We are going to let you in on a little secret:
The wealthy invest differently than most people. Wealthy people don’t put their money into buy and hold stock investments. The investment world changes too rapidly. They take a portion of their money and put it into guaranteed investments – they diversify. They want as high a rate of return as possible with the lowest risk.
FES are financial planners and consultants who want to help average investors create above average solutions, and help the wealthy become wealthier.
Our typical clients have net worths of $1,000,000 (Excluding Real Estate) and our account minimum is $250K and wish to make high yield investments that will benefit them over the long term. We are not stockbrokers, and do not charge high service fees or commissions for our services.
Our fees are based on growing portfolios – When YOU make money, WE make money. When YOU lose money WE lose money. We do NOT carry additional licenses in order to collect commissions on the sale of stocks, bonds, mutual funds or variable annuities. We look at this as a conflict of interest.
Not Your Typical Consultants
What sets us apart from your typical investment consultant or financial planner?
Our approach is low-key, low pressure. Our mission is to work with investors in order to double their money. Our Client’s mission is typically to work with investors to double their money with the least risk over a medium to long term. Or clientele typically wish to invest and plan for the Medium to Long Term, and attain higher returns with the less risk.
We charge fees that are open and easy to understand, not hidden within the small print of a large portfolio of legalese.
At Fortress Estate Solutions we take the multi-meeting approach in order to ascertain how, and if, we will be able to help an investor. We hold a series of four initial meetings that consist of:
- 1st Meeting - Analyzing each individual investor – their financial history, what they can afford to invest, their goals, how much of a risk taker they are, and what (if any) investments they have right now.
- 2nd Meeting – We will go over options and scenarios the client would consider owning. We will listen to the client, and work with them to find the types of investments they want to make.
- 3rd Meeting – We will narrow down the specific portfolio that we believe will work for them.
- 4th Meeting – Closure
The client’s goals and wishes are uppermost in our minds, and you can schedule updates on investments according to the client’s convenience. We want our clients to feel comfortable that they will have access to their account information daily on line, and to us personally when they need us.
While some of our clients prefer to let their money work for them, and consult with us only once a year, others want monthly reports. A few of our clients have even dabbled in investment classes, so they contact us every couple of weeks to ask our opinion, or clarification, as to what they had learned. It all depends on the client. Our goal is to make the client feel comfortable, and that they are getting the attention they deserve.
Who utilizes our services?
Typically advisers who operate as we do way cater only to wealthy investors. These are people who can invest for the medium to long term, but may not want to weather all the ups and downs of a particular type of investment. These clients are looking for a steady return with higher than average yields.
Our typical client has a net worth range of $650K to $7,000,000 in investments, over and above their real estate. They tried multiple big brand name brokers unsuccessfully in their past, before they discovered us. This group of investors feels they are not getting the above average service levels they expected from their previous brokerages, even though their accounts were above average in size. Our clients have previously spent a lot of time, and an excessive amount of high fees and commissions, paying for services from firms who have name recognition, without meeting their expectations.
We are NOT Day Traders!
There are many out there who work specifically with day traders, who promise 100% rate of return for short-term investments. Fortress Estate Solutions are not day traders, and does not make promises that are too difficult to keep. Our ideal client is someone who wants their money managed, and there’s a big difference between day traders and true investors.
Day traders live in a high-risk arena, selling short or buying long and then waiting for the bell at the end of the trading day to tell them how they have done. It’s a high stress level with a high degree of unpredictability. 92% of day traders lose money in a bull market, and 96% in a bear market, which is why you seldom see day traders after more than a year or two of investing.
If someone tells you they have an extremely high rate of return – ask to see financials and charts for five years. We guarantee you will not find one. The life expectancy of a day trader’s investment portfolio is 18-24 months – max.
Margins and Options
Margins and Options also are highly unpredictable, and can be very costly if you make the wrong choices. A good example is from the movie “Trading Places.” The orange juice futures report was switched and the brothers lost their $300 million dollar investment trading company overnight. When there is a call, and you don’t have the money to cover it, the picture is not pretty.
There are, however, smart uses of options. For those who want guaranteed income, a high dividend stock with a basically sound company could be a good investment, as long as you cover the potential that the stock price could drop due to unforeseen circumstances with the call.
A Covered Call Portfolio can be created from high-preferred dividend stocks. This will allow you to create consistent income from 5% to as much as 10-11%. In a bear market you could even make more because the price of the stock drops in this market, but the dividend doesn’t drop as rapidly, so the percentage of the investment that is returned could actually go into the double digits.