1. D O C U M E N T A T I O N A N D MONITORING:
H O W W E K E E P O U R C L I E NTS INFORMED
We recognize that as your client’s trusted professional, it is important that you choose a qualified partner who
works as hard for your clients as you do. Aside from our process, what can we, as investment professionals,
offer your clients?
We work with our clients to determine their investment goals, objectives, and needs. After we meet with the
client to create an investment strategy, we then provide material that clearly explains the process and the steps
that we will take to implement the overall plan. We also often provide our clients with an investment policy
statement and/or a financial plan. With these documents, our action plan is apparent and our clients always
know what to expect.
Investment Policy Statement
An investment policy statement (IPS) is a critical component of our clients’ relationship with us. Quite
simply, it is the map to their financial future. An IPS explains in detail their financial goals, risk tolerance,
time horizon, and target asset allocation. An IPS serves as the foundation of all future decisions pertaining to
investments. In addition, the IPS outlines both our and our client’s responsibilities and specifically addresses
such issues as performance monitoring of the overall portfolio—as well as of the individual managers—tax
efficiency, and communication procedures.
While an IPS may take different forms, its purpose is well-defined: to protect a client from emotional responses
to short-term market volatility and to ensure that a long-term outlook is maintained, despite the inevitable
temporary setbacks. An IPS can also establish rebalancing procedures to allow for asset allocation adjustments
in times of extreme volatility.
Like any good plan, the IPS we create is flexible, allowing for adjustments in response to the unexpected.
We will interpret economic indicators to ensure that the client’s IPS is drafted and revised to increase the
probability of reaching his or her long-term goals.
Financial Plan
The first step of our wealth management process tells us what the client wants and requires, in terms of dollars,
risk, insurance, retirement, and beyond. The second step reveals his or her present circumstances. We then
place the steps side-by-side and create a written action plan that is specifically intended to get the client from
here to there. The financial plan is the written document that details the short- and long-term steps that we
will take as we strive to meet our clients’ financial goals and objectives.
A financial plan will always contain an action plan. It might also include an income plan, a distribution plan, a
retirement plan, an insurance review, an IPS, and an investment proposal. For the short term, the action plan
serves as our guide, but it is a “living document” subject to modification as time passes. We update the plans
periodically to coincide with clients’ changing financial needs, goals, and circumstances.
Investment Partners, LTD Continued >
[ ] 5775 Perimeter Drive, Suite 230 | Dublin, OH 43017 | 614.761.9087
[ ] 212 N Washington Street | Millersburg, OH 44654 | 330.674.5070
[ ] 7325 Production Drive, Suite C | Mentor, OH 44060 | 440.266.0928
[ ] 419 W High Avenue, PO Box 309 | New Philadelphia, OH 44663 | 330.308.9707
Securities offered through Commonwealth Financial Network®, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser. Investment
Partners LTD is a Registered Investment Adviser. Advisory services and fixed insurance products and services offered by Investment
Partners LTD are separate and unrelated to Commonwealth.
2. Documentation and Monitoring: How We Keep Our Clients Informed continued
Wealth management is about being proactive, not reactive. By remaining conscious of the assumptions that we
make as we develop a financial plan, we are better able to prepare for the things to come. As we work with our
clients, we consider the following factors: inflation, taxation, medical care, portfolio adjustment, retirement
projections, projected income needs, longevity assumptions, social security, and return on investments. As
we go forward, we reconsider these projections. Wealth management is a proactive process. By planning for a
future that looks different than today, we are planning for our clients’ financial security.
Monitoring the Wealth Management Plan
As time passes, we understand that preferences, goals, and needs are likely to evolve. Our clients will face new
situations in life that will require significant consideration, especially when building and monitoring a financial
plan. The birth of a child, the death of a parent, an impending retirement, or a job change—all of these
situations can have a dramatic impact on the client’s financial situation.
A financial plan is only as good as the personal knowledge that goes into building it.
We pride ourselves on developing strong relationships with our clients. This intimacy between professional and
client tends to result in financial plans that are better suited to meet their needs. Staying abreast of our clients’
personal situations and evolving financial goals and needs is our priority. So that we can better service them.
So that you and your clients can be confident in our planning.
We believe that monitoring a portfolio is as critical as selecting investments and allocating assets.
Maintenance of our client’s account occurs on both a macro and a micro level. When we closely analyze the
portfolio, we scrutinize the securities held and check not just for consistent performance but for any changes
in management, style drift, and risk relative to their benchmarks. We consider it our duty to ensure that all of
our clients’ investments stay on track with their goals and objectives.
We also look at the big picture, considering the account as a whole. In part, this means we chart the changes
in asset allocation that occur naturally over time. Because asset classes do not move in lock-step, the portfolio
may look very different years after its implementation. This is problematic for two reasons. First, the portfolio
may end up taking on substantially more risk than originally intended, and, second, if the portfolio is overweighted
in certain positions and asset classes, the client may be relatively poorly positioned to take part in the market
rally that the underperforming asset classes will inevitably experience.
For all of these reasons, we are just as careful about monitoring our clients’ portfolios as we are about the
initial investment selection. We track the investments in their accounts on a quarterly basis, we look to
rebalance accounts when they deviate from their original allocation, and we meet with our clients periodically
to address any changing life situations, financial goals, and needs.
We pride ourselves on being thorough with our clients. We work with them to determine their present needs
and their future goals, and we create a proactive investment policy statement and/or a financial plan to clearly
define our investment approach and future steps. You can be confident that clients you refer to us will receive
the attention and care they need. We make sure that all of our clients are aware of the investment strategies in
place, and we monitor and manage their portfolios to ensure their continued relevance.
Investment Partners, LTD
[ ] 5775 Perimeter Drive, Suite 230 | Dublin, OH 43017 | 614.761.9087
[ ] 212 N Washington Street | Millersburg, OH 44654 | 330.674.5070
[ ] 7325 Production Drive, Suite C | Mentor, OH 44060 | 440.266.0928
[ ] 419 W High Avenue, PO Box 309 | New Philadelphia, OH 44663 | 330.308.9707
Securities offered through Commonwealth Financial Network®, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser. Investment
Partners LTD is a Registered Investment Adviser. Advisory services and fixed insurance products and services offered by Investment
Partners LTD are separate and unrelated to Commonwealth.