Investing for retirement is a core goal for many investors. The planning process often requires significant input from the investor. Retirement budgeting combined with projections of investment horizon or the amount of time the funds may be invested are key inputs. The goal of such planning is to produce an estimate of required return along with an estimate of the amount risk appropriate for the investment portfolio. Asset allocation is then developed based on an investor’s profile including required return and risk metrics. In turn, asset allocation leads to the development of a portfolio including the selection of specific instruments.

A point to remember is that the portfolio construction phase is not the end of the exercise. Over time the portfolio needs to be managed either by the investor or by someone such as an investment advisor who is hired to manage the portfolio. Over time, it is likely that certain assets or perhaps instruments will perform better than others in the portfolio. This will cause their weights in the portfolio to deviate from the desired asset allocation. Monitoring the portfolio and making trades to correct these deviations is called rebalancing. In addition to rebalancing, an advisor may overweight or underweight securities in a portfolio in an attempt to take advantage of forecast macro conditions or the cyclical nature of economic business cycles. Although portfolio performance based on implementing such techniques cannot be guaranteed, we at C.R. Haupt LLC believe that having professional support during the ongoing process of portfolio management can be of value to an investor.

All investors have specific needs including high net worth investors. In this regard, growing wealth can mean different things. To certain investors, perhaps achieving performance goals while minimizing taxes is important. To others, preservation of and transfer of estate assets is paramount. For any specific need, a broad range of factors must typically be considered. Strong coordination between the investment advisor and other professionals to include accountants and attorneys may be necessary. A popular moniker for such planning is “Wealth Management”. No matter the name of the service or the goal it represents, it is likely that C.R. Haupt LLC can assist with the planning and execution of services related to investor specific needs in conjunction with professional team members to achieve wealth management goals.

Leaving a legacy to create a brighter future for others is a laudable investment goal. Advance planning, often in conjunction with tax professionals may lead to desired outcomes. Investment planning and the development of an investment policy focusing on specific outcomes is definitely possible.

In certain cases where the investment horizon is very long and assets are sufficient, an endowment style portfolio may be developed. Specifically, endowment portfolios may have investment horizons that are nearly infinite. Additionally, assets may be sufficient to allow investment across a more diverse set of asset classes than would otherwise be appropriate for an individual’s portfolio. Endowment portfolios with low liquidity requirements may be able to accept slightly more aggressive asset allocation due to a long investment horizon.