Something's Not Working and That's OK!

I think that most of us can agree that one of the keys to successful long-term investing is proper asset allocation. When I started in the business in 1984 it was called diversification but asset allocation sounds far more sophisticated and the alliteration is also nice! I generally use the terms interchangeably. But I digress…

When investors lose money, they inevitably believe that something has gone wrong. Although no one likes losses, they are unavoidable, should be considered a normal part of investing and all properly allocated portfolios have them. Put differently, in a properly allocated portfolio, something will always not be working. Clearly, the wisdom of Yogi Berra speaks to the importance of asset allocation. If any of us could accurately predict the future, there would be no need for asset allocation. It is exactly because the future is unpredictable that asset allocation is critical to long-term investment success.

Although Asset Allocation is a critical service that we perform for our clients, our primary focus is broader. Put simply, our primary goal at Nehrbas Wealth Management is to help our clients accumulate, preserve and distribute their wealth in the most tax advantageous manner possible. Although this is easy to say, it’s difficult to do well. With over 110 years of combined experience, we’ve successfully navigated countless scenarios for our clients in most every facet of financial planning and investments. The most basic question clients ask us is: “When can I retire?” It’s a simple question but oftentimes requires a complex answer. In some instances, a client may be able to retire tomorrow, in others it might be ten years from the date they would ideally like to retire. We base our analysis on a client’s expected ongoing expenses adjusted for inflation, his or her guaranteed income streams (like social security or pensions), expected returns on current investments, expected longevity and other factors. Once we complete our initial analysis, we recognize that circumstances will inevitably change, sometimes dramatically, and therefore these plans need to be revisited and reevaluated. That’s why at Nehrbas Wealth Management we update a client’s plan at least annually.

Focusing on investments, our goal is to give our clients the opportunity to earn the greatest rate of return with the least amount of risk. Does this always mean dialing back the risk in retirement years? No, sometimes this even means taking a bit more investment risk. In the end, when it relates to our clients, one size does not fit all and it never will.

Nehrbas Wealth Management has been part of the Main Line community for nearly 40 years, with the majority of our clients living right in the neighborhood. This has served as a unique benefit over the years as we’ve grown with our clients through their many life stages and have created lasting friendships along the way. We take great pride in being a part of this community and we look forward to many more years of being your partners in wealth…right down the street.