stocks in a downturn, which isn’t the kind of protection retirees need. We build portfolios to help you stay invested, even when headlines get scary.
As a fiduciary, our job is to make investment decisions that are in your best interest. This means ignoring the daily headlines and sticking with evidence-based solutions.
The goal is not to eliminate volatility. It is to design portfolios you can stay committed to through real market stress.
Want to discover how smart, evidence-based investing can benefit you through every stage of your life?