As an independent consultant, our duties include client education, selection of sub-advisors, tax optimization, asset allocation, and quarterly performance reporting.

Client Education:
Investing is an extremely complex field, and many of the concepts involved can be intimidating to the average investor.  It is therefore of the utmost importance that every investor be as well informed as possible about the costs, benefits, and risks of the investment vehicles that are available.  At Heritage, we ensure that our clients truly understand the philosophy, the process and the mechanics behind the services that we provide.  Proper education allows our clients to be confident that they are receiving the best possible investment plan at the lowest possible cost, and it fosters a long-term relationship based on trust.

Sub-Advisor Selection:
With hundreds of money managers offering thousands of mutual funds, hedge funds, and managed accounts, it is no wonder that many investors feel overwhelmed by the multitude of investment options available to them.  The founding principals at Heritage have over 40 years of combined experience in screening and monitoring investment sub-advisors.  It is our responsibility to select the most established, cost-efficient, and best performing managers for our clients, and to perform both on-site and off-site due-diligence to ensure that our clients’ interests are protected.

Tax Optimization:
Accounting for taxes is a necessary aspect of most individual investment strategies.  Heritage recognizes that no two investors have the same tax profile, and we therefore analyze each client portfolio separately to ensure that the tax impact is minimized.  Because several of our partners have decades of experience as accountants and estate planning attorneys, we are able to go far beyond mere capital gains optimization to incorporate more complex tax and estate planning strategies.

Asset Allocation:
The importance of proper asset allocation is indisputable.  It dictates the amount of risk, income and volatility that is present in a portfolio.  Asset allocation takes into consideration not only equity and fixed income percentages, but also the types of equity and fixed income to be used, i.e., small capitalization, large capitalization, taxable and tax free.  At Heritage, one of our primary responsibilities is determining the risk tolerance and income requirements of each client to assure that proper asset allocation is established.

Performance Review:
All of our clients have on-line access to their accounts where they can see their positions and account balances on a daily basis.  On a monthly basis, each client is mailed a paper statement from their custodian which details account activity for that month.  On a quarterly basis, Heritage provides clients with a full report which addresses the client’s investment policy, reviews market performance over the quarter, and illustrates how the portfolio has performed on an absolute basis and relative to the market.  We meet with our clients on a regular basis to answer any questions that may arise and to ensure that they are informed of the latest issues that could affect their investment plans.