In previous Portfolio Minutes we have discussed concepts like the anchoring and herding fallacies, as well as tax issues like capital gains and the difference between book value and net invested. This week we’re steering in a different direction. Recently we found an interesting article written by Tom Bradley for the Financial Post. You can read the roughly 4-minute article here. In it he references the story of David vs. Goliath in differentiating small and medium sized investment firms like CH Financial to large investment firms and the banks.
As pointed out in the article, being smaller allows us to add value for our clientele in a number of ways.
Client service
For CH, one of the ways we deliver best-in-class client service is to limit the number of clients each of our wealth advisors are primarily accountable for. Larger firms often have advisors servicing 300-400 client families each (or more!) while each advisor at CH takes care of the financial needs of no more than 100 families. We believe stronger relationships can be forged when the ratio of clients to advisor is kept at a more manageable level. Moreover, while every CH client has a primary wealth advisor, our advisory team works collaboratively providing multiple touch points and customized services for our clients. If your primary advisor is not available, any of our other advisors can assist you. In working as a team we provide the best of both worlds, offering personalized service while also ensuring our clients benefit from the ideas, experience, and talents of every member of our team.
Business practices & client needs
CH uses a Kaizen approach, always striving to improve our internal processes and service offerings. As a part of this approach, we continue to strategically partner with experts in other fields to provide even more value for our clients. This means offering a truly holistic approach to financial health, with your advisor at the center. In this way we can provide investment advice, tax preparation and planning (for personal, trust, and corporate taxes), financial planning, estate planning, philanthropic giving, insurance and risk mitigation, and address many other financially driven needs and goals.
Investment philosophy
From a macro-level, the CH philosophy is focused on participating in the market during the good times while protecting clients’ capital during the bad times. More specifically, we invest with managers who align with these goals, regardless of which investment company they might work with. They are expected to invest in solid businesses that follow sound ESG driven business practices and provide consistent, predictable, and solid cashflows regardless of economic conditions.
Being independent means that we have full control over who we partner with, and there are no quotas or similar expectations built into which portfolio managers and mutual fund companies we can partner with. Put simply, we are not bound or limited to selling any specific mutual funds or set of mutual fund managers, allowing us to truly put the needs of our clients first.
We hope that you found Tom’s article interesting, and that we’ve illustrated why we at CH remain proud of our independence, and the value that independence offers to you, our clients. As always, if you should have any comments or questions about his article, or ours, we welcome them.
All the best,
Devin Gorgchuck, Wealth Advisor
& Your CH Financial Team
403-237-6570