Integrating Investments into Your Plan
Plancorp’s investment philosophy is evidence-based and informed by decades of academic research with a focus on deep diversification, long-term value creation, and a heavy bias toward low-cost, tax efficient vehicles. While many firms put investing in a silo, we know the value of your portfolio is dictated by the ability to fund the life you want.
Our investment approach involves:
- Evaluating existing investments for cost, risk, and opportunities for tax efficiency
- Crafting your portfolio to match your risk tolerance, time horizon and liquidity requirements, guided by our decades of research and experience.
- Monitoring asset allocation and investment performance including periodic portfolio rebalancing to maintain risk tolerance and support overall financial goals
Evidence-Based & Tax-Efficient
We adhere to an evidence-based investment philosophy for our clients, prioritizing low-cost and tax-efficient funds and vehicles.
Based on rigorous academic research, we build diversified portfolios with long-term strategies that aim to help our clients reach their financial goals without taking on unnecessary risk.
For more information, visit our investing hub.
Goals-Driven
Portfolios aren't a side project. Each of us invest to fund goals, to give ourselves and our loved ones more options in life, and to enjoy moments in life, big and small.
With that in mind, we adhere to a goals-based financial plan, ensuring that investment decisions are tailored to meet the client's objectives, not just to chase big gains with high risk. From retirement planning, funding education, or other financial aspirations, we'll help you invest to fund what's important to you.
Investment Reporting
Being data-driven doesn't mean we want to bury you in a stack of confusing returns data every quarter. We do our best to be a filter so you can easily understand how your portfolio is performing against consistent benchmarks.
Market volatility happens, but our goal is to build your confidence that you know even when short-term dips are causing panic on wall street, your long-term plans are still on track thanks to thoughtful planning and risk management.
Our Investment Committee
With industry consolidation, two experiences are becoming more common. You are either trusting your investments to the preferences of one person or you are plugging into a cookie cutter approach that is a conglomerate you can't question.
At Plancorp we strive to strike a balance. Your portfolio is guided by the philosophy and research of our investment committee, made up of key members of our team who deeply research options so we're only deviating from our plans when necessary. Changes are executed by a centralized portfolio management team to act quickly on rebalancing and minimize risk.
Industry-Leading Minds
We're proud to say in conjunction with partners like Dimensional Fund Advisors, we've been an early adopter of evidence-based investing and efficient market theory for decades.
Today, our Chief Investment Officer, Peter Lazaroff is a respected author and thought leader. A Top 5 Advisor as ranked by Investopedia multiple years in a row, Peter is host of the Long-Term Investor, a highly rated podcast bringing the wisdom of our investment philosophy to thousands of listeners every month. While some may try to hide their stock-picking reasoning from clients, we proudly share our strategies because we believe in it fully.
Investment Management
Helping a Client Avoid a Six-Figure Investment Loss
A client held over $1 million in concentrated stock in one company for decades. He had zero cost basis, and the stock had historically performed incredibly well, so he was hesitant to sell. However, upcoming liquidity needs created a good opportunity to lower his risk.
Single stock concentrations are very risky. Companies could face bankruptcy, get involved in a scandal, or fall out of favor with investors. If the stock tanks, it can bring the whole portfolio down with it.
At Plancorp’s encouragement, he reduced his holdings by 50%, which saved him more than six figures in loss when the stock’s performance recently plummeted.
The erosion in value he would’ve experienced far superseded the capital gains tax he had to pay at the time of the sale. He also was able to free up some cash to do family gifting by selling.
