Purchasing and managing income producing real estate is an excellent option for some people. For others, it is too time consuming, while trying to juggle a career and family. Alternately, it is easy to open a taxable investment management account with a financial advisor or online stock broker.

A portfolio of high-quality common stocks is an excellent choice for a taxable investment portfolio. Typically, stocks pay you a dividend -rather than you paying mutual fund fees that compound against you on a daily basis. If you buy stocks of financially strong companies that you can retain and add to over the years, you can keep trading costs to a minimum. In addition, your portfolio should compound at a very low effective tax rate. The taxes you do pay are likely to be at the lower qualified dividend rate or capital gains rate, rather than at regular income rates. At retirement, withdrawals from your investment account can benefit from lower taxes, as well. Tax savings are an important consideration, as it is likely taxes will rise over the next decade. You could benefit similarly by establishing a Roth IRA, but many investors have too much income to qualify for a Roth.

Meanwhile, you are avoiding additional fees on your 401K plan. Your plan may contain mutual funds with high transaction costs and investment management fees. In addition, there are plan administrative costs. Remember that when you retire, you will pay regular income tax on withdrawals from your retirement plans each year. Consequently, you will have considerably less money (possibly more than 40% less) to actually use during retirement. Ask your accountant how much you should contribute to your retirement plan. The long-term benefits of saving outside your plan may outweigh the short-term benefit of having a lower tax bill now

At some points along the way, we realize that we need the leverage of experts to expand our perspective of what is possible. Whether it’s growing our business, managing risk and debt, salary negotiation, building a new home, or converting our retirement nest egg to an income stream, we know when it is time to engage the help and guidance of experts.

Edgewood Partners has expertise in investment management and building a team of trusted advisors. These processes are accomplished in the context of a carefully developed financial plan. We do not want your financial plan to be a software printout in a file folder somewhere; we want you to refer to it regularly as a source of motivation and peace of mind.

If you have financial goals you plan to accomplish, we can help. Please call us to arrange a complimentary consult. email us or call us at 215-493-6522.

In areas where a team of professionals is needed to accomplish an aspect of the financial plan, such as, estate planning, we will work with your professionals or introduce highly-skilled insurance professionals and attorneys specializing in trusts and estates. If it is of interest to the client, we may bring collaborative forces together in business or personal realms.

For example, a realtor who has expertise in senior transitioning may be an appropriate recommendation for some clients. In the business realm, we have spent significant time analyzing public and private companies for investment in the course of our careers. If appropriate, we will assess the situation at your company and suggest resources that will help you take it to the next level or solve a specific problem. Or, if you plan to sell your business/practice at some point, it is never too early to plan for that event. On the other hand, if you are a corporate executive, you may appreciate a personal introduction to the leading salary negotiation consultant.

With 65 years combined experience in diverse areas of business and finance, we have many resources we can bring to bear on your unique situation. A team of trusted advisors will support your success in many ways.

In a world where financial markets are significantly different than they were a decade ago, investors need updated strategies. The Buy and Hold strategy worked beautifully from 1982 to 2000 However, the S&P 500 is currently trading at 1368 (February 28, 2012), the same level as December 31, 2000. That means those saving for retirement may have made little or no progress for more than a decade.

Investment management is Edgewood Partners core competency. We have 65 years combined experience managing money and risk through multiple economic and market cycles working with individuals and major institutions. Our strategies include time-tested, globally diversified strategies that have been updated for recent volatile markets.

During periods of market weakness, we may use hedging instruments that increase in value as markets decline. It is our contention that, if a well-diversified portfolio declines less in major corrections, the portfolio will tend to be less volatile over time, have lower risk, and provide a more consistent long-term return. We have years of experience researching companies and markets and do much of our own analysis, particularly on individual companies. This allows us to make opportunistic decisions for our clients. Alternative strategies are available for accredited investors.

In 2002, we developed a proprietary investment strategy called Global Sustainable Investing (GSI). This strategy invests in companies across the globe that have made high-level commitments to sustainable business practices.

We think it is common sense and best practice to invest in companies that have strong corporate governance and environmental policies, that treat their employees well, that take responsibility for conditions in their supply chain and that are good local and global citizens. These practices reduce various risks and costs including business risk, reputational risk, and legal costs. They increase job satisfaction and productivity. They create an atmosphere of trust where it is safe to take risks. This leads to innovation.

It is not surprising that ten years later, there are now many studies that indicate companies that have made high-level commitments to strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies perform better over time than companies that do not.
GSI is not our only strategy, but our GSI universe is a source of core holdings for many of our strategies.