Growth and Value: Understanding Investment Styles
Growth and Value: Two Styles of Stock Investing Stocks are often grouped into two distinct categories or “styles:” growth and value. Knowing the differences between the two and how to incorporate them into a portfolio can help investors smooth out the ride toward their long-term financial goals.
Understanding Exchange Traded Funds – ETFs
What Are ETFs? ETFs are professionally managed, diversified portfolios of stocks, bonds, or other assets that are traded on an exchange. How Common Are ETFs? The first ETF debuted in 1993. Today there are over 2,000 ETFs available in the US. At the end of 2019, there was over $4.4 trillion invested
A New Series of Portfolios to Give You More Options
On April 1st (no fooling) we launched a new series of portfolios—the Factor Select portfolios. We created them in response to advisors who wanted our best ideas about how to build low cost, factor-based portfolios. A lot of work and research went into their design and we proudly offer them to give
Given the market activity we have experienced recently, we thought it would be a good opportunity to share our views and hopefully provide a little useful perspective and insight. In short, we really view this as a natural and probably necessary pullback in the markets. Through September 30th, US st
First Quarter 2018 – What a Ride…or Was It?
At First Ascent, we take a long-term view towards investing, believing shorter-term moves in the markets are unpredictable and mostly just noise. The first quarter of 2018 was a great example of why we believe this. As a result, I advocate what I call the “Rip Van Winkle” approach to long-term
“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.” Lance Armstrong It finally arrived. We knew it was coming at some point, but as usual we didn’t kno
It’s all over the headlines. The value is going crazy and everyone is wondering about it. Bitcoin alone has gone from roughly $1,000 at the beginning of the year to $19,000. A meteoric rise. Bitcoin’s success has spawned other “cryptoassets.” You can now buy Ethereum, Litecoin, or any
Reaching Your Destination Requires Planning for the Journey
About a year ago, I came across an illustration from JPMorgan’s Guide to the Markets that I found to be a very interesting way to look at the path traveled by investors. Often, clients will look at the history of an investment and only see the final results, while overlooking the “roller coaster
5 Key Trends from the Disrupt | Advice Conference
Last month I had the pleasure of participating in the inaugural Disrupt|Advice conference hosted by SourceMedia in New York. Described as the first conference that’s laser-focused on all the ways the financial advice business is changing, the event brought together many industry thought leaders
4 Considerations for Separating Gimmicks from Investment Opportunities
I spend many of my days looking at, reviewing, and—far more often than not—dismissing new investment funds and ETFs. One of the words that often comes to my mind upon initial review of some of these investment ideas is: “gimmick.” Merriam-Webster defines a gimmick as “a trick or device u
It is not uncommon for advisors or their clients to ask about creating a certain level of yield in a portfolio, saying something like “I need a portfolio that yields 4% or 5% as that is what I plan to withdraw.” It is also not uncommon to see investment strategies tailored to these requests. Aft
The “Brilliance” of Simplicity
At First Ascent, we like to say our portfolios are “elegantly simple.” Our Global Explorer portfolios are designed to provide the low-cost access to broad global securities markets, with the inclusion of several high conviction, unique strategies for increased diversification, alpha potential, a
My Head is Spinning – How Does This Make Any Sense?
On the eve of the enactment of the DOL Fiduciary rule, I find myself scratching my head at the reactions of some leading financial services firms. Several of the largest brokerage firms have begun responding to the DOL Fiduciary Rule in mind-boggling ways. Some firms banned commissions in retirement
Fees are a primary consideration here at First Ascent. You’ve probably heard of our flat portfolio management fee, which is the first of its kind that we know of. Beyond that, we are always focused on managing the transaction costs and internal expenses of our portfolios. While we believe a penny
First Ascent maintains its brand identity and will operate as an independent subsidiary of GeoWealth
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