Philosophy
Evidence-based. Disciplined. Built for real lives.
I don’t make investment decisions based on hunches, headlines, or predictions. I use an evidence-based framework grounded in decades of peer-reviewed academic research.
My goal is simple: build plans that are diversified, resilient, tax-efficient, and designed for the long term — not market noise.
1. Markets Work
I operate from a foundational belief supported by overwhelming empirical data:
Markets are broadly efficient.
Prices incorporate available information quickly and globally.
This means I don’t try to outguess the market, time the market, or chase the news cycle. The expected payoff for doing so is low, the behavioral risk is high, and the academic evidence is clear: discipline beats prediction.
2. Diversification Is Non-Negotiable
Concentrated portfolios create unnecessary risk without additional expected return.
I use global diversification across:
U.S. equities
International developed equities
Emerging markets equities
A disciplined, transparent mix of high-quality fixed income
Commodities (if appropriate)
Cryptocurrency (if appropriate)
Diversification is the only free lunch in finance — it has the potential to reduce risk without reducing expected return.
3. Factor Investing
Decades of independent research show that certain systematic sources of return — known as factors — have historically generated higher expected returns.
The primary factors I consider are:
Market (stocks > bonds over long horizons)
Size
Value
Momentum (cross-sectional momentum)
Profitability/Quality
Term (longer-duration bonds, when appropriate)
Credit (high-quality corporate bonds)
Alternative style premia (factors):
Trend (time-series momentum)
Carry
Defensive
Merger Arbitrage
I tilt portfolios toward factors with persistent, robust evidence.
Not to chase performance, but to improve expected long-term outcomes.
4. Costs Matter
High fees compound in the wrong direction. But cost doesn’t matter in a vacuum — it matters per unit of value. Every investment decision should weigh what you’re paying against what the evidence says you’re likely to receive.
I prefer:
low, transparent costs
no hidden commissions or incentive structures
simple, scalable implementation
strategies with clear, evidence-backed expectations
Cost matters because every dollar you don’t hand over in unnecessary fees stays invested for your future — and the dollars you do pay should deliver real, measurable value.
5. Taxes Are a Return Driver
Tax management isn’t an afterthought — it’s part of the investment process.
I use:
intelligent asset location (placing tax-inefficient assets in tax-advantaged accounts)
tax-loss harvesting where appropriate
minimizing unnecessary turnover
long-term holding periods to capture favorable tax rates
Good tax strategy is worth as much as good investing.
6. Cash Flow Shapes the Portfolio
Creators and entrepreneurs have irregular income. Their portfolios must reflect that reality.
So portfolio design always considers:
cash-flow volatility
emergency reserves
project-based spending cycles
the need for liquidity
uneven earning years
Investments don’t exist in a vacuum — they exist inside the rhythm of your actual life.
7. Long-Term > Short-Term
Short-term market movements are noise.
Long-term expected returns are signal.
Everything in my approach — diversification, factor tilts, cost control, tax strategy, rebalancing — is built to serve decades, not news cycles.
8. Your Portfolio Serves Your Life
The portfolio is not the point.
Your life is the point.
The investment strategy must support:
your work
your projects
your seasons
your goals
your time horizon
your tolerance for volatility
your need for freedom and flexibility
A portfolio is simply a tool to help you build the future you’ve chosen.