Professor Ancona CFA is among a select network of investment advisors chosen to collaborate with some of America's most distinguished financial academics for the purpose of applying their research to the practical world of managing investments. Our approach is firmly rooted in the belief that markets are "efficient", and that investors' returns are determined principally by asset allocation decisions, not by market timing nor stock picking. We employ strategies to capture the full capital market returns there for the taking in each asset category at minimal cost. We have no economists forecasting business cycles or interest rates, no investment strategists shifting allocations between stocks and bonds, no analyst searching out "undiscovered" stocks, nor a crystal ball anywhere in the house.

Index funds are based on a similar philosophy, but our strategies differ from conventional indexed products in important respects. Instead of tracking popular market benchmarks developed by data vendors, they are designed to capture the expected returns which accompany each independent sources of risk, i.e. each asset category, at the lowest cost possible. These categories of risk and expected returns are identified by rigorous academic research. This focus on portfolio "engineering" distinguishes our approach from both traditional active managers and traditional indexers.

We also place great emphasis on minimizing trading costs. Rather than replicate an index in mechanical fashion, we use institutional investment vehicles which employ a sophisticated strategy that allows for slight variations in day-to-day portfolio balance, not the indexer's precise market weighting. Placing the emphasis on low trading costs rather than tracking error offers a more reliable way to enhance net investment returns, by significantly reducing trading costs, and thus increasing investors' returns.

Our overall objective is to help clients structure globally diversified portfolios that add value over simple index strategies while remaining consistent with a passive "no forecasting" philosophy.

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