Business Philosophy

If you could create the ideal financial advisor what attributes would be important to you? If you could insist on the business practices of a truly client centered financial planning firm, what beliefs would you want to guide the firm's leadership? You wouldn't be interested if they were solely focused on your investments, you would want to know that your investments were working in context with your life goals and challenges. We don't buy into active or passive investment management extremes; our investment philosophy is based on rational and efficient investing. We aspire to be your partner in planning. Welcome to Journey Financial Planners.

Independent, Unbiased Solutions with Transparent Pricing

Isn't this crazy that this is a point of differentiation? Well it is, and it is not insignificant. At Journey Financial Planners, we are only paid by our clients. Period. No commissions, revenue sharing, bonuses, gifts or trips. When you work with Journey Financial Planners, we recognize the tremendous responsibility and privilege it is to serve you, that is why we insist on transparency with everything we do, our processes, our recommendations and of course, our pricing.

Rational and Efficient Investment Philosophy

For the most part, strategies for retail investors have been limited to asset allocations of actively managed mutual funds or individual securities and recommended percentage withdrawal rates during retirement. In our opinion that is a crude approach for something as important as needing to not run out of money when one is either old or sick.

Institutional investors benefit from a more sophisticated approach. It is sometimes called 'Liability Driven Investing'. That sounds negative, but what it means is you match the risk characteristics of the asset to the timing and necessity of the liability. So if retirement is 30 years out, stocks need to be in the mix, yet if college is only three years out, stocks and even bond funds within a 529 may be too risky. Clients work with us to identify which investments are best suited for the multiple cash flow requirements within their plan.

Our philosophy is rational and efficient because our investing decisions are based on science and experience, not market timing or stock picking. We believe that everyone should have access to the same objective strategies from which the affluent benefit. We aim to have our clients be compensated appropriately for the market risks they take. Easy to say, hard to do, but that is our commitment to our clients.

We have studied the research, reviewed the data, identified the sources, vetted the experts and have come to the following conclusions:

Markets Work
Risk and return are related
Fees matter
Matching portfolio recommendations to the time frame when funds are needed and really understanding people's risk tolerance is essential
Defining clear goals and executing proven strategies with discipline increases the probabilities of reaching goals
Market timing and stock picking are a loser's game after fees, trading charges and taxes are taken into account
96 percent of performance depends on the asset allocation of the portfolio

Disciplined, Yet Flexible to Meet Your Needs

Making important decisions for most people can be somewhat stressful, especially when those decisions will likely impact others. For that reason we run a tight ship with our processes and procedures because that is essential to providing great service, quality and profitability. The markets, the regulatory and tax environment, service providers and most importantly, our client's lives are subject to change. Clients' circumstances can change mid-plan, mergers, layoffs, extensive travel, it happens. We want to increase your peace of mind, so we are flexible. There is never the perfect time to initiate financial planning or a review of your company's retirement plan. So what is our advice? Start.

Comprehensive, Personal and Customized Solutions

Imagine your completed plan; all the pieces of the puzzle finally in place, confident your finances are optimally at work. Listening, clarifying, assembling and delivering solutions is what we do on your behalf. The steps we take along the way are careful indeed because your goals and challenges are unique. You deserve open thinking, clear communication, unbiased guidance every step of the way. Imagine your financial plan being in alignment with the future you want.

To learn more, here are the details of our Investment Philosophy and the Investment Facts which provide the foundation of our unique philosophy and beliefs.

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