At Hill Investment Group, we’re dedicated to putting the odds for the best possible returns in your favor, leaving no basis point behind. Since every client is unique, the method to accomplishing this goal is multifaceted.  I have talked to dozens of other prominent investment advisors about how they systematically handle these issues for their clients.

The answer I get 90+% of the time is some combination of, “We are not doing X because… it is too much work, clients don’t know the difference, the benefit is small, etc.”. As your fiduciary, that doesn’t sit well with us. Our obligation is to seek the best solutions we can find for our clients…no matter what.

Therefore, at HIG, we’ll continue to pick up the pennies. Over the coming months, we plan to highlight how we do that and what the impact can be on your wealth over time. We will discuss the following topics, starting with the level of cash we hold in our clients’ portfolios.

•   Volume 1 – Keep Cash Balances Low (Better Chance for Higher Returns)
•   Volume 2 – Asset Location (Reduces Taxes)
•   Volume 3 – Using ETFs (Reduces Taxes)
•   Volume 4 – Trading ETFs in Competition (Reduces Trading Costs)
•   Volume 5 – Number of Funds and Not Auto-Reinvesting Dividends (Reduces Trading Costs)
•   Volume 6 – Tax Lots and Tax Loss Harvesting (Reduces Taxes)
•   Volume 7 – Summary (Total Impact)

Most investment advisors and hold between 5-10% of their client’s portfolios in cash for convenience. The “better ones” out there will hold 2-4% cash. Holding a large buffer of cash means the advisor can be a bit lazier in monitoring and trading client portfolios. This buffer comes at a cost. It’s called “cash drag” because, in general, cash doesn’t earn as high a return over time as investing in stocks or bonds. Therefore, for every $1 of cash you hold, there is an opportunity cost… which depending on how much cash you hold, could be massive. 

We don’t want our clients to incur that cost, and thus, HIG keeps cash levels well below 1%, ideally around 0.5% (unless the client has recurring withdrawals). Maintaining cash levels below 1% requires diligence and a commitment to active monitoring. It’s easy to keep a significant amount of cash on hand, but it’s far more challenging—and ultimately rewarding—to deploy those funds into investments that generate meaningful returns.

We want the mutual funds and ETFs we invest in to embody the same approach. The average mutual fund holds between 3-5% cash, causing meaningful cash drag to their investors. The funds we recommend generally keep cash in the 0.1-0.3% range.  By minimizing cash drag in your accounts and in the funds you hold, your portfolio more closely reflects the asset allocation and the corresponding risk profile you set up with us, that we agree to maintain on their behalf.

The impact of reducing cash drag can be significant. On average, stocks outperform cash by 6% annually. This means that an additional 5% in cash could lead to a 0.3% reduction in returns annually. While it might seem like a small fraction, due to compounding, the deficit can accumulate significantly over time. For every $1,000,000 invested, a 6.0% vs 5.7% return over 30 years represents a difference in wealth of ~$450,000.

At Hill Investment Group, our dedication to maximizing returns sets us apart. Our commitment to picking up every basis point is part of a broader philosophy. We understand that the little things, the pennies, add up to create meaningful gains for our clients. Through careful management and a relentless pursuit of opportunities, we believe these small gains will culminate in a substantial increase in overall returns.

Stay tuned for more insights in the coming months as we continue to share how these small gains add up to significantly impact our clients’ portfolios.

While millions of people frantically check their smartphone notifications about the coronavirus disrupting the stock market, here are a few notifications that catch my attention.

These reminders are reassuring, especially when the 24-hour news cycle tempts us to hit the panic button. Most importantly, they keep me focused on things that I can control. In this case, my investment accounts have been busy taking advantage of the volatility in the stock market by using intelligent portfolio management.

Let’s quickly break down both of these notifications:

The first alert I received was for tax-loss harvesting, which is a nerdy term for converting market downturns (such as the one we’re seeing right now) into tangible tax savings. When properly applied, tax-loss harvesting turns your financial lemons into lemonade. A successful tax-loss harvest lowers your tax bill without substantially altering or impacting your long-term investment outcomes.  

The second alert I received was for rebalancing – also known as buying what’s cheap in the market and making sure my overall risk profile, also known as my asset allocation, is on target. This happens automatically—and without additional fees. It’s the investing equivalent of having your GPS re-route your trip to maximize efficiency.

These are the little things that add up over time. In fact, last month we posted a popular article titled “No Tipping on Taxes” which explores how important tax-loss harvesting is to avoid paying unnecessary taxes. No one likes to be surprised by a larger-than-expected tax bill.

In times like these you need to focus on the things you can control (automating your portfolio management) and avoid worrying about the things you can’t control (fear-mongering news alerts). In fact, the smartest financial decision you make could be putting your phone away. If you’re curious about how these simple yet important investment management tools could help you during this period, schedule a short call with us here.

Our friend, Wendy Cook, recently wrote an article called “Why Even I (Especially I) Need an Investment Advisor”.  We think it’s an excellent explanation of why one should hire a professional to help meet important financial goals.  Please read on for the whole text:

Hire an Adviser or Do It Yourself? If ever there were a promising candidate for a DIY approach, it would be me.

That’s not always been so. When I embarked on my investment journey around 1990, I was just a typical investor about to enjoy a tech-boom-fueled run in the markets. Then, in 1998, I happened to accept a position at Buckingham Asset Management, where I was introduced to a new way to invest. I’d written about healthcare, libraries and pet care products. Why not finance? I knew as much about investing as the next person.

Which is to say, I knew nothing.

In what turned out to be one of the luckiest breaks in my life, I heeded the advice of my new employers and shifted my scattered stocks into a portfolio of Dimensional Fund Advisors funds. I didn’t really know why, but to be a team player, I took a leap of faith.

Then that tech bubble burst and, boy, did I learn fast how lucky I’d been to have placed my blind faith where I did. Not only did I happen to sell at the height of the bubble, but I was relatively protected when it blew up. Plus, I got to do some tax-loss harvesting, so I paid almost no gains on the transformation. Suffice it to say, I’ve never looked back.

Since then, I’ve learned a lot more about the whys and wherefores of my actions. What began as beginner’s luck has matured over the years into the deepest appreciation for the science and wisdom of evidence-based investing. From my personal experience as well as the many tales I’ve been privy to in my day job, I know that, compared to any other strategy … well, there is no comparison.

So these days, I’ve got way more understanding of the science of investing, with way more disciplined decision-making capabilities and way better abilities to spot a financial pig in a poke. I’ve also seen the intricacies of portfolio management first-hand, with sufficient working knowledge to go DIY if I had to – especially with today’s automated robo-advisor services to help with the heavy lifting.

Still, I won’t do that. In fact, the more I learn about investing, the more comfortable I am paying for the advice that I know I still need. Here are a few reasons even a sharpshooter like me should not hit the trails by herself:

Me and My Brain – Knowing about my behavioral biases doesn’t immunize me against them. When the financial you-know-what hits the fan, I value having an evidence-based adviser as my dependable sounding board, to confirm that I’m remaining rational … or to let me know if I’m not.

Me and My Education – Since I first discovered evidence-based investing, that evidence has refused to sit still. If anything, its pace has only quickened as new, seemingly credible possibilities augment existing insights and spur off in intriguing directions. To help separate the substance from the senseless distractions, I collaborate with my adviser (and his advisor community) as I consider what to make of the news. Otherwise, circle back to the first point: My brain is always trying to play expensive tricks on me.

And all this is before we even get to the many second-opinion questions I pepper the guy with, on everything from our estate plans, home mortgage and insurance coverage to whether he happens to know a good criminal lawyer for a friend of mine whose son got in a bit of a tight spot.

Me and My Family – My poor husband. Through vicarious absorption, he’s had to learn way more about investing than he’d probably prefer. But if that proverbial bus were to suddenly call me home (and the way I drive, that’s not such a stretch), I feel so much better knowing that all he has to do on the financial front is to call Phil. I would like my family to miss me for my good company, my good humor, and maybe my good cooking – not for my ability to manage a mean trade sheet.

Me and My Time – Which brings me to my last point. Even if I could do all of the above on my own, my long run as a disciplined evidence-based investor has left me in the fortunate position that I can afford to pay Phil to do it instead. Frankly, I’d rather be writing and leaving the nitty-gritty portfolio management to somebody else. Thanks, Phil!