Helping you achieve your personal vision based upon your individual needs, goals and risk tolerance..
September 26, 2017 FORBES recognized the Top Wealth Advisors in the United States. For the second year in a row Randy Carver was recognized on this prestigious list. “This recognition is a testament to the commitment and professionalism of our entire team”, commented Carver. Randy Carver and his team manage $1.2 billion in assets for clients globally.
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September, 2017 Carver Financial Services Inc. was recognized by Case Western University as a 2017 Weatherhead 100 company stating “this is a true testament to the hard work and dedication of you and your company”. The Weatherhead companies are recognized for their percent of revenue growth over the past five years.*
The rankings are based on data from the following: 12-month period of net sales from 2012 – 2016, 2012 net sales must be at least $100,000, Headquartered in Ashland, Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, Summit, Trumbull or Wayne County, not a franchise or subsidiary of another company between 2012 – 2016 and must be a for-profit organization. Neither Raymond James nor any of its Financial Advisors pay a fee in exchange for this award/rating. Case Western University / Weatherhead 100 is not affiliated with Raymond James.
September 18, 2017 Randy Carver, the President of Carver Financial Services, Inc., an independent practice, was once again included on the Barron’s list of the “Top 100 Independent Wealth Advisors” in the country.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be recognized as one of the top independent financial advisors in the country,” Caver said. “I’m proud to be in the company of such a distinguished group. While Barron’s has recognized me this really reflects on the quality of the team at Carver Financial Services Inc. without all of whom this would not be possible,” he commented.
Barron’s produced the listing of top advisors after weighing factors such as client assets under management, philanthropic work, compliance record and the overall quality of their practices. Investment performance is not a criteria because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. There are more than 450,000 licensed financial advisors in the United States so being named one of the top 100 independent advisors is a unique recognition. Sterling Shea, the head of Advisory Programs at Barron’s commented “The advisors included in this group represent teams with extraordinary talent, expertise, and passion for helping clients to achieve better financial outcomes.” *
“Congratulations to Randy Carver on being recognized as one of the very best independent advisors in the nation,” said Scott Curtis, President of Raymond James Financial Services. “Being named to Barron’s list is a testament to Randy’s longstanding commitment to putting his clients’ interests first and helping them achieve their financial objectives.”
*Barron's Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors Source: Barron's “Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors,” September 2017. Barron's is a registered trademark of Dow Jones & Company, L.P. All rights reserved. The rankings are based on data provided by over 4,000 individual advisors and their firms and include qualitative and quantitative criteria. Data points that relate to quality of practice include professionals with a minimum of 7 years financial services experience, acceptable compliance records, client retention reports, charitable and philanthropic work, quality of practice, designations held, offering services beyond investments offered including estates and trusts, and more. Financial Advisors are quantitatively rated based on varying types of revenues produced and assets under management by the financial professional, with weightings associated for each. Investment performance is not an explicit component because not all advisors have audited results and because performance figures often are influenced more by clients' risk tolerance than by an advisor's investment picking abilities. The ranking may not be representative of any one client's experience, is not an endorsement, and is not indicative of advisor's future performance. Neither Raymond James nor any of its Financial Advisors pay a fee in exchange for this award/rating. Barron's is not affiliated with Raymond James.
As the markets continue to increase, investor expectations are on the rise. This isn’t necessarily a positive trend as it is important for our long term investment results that we need to keep our expectations realistic.
In June 2017, Legg Mason released the Global Investor Survey that captured the expectations of 900 investors. The survey reveals that income investors seek an overall average rate of return of 8.64 percent. Those who are working expect 9.27 percent returns, while those who are retired are counting on a 6.22 percent. But in reality, U.S. respondents say they achieve a 7.44 percent average rate of return on their income-producing investments.[1]
This expectation is certainly better than the 14.1 percent that investors expected in 2005, reported by the Securities Industry Association. And it’s definitely closer to being realistic than expectations consumers had in 2000 of above 30 percent.
What History Has Taught Us
Having an unrealistic expectation of your return can be problematic. For one thing, an overly optimistic outlook can translate into losing sight of lessons learned during recent years. With rising interest rates and a stock market that is highly valued in historical terms, returns that are somewhat lower than the S&P 500’s historical average, which was approximately 10.4 percent for the period from 1926 through 2003, are realistic.
Since 1950, returns on a traditional U.S. portfolio of 60 percent for stocks and 40 percent for bonds generated an average annual return of 9.5 percent over rolling five-year periods.
But to earn this return, portfolio values were enhanced by exposure to bonds that were paying yields significantly higher (4–6 percent) than those now available in 2017. With the 10-year U.S. Treasury paying a paltry 1.5 percent, global bonds providing negative yields and predictions of continued slow global economic growth, it is important for investors to lower their expectations for returns from those earned historically.
As the saying goes, “If all else fails, lower your expectations!”
Focus on What You Can Control
Market fluctuations are beyond our control. So if you’re an investor, it’s important for you to focus on the two things you can control: savings and spending. As your investment consultant, in this environment of lower return expectations, we will remain disciplined by employing the appropriate risk-adjusted investment strategy to help meet your goals and objectives. And we will work with you to identify appropriate savings and spending plans.
Strive for Long-Term Performance
You also must look beyond quarterly and yearly investment results and instead establish time horizons of five years or more. This can help ensure that your portfolio meets your longer-term investment objectives. Study after study proves that some investors can make very poor decisions when trying to guess the direction of financial markets.
We provide added value by rebalancing your portfolio strategically based on our review of your needs, your investment status and our assessment of your individual level of risk tolerance.
Every investment class will fluctuate. Some investors attempt to time the markets in search of the greatest returns in a given environment. For many investors, making small adjustments according to prevailing market conditions is part of an overall investment strategy. But in our opinion, the best course of action is usually adhering to a long-term plan in which you allocate your assets according to your individual goals, tolerance for risk and time horizon.
Diversify Your Investment Classes
Also, by creating a mix of different investment classes within a portfolio, you can better mitigate the inherent risks in all categories. When one asset class underperforms, other investment choices may remain stable or appreciate, potentially lessening overall losses. In fact, studies have shown that asset allocation can be even more significant than individual investment selection in determining portfolio performance as a whole.
The Difference Between Asset Allocation and Investment Selection
There are two important aspects of your long-term investing strategy. The difference between them can be confusing, and sometimes advisors don’t explain these concepts well.
Basically, asset allocation is the process of putting your money to work in the most suitable place, in the types of investments that make the most sense for your unique situation. Instead of moving in and out of various investment classes, which is the tendency for many investors, it is typically wiser to simply rebalance your allocation. Rotate your investment in the various classes periodically.
Asset allocation can be your strategy for long-term performance in our opinion. Asset allocation is so important that even some researchers say it is responsible for 90 percent of observed returns.
Now, investment selection is the process of identifying individual securities or investments within a certain asset class that will make up your portfolio. You will select investments that can help you achieve your overall strategy.
The turnaround in the markets and economy is currently positive, and the outlook for the future is more optimistic than in recent years. Having reasonable expectations and allocating your assets wisely should remain at the forefront of your long-term plans.
If you have any questions about your personal asset allocation or the possible outlook for the markets, please contact your financial advisor. He or she will help you create and maintain a course of action that best fits your needs, regardless of the market environment.
The information contained in this blog does not purport to be a complete description of the securities,markets, or developments referred to in this material. The information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Any opinions are those of Randy Carver and not necessarily those of Raymond James. Expressions of opinion are as of this date and are subject to change without notice. There is no guarantee that these statements, opinions or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct. There is an inverse relationship between interest rate movements and bond prices. Generally, when interest rates rise, bond prices fall and when interest rates fall, bond prices generally rise. Future investment performance cannot be guaranteed, investment yields will fluctuate with market conditions. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Investing involves risk and you may incur a profit or loss regardless of strategy selected.
[1]. Karen DeMasters, “Investors Expect Too Much from Their Portfolios, Study Says,” June 20, 2017, Financial Advisor magazine website, http://www.fa-mag.com/news/investors-are-expecting-to-much-from-their-portfolios-33329.html.
The so called experts and pundits would have us believe that they can predict what is going to happen with the markets, economy, weather, politics and just about everything else. The reality is that there are many things that we simply cannot predict with any accuracy. Moreover, the experts often get it wrong even when they have experience. This is often because their predictions are based on their personal past experience and not future trends or events which cannot be accurately judged.
Consider some of these predictions or thoughts
“Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.”
–Irving Fisher, professor of economics at Yale University, October 17, 1929
“Forget it, Louis, no Civil War picture ever made a nickel.”
–Irving Thalberg’s warning to Louis B. Mayer regarding Gone With the Wind
“We don’t like their sound. Groups of guitars are on the way out.”
–Decca Recording Company executive, turning down the Beatles, 1962
“There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home.”
–President of Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977
A firm called CXO Advisory Group investigated the accuracy of predictions by stock market experts. To investigate they reviewed 6,582 forecasts for the U.S. stock market offered publicly by sixty eight different experts. These included both bulls and bears employing technical, fundamental and sentiment indicators from 2005 – 2012. The CXO study found that the accuracy of the predictions was only 46.9% (source www.cxoadvisory.com/gurus/).
Clearly it is difficult to predict things such as the markets, what the economy will do or even what movie will be popular. These things are impacted by a myriad of factors that we often do not know. It can be hard to research these things because often we don’t know what we don’t know!
At Carver Financial Services Inc. we do not believe that anyone can consistently predict what markets or individual investments will do over the short term. Happily we also believe that you do not need to make predictions in order to successfully invest over the long run. We believe that successfully investing means you can maintain and enhance your lifestyle in a manner consistent with your risk tolerance. To do so we believe you must allocate your portfolio that meets your personal needs, objectives and risk tolerance and then make adjustments based on factors that we know such as current tax laws, interest rates and your income needs. We believe that one must take a proactive approach to rebalancing the portfolio based on changes to your situation, prevailing tax laws and the target allocation of the investments; not based on predicting what may happen to the markets or economy. We have developed and refined a process that takes a holistic approach to managing your financial life utilizing these principles to help you achieve your personal vision. This involves looking at your tax planning, estate planning, asset protection and personal goals and then developing a coordinated and customized plan that is monitored and updated.
While it may be entertaining to hear the latest forecast or prediction this should have little bearing on your investment or financial planning decisions. Frankly our process is not exciting,. However, most of our clients are investing with us to help maintain and enhance their net worth not for excitement. Please contact us with questions about our process, your personal planning, your portfolio or if we can otherwise be of service. We are happy to discuss your needs, questions or concerns without cost or obligation. We look forward to hearing from you! Contact us at carverfinancialservices@raymondjames.com or www.carverfinancialservices.com .
This information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that this material is accurate or complete. Opinions expressed are those of Randy Carver and are not necessarily those of RJFS or Raymond James. Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. and its advisors do not provide advice on tax issues, these matters should be discussed with a tax professional. Investing involves risk; investors may incur a profit or loss regardless of the strategy or strategies employed. Asset allocation and diversification do not ensure a profit or guarantee against loss. Working with a financial professional does not ensure a favorable outcome. Opinions are as of 4/4/17 and subject to change.
March 30, 2017 Randy Carver was recognized as one of the 400 most elite advisors at national, independent, regional and bank broker-dealers across the U.S. Each member of this prestigious group manages an average of $1.7 billion in assets. To create this list the Financial Times asked the largest U.S. broker-dealers for lists of their advisors with 10+ years of experience and $300 million or more in assets under management; the brokerages had no subjective input. The Financial Times then invited qualifying advisors – a list which totaled roughly 800 to fill out an online application and they were scored on several factors, including assets under management (AUM), AUM growth rate, compliance records, years of experience, industry certifications, and online accessibility.. Selection was independent and objective and fully at the discretion of the Financial Times.
Randy and the team at Carver Financial Services Inc., manage more than $1 billion in client assets, and focus on retirement income planning. Securities are offered through Raymond James Financial Services Inc., member FINRA/SIPC, at 7473 Center St., Mentor OH 44060. Investment advisory services offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc., Carver Financial Services is not a registered broker/dealer, and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services.
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March 4, 2017 Barron’s Magazine named Randy Carver as one of the top advisors in the Nation and one of Ohio’s ten best financial advisors. Randy has been recognized by Barron’s each year since 2008. Rankings are based on data provided by the nation’s 4,000 most productive advisors. Factors included in the rankings: assets under management, revenue produced for the firm, regulatory record, quality of practice and philanthropic work. Investment performance isn’t an explicit component because not all advisors have audited results and because performance figures often are influenced more by clients’ risk tolerance than by an advisor’s investment-picking abilities. According to Reuters (February 11, 2015) there are roughly 285,000 financial advisors in the United States. Barron’s listed their top 1,200 putting Randy in top 4/10ths of 1% of all advisors.
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