SCM designs your portfolio, picks the holdings and places the trades on your account.
SCM takes charge of building and watching your assets for all account types. The plan selected has your goals in mind. SCM manages your holdings based on Modern Portfolio Theory. Visit our Modern Portfolio Theory page for more.
SCM Process
Asset class choice, the most important decision, is determined by studying your needs in terms of risk and return. SCM selects blue chip stocks and bonds with ‘buy and hold’ intent. Final picks are based on positive facts, sector outlook and expected performance. SCM is neutral to market timing.
At left is a flowchart of the process SCM uses to manage your holdings. It starts with your needs through personal interviews and forecasts of asset classes. These profiles are matched and guidelines set. Further layers of risk control such as sectors, global exposure and firm size are worked into the mix.
SCM feels it is possible to enhance your value by using outside manager’s chops for foreign exposure, based upon SCM’s take of the outside manager’s skill level.
The structure for your account is detailed in written guidelines. Visit our Guidelines page for more info. The strategies used are matched to your needs and vary by degree of risk. Visit our Portfolio Strategies page for more detail.
Guidelines
The purpose of guidelines statement is to outline a philosophy and strategy, which will guide the management of your investments toward the desired results. The areas of guidelines are:
- Objectives– lays out the purpose, desired return type and risk tolerance
- Constraints– describes the time horizon, liquidity and income needs, specifies tax status and legal terms and lists unique circumstances
- Implementation– presents the strategy, asset allocation, foreign exposure and asset vehicles.
For more information about investment guidelines, visit our Account Investment Guidelines page.
Strategies
Portfolio strategy is the road map an investor uses to execute a long-term program. Below are the strategies SCM uses for your holdings:
- Balanced Growth- standard for normal circumstances
- Capital Builder- above average risk reaching for extra return
- Diversified Aggressive- high risk and high return
- Moderate Risk Growth- below average risk and steady returns
- Income Builder- yield based at below average risk
- Value Preservation- low risk with inflation hedge
- Fixed Income or Cash Only- low risk with easy access
For more info, visit our Strategies page.
Vehicles
Depending on account size and your needs, SCM uses two vehicle types:
- Individual Issues– stocks and bonds with smaller positions of foreign ETFs and money market funds. Visit our Individual Issues page for info
- ETFs- Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) index-based with no trading costs. Visit our ETF page for more.
