Creating an effective investment strategy takes a thorough understanding of your unique financial risk tolerances. In fact, identifying the amount of risk you can comfortably tolerate, through our risk assessment, is the first step in determining your investment strategy.

SVA Financial Group professionals work with you to identify important factors needed to define your objectives. As part of our process, we seek to learn about your financial attitudes, values, motivations, preferences and experiences. Once we have clarified your requirements and goals, we work with you to create a portfolio designed to meet your objectives.

To assist you in determining your individual risk tolerance, we recommend taking the FinaMetrica risk tolerance questionnaire. This highly personalized assessment takes fifteen minutes to complete and gives reliable in-depth insight. It allows you to gain a better understanding of financial risks to help you make informed decisions. By completing the questionnaire independently, you are prone to results uninfluenced by others. Contact us using the form below for access to the FinaMetrica tolerance questionnaire.

We work with you to create a strategy that will serve as a guide in making investment decisions. Our mission is to help you reach your investment goals while simultaneously sheltering your portfolio from excessive risk.

After carefully identifying an appropriate investment strategy to meet your needs and risk preferences, we create, maintain, and monitor your portfolio. Depending on your specific situation, this strategy may be expressed by investing in mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), individual stocks, individual bonds or other investment vehicles.

The Key: Balance and Diversification

Many investors take a bottoms-up approach to investing, choosing only the investments they believe will earn the highest returns without regard to risk or how those investments will function as a unit. While this approach may be suitable for a speculator, it subjects most investors to unnecessary risk.

One of the primary tools we use to reduce risk is diversification, which is implemented at multiple levels. We typically seek to diversify portfolios by position, industry, asset class, geography, market capitalization, and money manager, among other risk characteristics. We also seek to factor outside real estate holdings, business interests, stock options, company retirement plans and other assets into our decision-making process.

Although diversification is not the only risk management technique we employ, it is one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways any investor can reduce risk without necessarily reducing returns.

An investment policy statement (IPS) is a must-have for all investors. Creating an investment policy statement requires you to put your investment strategy in writing and to commit to a disciplined investment plan.

After we review your risk assessment and evaluate your current asset allocation, we identify a risk objective that is most appropriate given your risk tolerance and goals.

The investment policy statement provides a directive for us to implement your allocation based on your chosen risk objective.

As part of your asset management plan, we strategize to lessen your potential tax exposure through asset allocation and selection. Then when you are ready to begin withdrawing money from your portfolio, we recommend the accounts to draw from first to avoid paying penalties and unnecessary taxes.

Your specific investments depend on such factors as your particular tax situation, risk tolerance, time horizon, and account size. Investments may include the following:

• Equities / Stocks
• Fixed Income / Bonds
• Cash Equivalents / Money Market Funds
• Index Funds or ETFs
• Non-Proprietary Managed Mutual Funds

Some portfolios are managed entirely with individual securities, while others may consist entirely of mutual funds. Often a mix is most appropriate.

We monitor and rebalance our clients’ portfolios whenever it is warranted. Due to market movement, the percentage of different asset classes in your portfolio will change over time. If an asset class has appreciated, we take the opportunity (subject to tax considerations) to sell some of that asset class ("sell high") and buy another asset class that may have temporarily underperformed ("buy low").

Rebalancing is an exercise in good investment discipline. The goal is to enhance your returns and ensure your portfolio remains allocated consistent with your goals and objectives.

We also monitor your investment returns to evaluate progress toward meeting your goals. A monthly or quarterly statement lets you know the value of your portfolio, along with an easy-to-read summary of your year-to-date investment activity and performance.

We encourage you to come in for a thorough review of your portfolio’s performance at least once a year. Any time you have a question or concern, we invite you to contact your investment professional.