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Good morning, afternoon, or evening, I'm Paul Truesdell from Truesdell Wealth Management. Today, I want to talk to you about a smarter, more cost-effective approach to managing your wealth—one that puts your interests first, without the layers of fees and commissions that often chip away at your hard-earned investments.
Our typical clients are those who are within five years of retirement, or already enjoying their retirement. If you’re over the age of 40 and have at least $250,000 in investable assets, this message is particularly important for you.
Direct Ownership and Separately Managed Accounts
Let’s start with the concept of direct ownership, also known as Separately Managed Accounts, or SMAs. Unlike mutual funds or ETFs, where your assets are pooled with those of other investors, direct ownership means you own individual stocks, bonds, or other securities directly. This approach gives you complete control and transparency over your portfolio.
One of the major advantages of SMAs is customization. Your investment strategy can be tailored specifically to your financial goals, risk tolerance, and personal preferences. Whether you want to focus on a particular sector, exclude certain industries, or emphasize socially responsible investments, direct ownership allows you to do that with precision. It’s your portfolio, managed with your objectives in mind.
Fractional Shares: Access and Flexibility
Now, let’s talk about fractional shares. Fractional shares allow you to own a portion of a stock rather than having to buy a whole share. This is particularly useful when investing in high-value companies where a single share might be prohibitively expensive. With fractional shares, you can still participate in the growth of companies like Amazon or Google without needing to commit a large sum of money upfront. It’s all about making your investments more accessible and flexible, ensuring that your portfolio is diversified and aligned with your financial goals.
The Hidden Costs of Traditional Investment Management
Many of you might be familiar with the traditional assets under management (AUM) model, where advisors charge a percentage of your portfolio value as a fee. At first glance, this might seem reasonable. But the reality is, the more you have, the more you pay, and those fees can add up significantly over time. It’s like a quarterly haircut, but instead of trimming your hair, it’s trimming your wealth.
At Truesdell Wealth, we believe there’s a better way—a way that truly aligns with your best interests. We offer a fixed-cost investment advisory service. This means you pay a flat fee for our services, regardless of how much you have invested. This approach eliminates the conflict of interest that comes with the AUM model and ensures that our advice is focused on growing your wealth, not on growing our fees.
The Power of Equal Weighting Portfolios
Another key advantage of our approach is the use of equal-weighting portfolios. In traditional market-cap-weighted portfolios, larger companies dominate your investments. But with equal weighting, each stock in the portfolio has the same weight, regardless of its market capitalization. This strategy can lead to better diversification and potentially higher returns, as it reduces the reliance on a few large companies to drive performance.
Equal weighting can also help mitigate risk. By not being overly exposed to any single company, you can reduce the impact of a downturn in one stock on your overall portfolio. It’s a balanced, disciplined approach to investing that we’ve found to be very effective for our clients.
The Layers of Costs in Bundled Financial Products
Now, let’s talk about costs. Did you know that over 95% of investment advisors essentially sell bundled financial products like mutual funds or ETFs? These products often come with additional layers of fees—fees for the fund managers, fees for the advisors, and fees for third-party asset managers. Each layer adds to the cost, and ultimately, these costs eat into your returns.
At Truesdell Wealth, we believe in transparency and simplicity. We don’t sell you products and then hand off your portfolio to a third party. We manage your investments directly, eliminating unnecessary costs and ensuring that your portfolio is working as hard for you as possible.
Truesdell Wealth: Tradition, Transparency, and Trustworthiness
We’re proud to say that Truesdell Wealth is built on a foundation of tradition, transparency, and trustworthiness. We’ve been serving our clients from our Ocala office for decades—an office that we own and built from the ground up. With experience dating back to the 1980s, we have seen market cycles come and go, and our commitment to our clients has only strengthened over time.
At Truesdell Wealth, we’re not just another financial advisory firm. We’re a legacy, a tradition of fixed-cost investing that truly puts your interests first. If you’re ready to take control of your financial future with a partner who is transparent, experienced, and committed to your success, we’re here to help.
Thank you for your time today. I look forward to the opportunity to work with you and help you achieve your financial goals.
Disclaimer
Due to our extensive holdings and our clients, you should assume that we have a position in all companies discussed and that a conflict of interest exists. By listening, reading, or using this document, video, podcast, and/or website in any manner, you understand the information presented is provided for informational purposes only and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Public and group informational items should never be considered professional advice. Nothing said, written, or otherwise communicated should be construed as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation to buy or sell a security. We do not provide tax, legal, or psychological advice. Nothing herein constitutes advice or is a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified healthcare providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you read, viewed, heard, or thought you saw or heard.