Investments

Domestic Equities

At the core of each client's overall asset allocation will be a diversified equity portfolio of individual securities as constructed through our disciplined investment process. Forza follows an investment process for investing in the equity market based upon analytical tools and techniques developed and utilized from over 40 years of investment experience. We combine quantitative screens with hands-on fundamental research and overlay this with our top-down macroeconomic assessment to identify companies whose value may not be accurately reflected in the market. Our core style is growth-oriented but we also include value stocks that meet our criteria and we invest primarily based on the long-term outlook of the economy and financial markets. We look to find securities that we believe are mis-priced relative to our computed fair values. Since we are investors and not traders, our turnover is low and we prefer to own companies for the long-term. We also invest in low-cost ETFs to get exposure to other asset classes like small, mid and international stocks.

The focus of our fixed income strategy is to provide clients with a steady income stream while preserving capital, balancing portfolios, and managing overall risk. As an investment, bonds are riskier but pay a higher interest rate than money market funds, demand deposits or checkable deposits. Bonds are safer than stocks historically but have provided a lower return (at less risk), because they have no potential for growth. There are many risks to be considered when investing in bonds including interest rate risk, inflation risk, credit risk, duration risk and reinvestment risk to name a few. We are risk averse in nature but will look at all categories of fixed income investing including Government, Corporate, Asset-backed, Federal Agency, High Yield, Convertibles, Municipal Bonds and International Bonds.

We also focus on tax considerations and specific client objectives. Our top-down macroeconomic outlook again serves as the strategic backdrop for the fixed income portfolio construction. Based on each client's customized asset allocation we may utilize a mix of individual securities, ETF's, and cash equivalents to construct the fixed component of the overall portfolio. We measure the sustainable performance of fixed income portfolios against the client's objectives in preserving capital, reducing interest rate risk and maximizing after-tax returns. While performance may be viewed against a benchmark, consistently meeting our client's income needs is the primary focus.

As part of the overall asset allocation we may utilize other alternative asset classes including Foreign securities or ETFs, Commodities, REITs and Private Equity (PE)  for qualified clients. We also may carry a short position in certain circumstances, however we will not employ leverage. In general we will utilize ETF Funds (except for PE) to get exposure to these other asset classes. One of the primary goals of investing in other asset classes is diversification to minimize correlation to the core of the investment portfolio.