Frequently Asked Questions

What is Visible Investing?

Visible Investing is a foundational investment strategy that enables you to see the outcome of your investing decisions before you make them. We call it foundational because, like your home, it's built to last—withstanding great pressures over time—providing you the "margin of safety" you need to grow and protect your nest egg. The foundational investment strategy is developed by:

• Establishing your individual investment goals based on your unique needs and tolerance for risk; 

• Intelligently choosing core asset classes in prescribed proportions that provide the needed returns, while protecting you from the adversity of an unpredictable future;

• Protecting your portfolio from the devastating effects of fees and taxes;

• Mechanizing the management of your portfolio to weather inevitable market fluctuations;

• Monitoring your real results and adjusting your strategy as your life circumstances and tax laws change over time;

• Self-managing your portfolio, or self-selecting an advisor. 

Why should you consider Visible Investment Advisors?

Visible Investment Advisors (VIA) are uniquely qualified to help individual investors reach their retirement objectives. Visible Investment Advisors are:

• Independent—putting our clients' interest first and always; 

• Registered—with the State of California and adhering to the letter and spirit of fiduciary and disclosure standards required by law;

• Aligned—with our clients' interests, basing our investments and fees on Visible Investing principles;

• Competent—we know the defined edge of our circle of competence, and we stay within it;

• Candid—exposing both our successes and failures;

• Understandable—never using Wall Street jargon or "filtered" information to confuse or mislead;

• Fee-only—having consistent, straight-forward and reasonable fees.

What  services do Visible Investment Advisors provide? 

Visible Investment Advisors (VIA) provides 3 unique services in the following formats :

• Individual Advisor Services—individual consulting;

• Asset Management Services—using Visible Investing principles, strategies and mechanisms to manage client assets.

• Seminars—providing employees, educational institutions and other groups and organizations with the independent and objective information their stakeholders need to achieve the success they must have with their self directed investment programs; 

Using Visible Investing principles, how will my investment returns compare with market averages?

Using Visible Investing principles will assure you of a market return—automatically outperforming 75% of investors each year. On a risk adjusted basis, your portfolio will mimic or out-perform the S&P 500 with lower volatility. 

Importantly, you will know the risk and return characteristics before making your investment decisions, keeping you on track to achieve your investment goals without the anxiety that market fluctuations can cause. 

How can you control the risks of stock investing?

We have heard many times "I will never invest in the stock market again." Most of the time, people that say this did not invest—they speculated on price direction and lost. An investor makes decisions based on foundational strategies, a speculator makes decisions based on predictions of price movements.

• First, determine the amount of risk you need to take—take all the risk you need, but not more [most people are taking more risk then they need to take]. 

• Second, determine how much risk you are able to take [your tolerance for risk before your emotions force you to make an investment mistake].

• Third, diversify among core asset classes to reduce risk and fluctuations while increasing returns.

• Next, set up a portfolio monitoring and rebalancing mechanism at scheduled intervals, comparing your results to appropriate index benchmarks and reflecting progress towards your goals.

• Finally, consult with a Registered Investment Advisor to validate that your asset allocation fits your risk-return profile, and addresses any concerns brought on by market conditions or changes in your personal or tax situation.

Is investing in money markets, CD's and bonds sufficient?

Money markets, CD's and bonds are core assets that have a place [with an appropriate weighting] in most people's portfolio. 

Their primary use is to provide investment returns for risk averse investors, or income for investors that have already reached their investment goals, and are trying to preserve their cherished nest egg.

Their secondary, and equally important use, is to provide diversification that reduces volatility in the portfolio and provides a store of purchasing power that can be accessed when exceptional value appears in the market [i.e. a sharp market decline driven by a short term event.]

Money markets, CD's and bonds are subject to the insidious consequences of inflation. Non-treasury bonds [muni's and corporate's] come with the added risks of default, callablity, liquidity, re-investment of interest at lower rates, high fees, and derivatives [i.e. zero-coupon bonds] that must be considered and understood before inclusion in the investment portfolio. 

Should you be concerned about investment fees and taxes?

Fees and taxes can have a significant impact on portfolio performance. The average fees charged by stock mutual funds is 1¹/₂% per year and the impact of taxes is an additional 2% per year. At a time when stock market returns are expected to average 8%/year, fees and taxes can reduce portfolio returns by over 43%. 

In our competitive financial markets there is no reason to pay high fees, and there are plenty of strategies to mitigate the impact of taxes. So yes, you should be exceedingly concerned about fees and taxes!