Maintaining an Account
Your dedicated investment advisor is responsible for monitoring your portfolio and making any necessary adjustments.
Monitoring And Adjusting Your Portfolio
After your account is set up and your investment portfolio has been developed and implemented, your account is scanned each business day to ensure that everything is in order, including any posting of trades, receipt of incoming cash and securities, address changes, and so on. Your investment advisor regularly and carefully reviews your account. If there’s any kind of market irregularity or if you have a specific need, we review your account immediately.
When you give us limited trading authorization, you are permitting us to manage your portfolio on a discretionary basis. This means we make investment decisions on your behalf without having to contact you every time we need to make a trade. All trades are made in accordance with the investment plan we have developed with you and the discipline we agreed upon when we set up your account. You may, of course, call us to discuss any moves we are anticipating or have made.
24/7 Investment decisions are based largely on the strategy, philosophy, and research results of our investment team. Each investment advisor is a member of the investment team that continually explores and evaluates investment vehicles and financial planning issues and topics. This ensures that the Robinswood core beliefs and investment philosophy are consistently applied to your account.
Reviewing Your Account
Quarterly portfolio reviews
Your investment advisor is your primary contact at Robinswood and will invite you to meet quarterly, either in person, by phone or Zoom. The purpose of this quarterly review is to discuss your portfolio, the markets, and any changes to your circumstances that we should be aware of.
Account statements and performance reports
Every quarter, you will receive an investment performance report from us. You will also receive either monthly or quarterly account statements from the custodian, Charles Schwab. In addition, shortly after your new account has been set up, you will be able to view your account online through the Schwab Alliance website.
Communicating with your advisor
Remember, you don’t have to wait for a regular review to speak with us. We can help you best if you let us know right away about any major changes in your life that might affect your needs. We encourage you to contact us at any time to discuss your investments or other financial planning issues. In fact, we actually have about 10 to 15 contacts with most of our clients each year, including face-to-face meetings, phone conversations, Zoom meetings and e-mail messages.
Every effort is made to return calls and e-mails the same day. If you do not hear from us by the next business day, please follow up to verify that we received your message.
Account Maintenance FAQ
One of my needs is for monthly income and/or minimum IRA distributions. Can you send a check or wire money to my bank account as needed?
Yes. We can set that up to occur monthly, quarterly, or annually—whichever interval you prefer.
How will my account be tax-managed?
Tax management is an integral part of our financial strategy for taxable investors, since after-tax returns are what end up in each client’s pocket. Whenever possible, we use tax-advantaged accounts (401k plans and IRAs) to hold the most tax-inefficient investments of the portfolio.
Will I get reports to help me prepare my tax returns?
Yes. The custodian, Schwab prepares these. They can be accessed online via your account. We can send you a report of earnings from interest, dividends, realized capital gains, and capital gains distributions. We can also prepare a report showing the unrealized gains in your account at any time.
Will you charge me an extra fee to consult with my tax advisor or estate planning attorney?
No. In most cases, such consultations are a routine part of our role as your financial advisor. We welcome the opportunity to discuss tax or estate planning opportunities with other professionals with whom you work. We realize that they may charge you for their time speaking with us, so we will not meet with them without your express permission.
What services do you offer beyond investment management?
While Robinswood Financial specializes in portfolio management, it’s simply not possible to create an appropriate investment strategy without clearly understanding your cash needs, risk concerns, tax issues, retirement plans, estate plans, and other assets. We are not attorneys, accountants, or marriage counselors, but we do have years of financial experience that we fully expect you to take advantage of. Such counsel is offered at no additional charge.
If you need a tax professional, attorney, or other advisor, we are happy to provide referrals to trusted professionals we believe can assist you. We accept no referral fees from anyone.
Can you provide guidance about investing in my company's 401(k) plan?
Yes. If you are actively participating in your company’s 401(k) plan, we will provide assistance on choosing among the funds available to you. It is part of our role as your financial advisor to coordinate all of your assets. As always, we will not charge a fee for this extra service.
Will you advise me on the balance of my investments you are not managing?
Yes, we prefer to advise you based on your complete financial picture. Many clients first establish a relationship with us by entrusting us with a portion of their portfolios. For years we have counseled clients to never give trust, but to give opportunities for trust to be earned. To that end, we welcome relationships that look to evolve with time. So while you might initially entrust us with only a portion of your portfolio, we welcome the opportunity to counsel you on the whole.
Can I get money out of my account quickly in case of an emergency?
Yes, our custodian Charles Schwab can usually transfer money to you or your bank account within 24 hours if there is cash. Sell and settle takes three working days. However, it is recommended that you maintain a separate emergency fund so that you don’t have to unexpectedly sell long-term investments.
At least once a month, your investment advisor carefully reviews your account.