Traditional Investments

We follow a disciplined, long-term investment approach and invest primarily in high quality, individual stocks and bonds. Our Equity, Fixed Income, and Alternative Investment (see below) allocation is based on the client’s age, income needs, tax situation, and risk profile. Part of our portfolio may be in traditional stock or bond ETFs and mutual funds where we seek wider exposure to a certain sector or industry, which is more efficiently achieved with these instruments than with individual holdings. The equity portfolio is well diversified across a number of sectors, capitalization (large and small cap), geographies, and style (value and growth). Liquidity needs are generally invested in money market funds and ultra short bonds, and tailored for the needs of each client. Cash reserves are adjusted regularly based on market conditions and opportunities.

A customized portfolio is developed for each client after the initial consultation, and is reviewed periodically (typically quarterly), or as needed. No two portfolios look the same at SCM.

Alternative Investments

For eligible clients, we use alternatives—primarily private credit and private real estate—to lower volatility and add income. When suitable, we may also allocate a small sleeve to private equity.

We do not receive sales commissions or placement fees from fund managers for any of the alt investments.

Financial Planning

We help clients look into the future to see if their financial goals can be met. A comprehensive financial plan makes an evaluation of a family's income, expenses, assets and liabilities to determine if there are gaps between their expectations and projected outcomes. Clients are sometimes surprised to learn that their plans for their desired lifestyle in retirement, leaving an inheritance, or philanthropy, can only be achieved by making changes in their income, spending, or investment strategy.

Planning to achieve your goals can never begin too early, and part of our initial consultation is to understand your current financial situation and objectives, and what, if any, plans you have established. The earlier we make an evaluation, the more time there is to meet your goals.

Retirement & College Plans

In the absence of an existing financial plan, we discuss the basics of retirement planning and advise our clients on the different flavors of retirement account types, annuities, and insurance. Once we have developed a plan, we make the process of setting up a retirement account, or doing rollovers from one retirement plan to another as painless as possible, by handling all the paperwork on your behalf. We can also directly manage employee retirement accounts such as 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b), provided the employer permits 3rd party management.

As with retirement, planning for the college education of a child or grandchild needs to begin early in order to have sufficient time to reach the desired level of funding. Rising education costs make that even more important. We help our clients with evaluating various alternatives to saving for college, such as 529 Plans, Coverdell, and others. Depending on the state of residence, tax-advantaged options may also be available. We help you think through these alternatives, and most importantly, put a plan together to meet your goals.

Divorce Settlements

The divorce process is often a difficult and emotional one. With a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, CDFA® on staff, we bring specialized knowledge about the financial, legal and tax issues facing couples and their children. We analyze the assets, liabilities, income and budget needs, to help reach timely and fair settlements, while keeping in mind the legal and tax consequences. We offer strategies and various options for couples to consider that are unique to each situation.