Resources
– Benjamin Franklin
We invite you to read a blog by Larry Swedroe, financial author and national speaker.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- What are the Nobel Prize-winning contributions to the investment approach?
- Whom do you serve?
- Describe your broad services.
- How do you charge for your services?
- How much does it cost to hold initial planning meetings with your firm?
- What happens to my current holdings if I become a client?
- Where are my assets held?
- What do you mean by a Passive Investment approach?
- What if I need a bond (fixed income) portfolio?
- I am not from the New Jersey area. How would this work?
- I have heard you offer access to Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) funds. How do I learn more about DFA and what is your relationship with them?
- How do I get more information?
Q: What are the Nobel Prize-Winning contributions to the investment approach?
A: Our approach to investing is based on academic research known as Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT), which has four basic concepts:
- Markets process information so rapidly when determining security prices that it is extremely difficult to gain a competitive edge by exploiting market anomalies.
- Over time, riskier assets provide higher expected returns as compensation to investors for accepting greater risk.
- Adding high-risk, low-correlating asset classes to a portfolio can actually reduce volatility and increase expected rates of return.
- Passive asset class fund portfolios can be designed with the expectation of delivering over time the highest expected returns for a chosen level of risk.
Q: Whom do you serve?
A: We provide our investment services to individuals, families, businesses and organizations who wish to pursue long-term goals based on our strategic approach to Wealth Management.
Q: Describe your broad services.
A: We help you plan for major life events and retirement to reduce your stress around financial matters. We design an investment plan for you and implement it using an academic approach known as Modern Portfolio Theory. We help you recognize and sidestep emotional reactions that can sabotage your long range plans. As your advisor, we are in your corner – doing all we can to help you succeed.
Q: How do you charge for your services?
A: We are a fee-based advisor, with our fees based on a percentage of the value of your assets that we manage. This approach best aligns our interests with yours. Our fees are on a sliding scale: as your portfolio grows, the percentage drops. We take a "family" approach by aggregating assets to determine your fees (while still managing each portfolio according to its distinct policies.) This enables favorable rates for your immediate family.
Q: How much does it cost to hold initial planning meetings with your firm?
A: There is no cost for our initial meetings. We feel it is a great investment of time to get to know one another before we seek a mutual commitment.
Q: What happens to my current holdings if I become a client?
A: Before any changes are made, we analyze your existing securities to see if they add to a sound investment plan. We discuss our recommendations with you and no decisions are made unless you agree to them. The goal is for your portfolio to align with your lifetime objectives.
We evaluate whether your securities are held in the best account to maximize tax efficiency and if there are hidden costs that drive down your returns. If existing holdings lend themselves to these objectives, we leave them in place. If changes are warranted, we work with you to ensure any transitions occur smoothly and cost-effectively.
Q: Where are my assets held?
A: Your assets are held outside our walls at an independent custodian such as Schwab Institutional or Fidelity Investments who verify your portfolio activity every step of the way. While you grant us a Limited Power of Attorney to execute transactions on your behalf, the assets are in your name and you remain in control.
Q: What do you mean by a Passive Investment approach?
A: Many people misunderstand passive to mean “do nothing.” Rather, a passive approach is one that recognizes the futility of spending time and energy in search of mispriced stocks and timing the market. JG Advisors selects passively managed mutual funds that closely mirror an asset class (securities with similar risk and reward characteristics). This ensures you will achieve the market returns. As an added benefit, passively managed funds are typically less costly and more tax-efficient than actively managed funds.
Passive does not mean that portfolios do not need to be managed. Once your plan is in place, we work to keep it on track through rebalancing and tax management.
Q: What if I need a bond (fixed income) portfolio?
A: Our philosophy is that fixed income investing has a vital mission all its own: to minimize overall volatility in a portfolio and provide a stable financial base. Fixed income should act as the vehicle for steady, reliable income and contingency reserves. Your fixed income needs are addressed as an integral part of your overall portfolio.
If a custom bond portfolio makes sense for you, we build one using high credit-quality securities. We vigilantly avoid bonds with high (and often hidden) associated costs. Through our relationship with BAM Advisor Services, LLC, we have access to strategic fixed income resources using a wide network of local and national bond dealers that help ensure a wide range of offerings as well as fair and competitive institutional level pricing for you.
Q: I am not from the New Jersey area. How would this work?
A: JG Advisors serves clients all across the country and we are open to meeting at any location. If that is not viable, we also provide high-quality services via telephone or electronic communications. Of course, you are most welcome to visit our offices any time you are visiting the New York or New Jersey area.
Q: I have heard you offer access to Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) funds. How do I learn more about DFA? What is your relationship with them?
A: Our firm is proud to be among the select firms who have access to DFA Mutual Funds. We often find that they provide the best vehicles for building portfolios that can be cost-effectively designed and managed to target your unique objectives through all types of markets. However, we receive no commissions for using DFA funds. Whenever we feel there is a better investment option for your particular needs, we use it.
You can learn more about Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) by clicking here to visit their website.
Q: How do I get more information?
A: We would be happy to provide you with more information and to offer you a second opinion on your current investments. For contact details, click here.
