Most people don’t have a plan for their financial affairs.
They worry about money but make decisions haphazardly. They don’t look at the big picture or the long term; this makes it harder to realize their most important dreams and goals. At Lexington Avenue Capital Management, we help people clarify their goals and implement a financial plan to achieve those goals.
In personal finance, many people can get it almost right. But missing that one little piece can be a big problem. The whole thing can crumble if it’s not quite right. Omissions can be costly and it’s not easy to tell what needs to be done. Often a simple mistake wrecks a lifetime of careful financial work. We try to consider all the major pieces of the puzzle and achieve the best results for you.
Many smart and analytical people apply normal logic to the financial markets. Unfortunately, the financial markets do not use normal, everyday logic. We often see scientists and engineers and attorneys who have superb analytical capabilities founder when it comes to investing.
Markets anticipate the future and don’t wait until you are comfortable about investing.
Markets don’t move in straight lines. People love to act on things that sound good even if they have no basis in experience. People are hard wired from millions of years of evolution to react to the very things in the markets that will devastate their portfolios. They also like to analyze one thing at a time but the complex interactions of their finances do not act the way we would like.
People often come to us with a particular question or pressing concern in mind. Frequently, it’s a tangential concern and doesn’t get to the heart of the problem. As people accumulate wealth, their financial affairs can grow very complex. They may not know all of the options or fixate on a secondary issue. We help identify the truly important issues.
Many people are money magicians. Money appears and quickly disappears. We like the money to stay around for awhile and work hard and smart for you. A lifetime of earnings shouldn’t disappear with barely a trace.
We put a lot of thought behind each client’s situation. We look at their individual circumstances and customize a solution. We review assets that many people don’t consider and how they interact to produce tax efficient results long into the future. The rules of IRAs, pensions, Social Security and taxes are complex and interrelated. Focusing on one at a time is likely to lead to inferior results.
While we too crave simplicity, we approach the world as a complex place.
Personal finance is derided on Wall Street, but it is where the rubber meets the road. Investment returns are important but are not the be all and end all for individuals. Having a proper plan that includes strategies for minimizing taxes, distribution of retirement assets, estate planning and planning for legacies and future generations, asset protection, Social Security, health and long-term care are all part of the equation.
Certainly, top notch investing is important too. As professional investors for more than thirty years, we’ve looked at many approaches. What we’ve found works best is an approach rooted in the best academic minds and implemented by skilled market professionals.
Most investors use what makes sense to them. Our approach is evidenced based. A little common sense and a lot of data go a long way. There is a reason behind everything we do. We don’t try to predict the future but we have a strong understanding of the past. There are no certainties in life but there are ways to strongly increase the probabilities of success. We try to make the complex simple and understandable.
Creating, growing and preserving wealth presents many unique opportunities and problems for individuals and families. While in an increasingly complex and uncertain world, everyone craves simplicity and certainty, those goals are illusory and expensive.
We bring decades of institutional money management experience to individuals. We are not awed by the latest fads or snazzy Wall Street firms and do not fall for tricks or fuzzy thinking. We know that good solid investment returns are the products of well designed portfolios and taking the proper advantage of time — the years of a growing family and a long retirement.
Is any of our clients average? Do they deserve an average solution?
Many people are opting for solutions that assume you are average. Robots and simple designs are attracting billions of dollars — especially target date funds in retirement plans. Target date funds, which invest your money based on only one piece of information — age — have attracted $790 billion in the last ten years. The funds don’t consider your gender, health, other assets, location, children, pensions and Social Security, debts or anything else and arrive at the same solution for everyone of the same age It sounds preposterous but this is what happens when people crave simple solutions in a complex world.
We aim not for the simplest or cheapest solution but the best solution over the long run.
To get the proper answer, you need the proper questions and many times those questions are not obvious.
Many people have been burned by financial professionals and other advisors. As fiduciaries, we are legally required to act in the best interest of our clients. By choice and disposition, we want our clients to have what is best for them and we feel that by doing so over the long term, our firm will prosper.
We work hard to earn and retain the trust of our clients and design every part of our process to be worthy of that trust. Our procedures are clear and transparent. Nothing should come as a surprise to clients who are paying attention and communicating with us.
No one person or firm can properly take care of all needs. We constantly grow and learn but pride ourselves on knowing where our expertise ends and knowing which outside experts to turn to.
We look forward to an exploratory conversation to see whether we can help you realize your hopes and dreams. Please contact us by phone or email and begin the process.