Investment Consulting

After falling just over 50% from its peak in October 2007, the S&P 500 has posted strong gains since the market low in March 2009. While the market meltdown in late 2008 and early 2009 is now becoming a not-so-recent… Read More >

In this commentary, we explore the underlying mechanics of what goes on inside a bond fund and how its price changes over time if interest rates experience a one-time increase. I. Introduction Interest rates are at historic lows, and while… Read More >

The white paper, “Creating Equity Portfolios,” poses the question “Why do we recommend certain equity allocations?” The paper reviews the nuts and bolts of diversification and the factors we consider in forming equity portfolios. By considering data and research on… Read More >

Research has shown that selection of asset classes is the most important factor in determining the variation in returns of an investment portfolio across time and among portfolios.[1] This paper reviews PW&Co’s approach to selecting asset classes for inclusion in… Read More >

Having experienced a period of falling rates that have positively influenced the return on bonds, many people are worried about the prospects that interest rates will increase. We do not believe that we can profit by predicting interest rates or… Read More >

Investment expenses can be a significant drag on investment performance. Some investment expenses are easily identified, and others are hidden from view. Authoritative studies of total investment expenses are scarce. The following table presents estimates developed by William J. Bernstein,… Read More >

The government started issuing Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) in March, 1997 to offer investors protection from unexpected increases in inflation. Since inception in March, 1997, the Barclays Capital US TIPS Index has returned 6.5% per year versus 6.2% per… Read More >

PW&Co uses a four step investment process to understand, analyze, implement and monitor a client’s investments. Our process is continuous and focused on responding to changes in a client’s circumstances, not the inevitable fluctuations in the financial markets. I. Evaluation… Read More >

People often wonder if we don’t pick individual stocks or money managers that can beat the market, what do we do? We believe that there are a number of other things that are more important to managing investment accounts and… Read More >

Our investment philosophy is based on a few guiding principles. Risk and Return are Related. Markets are relatively efficient; to achieve higher returns, one must take more risk. Risk as a Focus. Choice of investments should be based on ability to… Read More >

Fixed income investments are frequently utilized to reduce risk of the overall portfolio. To reduce risk, the investments selected typically have the highest credit quality (AAA) and shorter duration (<5 years). However, particularly for portfolios where taking large equity risk… Read More >

Investment professionals deal in risk and return, which under modern finance theory are inextricably linked. An interpretational problem arises, however, from the fact that risk and return are usually expressed on different scales: return is expressed in percent per year,… Read More >