Working With ACI

ACI works with successful individuals, their families, and institutional investors. ACI believes that accumulating and preserving wealth takes discipline, persistence, and focus. Our purpose is to provide an investment management experience that helps our clients and investors make the best decisions possible, and do so with the confidence that allows them to live their lives to the fullest and focus on the things most important to them.

ACI has limited openings for new clients. If you are looking for an advisor, please take a look at our beliefs about investing, what our clients typically look like, and how the firm works with them. If you think ACI might be a fit, feel free to get in touch through the contact page or by calling the office at 888.407.4472.

We’ll have a zero pressure initial interview to see if ACI can add value to your life.

• Successful investing means understanding risk, and then striving to manage it by working to protect assets during periods of higher risk. The most successful investors understand this, which is why they have a tendency to suffer less during bear markets and have cash to put to work when the market is crashing. They don’t chase the markets for the highest possible return.

  ACI doesn’t like excessive risk. Most of the firm’s clients don’t either. ACI’s Process Portfolios are built around the idea of reasonable risk for reasonable return. If you are chasing the market highs year in and year out, ACI is not a fit for you.

• Each of our clients are different in their own way, but have a look at the things they have a common – that may help you decide if you can benefit from the ACI skill set.

  * Most of clients believe it’s better to have an investment plan that focuses on reasonable returns for reasonable risk and works to prevent permanent capital impairment (read that as prevent big losses) rather than chasing the market to generate the highest possible return.

  * They mostly think of their investments as a business they own – they are more interested in the health of the business and whether it is moving in the right direction than the price they can get by selling it today.

  * They understand that the market experiences periods of pronounced volatility which can be unpredictable. This does not affect their investment plan or their behavior. Some of that is their innate nature, some of that is because we have a plan to deal with the next bear market, when it comes. And it will.

  * They are generally successful people who place great importance on their family, enjoy being part of their community, and have a commitment to life outside of their career. They like to have fun and get a lot of enjoyment out of being alive.

  * They value their own time — therefore they understand the value of hiring experts for tasks outside their core competency. They focus on the two or three things they do really well that got them where they are, and when they leave the office it’s about their family or doing the other things in their lives they consider important. They don’t want to take time away from their careers and passions to deal with things that don’t truly interest them. This is the sanest approach possible, and the most effective. Life is short, and shouldn’t be wasted on things you are not deeply interested in.
  

• ACI is a fee only investment advisor – that means the firm has a legally mandated fiduciary duty to clients. Basically, that means the firm and firm representatives are required to put client interests first. According to global research firm Cerulli Associates, only about 1.6% of advisors in the US have accepted a fiduciary role with regards to their clients. That should tell you a lot about ACI.

  ACI communicates with clients primarily by email, but is available by phone appointment, and in person. The firm has clients in several states and most of them prefer email as their primary means of communicating, and prefer Face Time or web conferencing to an office meeting. It’s more convenient and we can review the same documents or investment matters that we could do face to face. It allows ACI to maintain focus on investments and the research that supports them.

  Clients have 24/7 access to their accounts through the custodian and they also receive hard copy quarterly statements from the custodian. ACI provide an annual review to make sure everyone is still on the same page, to verify circumstances haven’t changed and that the investment plan and asset mix continues to be relevant for each client’s current and future needs.

  The firm does not custody client assets– and utilizes an independent custodian. That means ACI doesn’t have access to client accounts except for directing how the money is invested. ACI is not paid for transactions, only results. The firm’s custodian of choice is Interactive Brokers because they have great execution, very low cost (which means more money stays in your pocket), and are rated the most financially secure of the major brokers (including Bank of America, JP Morgan, etc..) ACI is able to work with other custodians like Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, and others depending on your circumstances.
  

• Keeping costs low is a key to successful investing. ACI’s Process Portfolios use low cost ETFs and low cost funds to help control your expenses and ACI strives to keep fees as low as possible so more of your return stays in your pocket, where it belongs.

  ACI also provides Retirement Income Planning and Financial Planning, which is the backbone of a solid investment plan. ACI charges a low, flat fee of $699 for planning services in most situations. ACI offers a satisfaction guarantee — if you aren’t happy with the plan, you don’t pay. Pretty simple.

  ACI is one of very, very few firms willing to stand behind the planning process in this way.

  When it comes to managing investments, ACI is a fee only advisor, which means the firm is paid a percentage of the assets managed on an annual basis. Basically, that means when you do better, ACI does better. If your account drops in value, so does our compensation. Again, the focus is on keeping costs down wherever possible so more of your return stays with you.

  If you are interested in learning more about ACI fees, send a message on the contact page and we’ll provide an estimate for your specific needs.
  

• Success in investment management and financial planning takes teamwork and good communication between an advisor and a client. It also takes time, patience, and mutual trust. Thanks to the media, a lot of people think about investing as a grab it while it’s hot/drop it when it’s cold game that happens fast – the financial media, driven by Wall Street advertising dollars, floods cable and the internet with sound bytes intended to drive activity.

  The truth is, investing is nothing like that, at least not if you plan is to grow your portfolio. It takes careful thinking, thoughtful research, emotional resilience, perseverance and time, just like any other worthwhile endeavor in life. As Warren Buffett observed, “No matter how great the talent or efforts, some things just take time. You can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.”

• If you’ve made it this far and are thinking ACI could be a good fit, we’re happy to invest an hour getting to know you, understanding your financial goals, your hopes for the future, and things that are important to you and the people around you. That will help us determine together whether ACI can truly add value in your life.

  Most of the firm’s initial meetings happen over the phone, or via web conferencing. It’s more efficient for both us.

  If you’d like to meet in person, ask some questions and see if you and ACI are a fit, just click on the Book Appointment button below. It will take you to an appointment calendar and you can find a time to talk that works for you.