Our
Investment Philosophy
We are market historians focused on managing risks and downside volatility over the long term.
01
Asset Allocation
The most important decision investors make is broad asset allocation. This decision determines the expected level of volatility and the long-term rate of return.
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Effective asset allocation programs will own some asset classes that are currently out of favor because doing so reduces the long-term risk of underperformance of the portfolio even if it doesn’t add to short-term performance. Over the long term, an asset class that is out of favor today may become the key to generating solid returns.
02
Identifying Inefficiencies
Broad areas of the capital markets are highly efficient in that it’s exceedingly difficult for active money managers to add consistent, meaningful excess returns. Other asset classes are less efficient and active managers can offer returns above the benchmarks.
We seek inefficient asset classes and search for active money managers with a history of an attractive risk-adjusted return profile.
03
Manager Due Diligence
We primarily use mutual funds, ETFs, and other comingled investment vehicles because they help us compress the range of outcomes. In-depth research is the key to determining whether a manager has an investment process advantage that will lead to solid long-term performance. At Trademark, our due diligence process is designed to identify and evaluate outstanding managers in inefficient asset classes.
04
Ongoing Monitoring
After we place investment assets with a fund manager, we monitor their absolute and peer-relative performance. Managers who deviate from their stated investment process or underperform for extended periods are replaced.
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