At Spielberger & Brooks, Inc., we consider your needs and goals as well as a variety of financial information to create a customized wealth management strategy.

Each strategy contains an asset allocation tailored to your specific needs. Once an allocation is decided upon we will search for the leading Index Funds, ETF’s, and equities to help implement the investment strategy. In most cases we will utilize a hedging process known as Covered Call Writing. The asset allocation process is ongoing, in that we’re always there to guide you and make changes when necessary.

Asset Allocation

Studies have found that, over the long run, your investment allocation is more important than individual investments, in determining overall performance, and lowering the level of risk for diversified portfolios. Although the chosen investments are secondary to your overall performance we will always strive for superior investments. Furthermore, the process of selecting an appropriate investment mix encourages clients to organize their investments and consider financial needs and risk tolerance, as well as external factors such as inflation, taxes, interest rates and the current economy. At The Spielberger Group, we help clients to determine an asset allocation that is appropriate for them in terms of their appetite for and ability to shoulder risk.

Exchange Traded Funds (ETF’s) are similar to mutual funds in that they generally invest in a basket of stocks. However, that is where the similarities end. ETF’s offer lower expense ratios and are more tax efficient than mutual funds due to their low turnover. We invest most of clients’ assets in ETF’s as they present better investment opportunities. ETF’s offer a wide variety of diversification: there are hundreds of ETF’s that cover every major index, sector, and international market. These types of investments are also more liquid than mutual funds because they can be traded at any time during the trading day like an equity, whereas mutual funds are traded at the end of each trading day. ETF’s also offer clients of Spielberger & Brooks a unique opportunity to hedge their investments with covered call writing strategies. Covered calls can only be written against equity type positions. Although this type of strategy does not protect against all losses, it does help to minimize losses.

Although Spielberger & Brooks has moved slowly away from investing in mutual funds over the years, some instances still remain where using these types of investments can still be beneficial. Finding a mutual fund with a good manager at a well-respected company is the key to picking the right one for your portfolio. You’re not investing in some disembodied vehicle. There are real people behind all of the numbers you see. You cannot understand the numbers unless you understand the managers, their investment philosophies and their skill at implementing those philosophies. At Spielberger & Brooks we understand all of these aspects to choosing appropriate managers. Using the latest technology we put the entire mutual fund universe through a diligent screening process on a quarterly basis to filter out the quality managers from the poor performing ones. In addition, our research team keeps a close eye on the mutual fund marketplace throughout the quarter. This helps us to determine any potential problems with current mutual fund investments or if any investment opportunities arise. The goal of our in depth screening process is to provide the best possible mutual fund choices for your portfolio.