who we serve
Our advisory boutique caters to a limited number of individuals and families, who first and foremost, prioritize capital preservation.
Many investment firms only focus on trying to make money. As a result, they have no plan for when markets don’t cooperate. During volatile markets, their only advice is “hang in there” or “buy the dips.” Hope is not an investment strategy. However, our unique hedged investing approach is.
Investing with Sungarden involves an ongoing dialogue to review your portfolio, assess new investment opportunities and reevaluate your strategy as market conditions or your objectives change.
Our clients enjoy the personal attention that is the hallmark of Sungarden. We maintain long-term relationships with affluent clients who typically have portfolios of $1 million or more of investable assets.
Some examples include:
〉 Baby Boomers and Retirees concerned with generational transfer of wealth.
〉 Generation X as they peak their earning years and seek financial education and planning expertise.
〉 Women who prioritize succession planning, while creating wealth and independence.
〉 Millennials in search of socially-responsible, conservative investing options and truly, human advice.
Philosophy
Steady and slow growth beats gambling with your life's savings.
In order to grow wealth, you first need to protect it. Often high net worth clients have taken big risks early on in their careers to grow their businesses and to build their net worth. The last thing they want to do with their nest egg is lose it.
Imagine losing 20% of your portfolio in one year. It would take a 25% gain in following years just to get back to even. If you lost 30% it would take a 43% gain to get back to even.
Through the construction of a high-quality tactical portfolios, we utilize strategies that incorporate non-correlated assets, stocks and options to preserve your wealth and look for fruitful opportunities with low risk.
We maintain a collaborative relationship with our clients to constantly balance, fine-tune and tax harvest their personalized portfolios in order to pursue their personal objectives.
what differentiates us
- Independent advisor with no broker dealer affiliation.
- We eat our own cooking and are personally invested with our clients.
- Able to coordinate financial planning, estate planning, investment management, and risk management all in house.
- Extensive experience hedging highly appreciated stock positions.
- Same day response to your questions.
- We manage our clients' assets via their own investment accounts so they always maintain custody.
- Worth Top 100 Independent Wealth Managers in America” (2005, 2007, 2008).
- We manage your money in-house and never farm it out.
- Overall fees are less than most actively managed mutual funds.
- We love what we do and who we do it for.
Welcome to Sungarden. Portfolio management built to last.
Fiduciary
It would be a different story if we simply put our clients into a one-size-fits-all basket of ETFs and/or mutual funds. However, we take a much deeper dive into our client’s needs and collaborate with them so we can best structure a custom solution to pursue their objectives, while still focusing on asset preservation.
For example, if Client A is 80 years old, retired and dependent upon a monthly income, we customize and structure her portfolio to focus on preservation, dividend income and to take advantage of other tactical strategies we employ.
In contrast, client B may be a 35 year old who had a large liquidity event (sale of company, etc.) and started another company and is focused on growing his net worth. In this case, we structure his portfolio with a primary focus on capital appreciation, employing various tactical strategies geared towards growing his assets.
As a result, Client A’s portfolio “performance” will greatly differ than that of Client B.
This is why we suggested an initial complimentary consult so we can better understand your objectives and goals.
We sell no products, collect no commissions and have no sales quotas or selling bonuses. We want no conflicts like these to cloud our judgment when making investment decisions for our clients.
Salesperson or Sungarden investment advisor? Seems like a pretty easy decision.
Fee-Only
We have a novel approach to making money: we do what’s best for our clients. That’s why we choose to employ a transparent, low fee-only schedule.
No dinging every transaction. No commissions. No hidden fees of any kind.
- 1.25% on $1M to $5 million of assets under management
- 1.00% on $5M to $10 million
- 0.90% over $10 million
- Fees may vary under certain circumstances.
Fair, straightforward pricing. No hidden fees or complicated pricing structures.
Do we do this out of the goodness of our hearts? Maybe a little, but mostly, we do it because our business model hinges on your success. Our philosophy is to build wealth while preserving client capital. The more wealth we build for our clients, the more we earn. Our clients’ interests and ours are aligned.
Technology
We are not a hedge fund, but we are not a traditional money manager either.
We are hedged investors. And even though we conduct our work through your own, private account with a reputable securities custodian, we do so in a style not often found in a separately-managed account.
We tactically invest in stocks for income and long-term capital appreciation, utilizing different strategies such as inverse ETF securities or straddled option positions to hedge against major market declines.
This “long-short” protection is similar to what some of the most prominent hedge funds do. However, we do it at a fraction of their cost, with better potential tax-efficiency, and far greater transparency.
You know what you own and why you own it. No surprises with each monthly statement.
Watch the video now.
Choose the level of guidance that’s right for you | ||||
RoboCore | Core+ | Concierge | Concierge+ | |
| What is it? | Automated, low-cost, low-minimum investment solution offering five goal-oriented ETF portfolios. | A broader range of goal-oriented portfolios made up of mutual funds and ETFs, based on varying investment objectives and risk with ongoing rebalancing and monitoring. | The highest level of service, featuring tailored advice and portfolio construction that takes your overall financial picture into account. | The highest level of service, featuring tailored advice and portfolio construction that takes your overall financial picture into account. |
| Who is this best for? | Digital-savvy, long-term focused investors looking for a simple, low-cost, portfolio solution. | Digital-savvy and long-term investors looking for more sophisticated strategies and portfolio recommendations. A Financial Consultant can help you determine your financial goals. | Designed for long-term focused investors looking for more customized portfolio management and advice. Includes a one-to-one relationship with a dedicated Financial Consultant. | Designed for long-term focused investors looking for more customized portfolio management and advice. Includes a one-to-one relationship with a dedicated Financial Consultant. |
| Managing and tracking | Ongoing portfolio monitoring and automatic rebalancing. The online dashboard let you view account performance and see how you’re tracking toward your goal. | Dedicated support team that provides regular reporting on how you’re tracking toward your goal. Or you can access the online dashboard any time to view account performance and goal tracking. | One-on-one relationship with a Senior Financial Consultant and a Portfolio Consultant. A comprehensive digital dashboard provides a one-stop view of all investments, including account aggregation, integrated goal-tracking, and performance. | One-on-one relationship with a Senior Financial Consultant and a Portfolio Consultant. A comprehensive digital dashboard provides a one-stop view of all investments, including account aggregation, integrated goal-tracking, and performance. |
| Minimum investment | $250,000 | $500,000 | $1,000,000+ | $5,000,000+ |
| Advisory fees | 0.95% | 1.50% | 1.25% | 1.00% |
| Tax loss harvesting | automated | automated | yes, customized | yes, customized |
| Financial Planning Service (Money Guide Pro) | ||||
| Coordination of Estate and Tax Planning | ||||
| Sungarden Events | ||||
| Trade Notes | ||||
| Portfolio Scenario Analysis | ||||
| Portfolio Type | Robo-ETF | Custom ETF Mix | Custom | Custom |
| Support | via email w/in 24 hours | via email or SKYPE | dedicated support team | dedicated support team |
Reporting
We keep it simple. Quarterly reports are brief and easy to read. Accounting is straightforward and transparent. And because all trades are made through your personal brokerage account, you can log in at your leisure to check positions, gains and losses, dividends and more. Like every other aspect of our service, reporting is designed to be of maximum benefit to you.
Beyond Investment Management
Because we develop deep and long-lasting relationships with our clients, we often serve as their financial right arm during times of transition. Our clients trust our financial expertise. And our business expertise. And us.
We go beyond investment management, because life doesn’t exist in a portfolio. It can only be protected by one.
Sungarden can help create the strategies and manage the efforts for any number of financial challenges in which families and businesses find themselves, like:
- unwinding complicated ownership positions
- private family business transitions
- disposition of private business equity
- charitable gifting programs
- moving assets to future generations
- succession planning
- transitioning to retirement
- estate planning
- long-term financial strategies
- helping heirs find the most advantageous way to receive assets
When necessary, we consult with other specialized professionals whose advice helps us achieve our clients’ goals. In other words, we know what we don’t know. We have trusted relationships with a broad range of experts such as actuaries, attorneys, tax counsel and business valuation specialists. And we know when to call them in.
Because every situation is unique, this service is designed to accomplish very particular outcomes. And once we know what steps need to be taken, we provide an estimate for implementing the path to a successful transition.
Our philosophy of preserving what our clients have spent their lives creating is where everything begins and ends with us. We go beyond investment management, because life doesn’t exist in a portfolio. It can only be protected by one.
| Choose the level of guidance that’s right for you | ||||
| RoboCore | Core+ | Concierge | Concierge+ | |
| What is it? | Automated, low-cost, low-minimum investment solution offering five goal-oriented ETF portfolios. | A broader range of goal-oriented portfolios made up of mutual funds and ETFs, based on varying investment objectives and risk with ongoing rebalancing and monitoring. | The highest level of service, featuring tailored advice and portfolio construction that takes your overall financial picture into account. | The highest level of service, featuring tailored advice and portfolio construction that takes your overall financial picture into account. |
| Who is this best for? | Digital-savvy, long-term focused investors looking for a simple, low-cost, portfolio solution. | Digital-savvy and long-term investors looking for more sophisticated strategies and portfolio recommendations. A Financial Consultant can help you determine your financial goals. | Designed for long-term focused investors looking for more customized portfolio management and advice. Includes a one-to-one relationship with a dedicated Financial Consultant. | Designed for long-term focused investors looking for more customized portfolio management and advice. Includes a one-to-one relationship with a dedicated Financial Consultant. |
| Managing and tracking | Ongoing portfolio monitoring and automatic rebalancing. The online dashboard let you view account performance and see how you’re tracking toward your goal. | Dedicated support team that provides regular reporting on how you’re tracking toward your goal. Or you can access the online dashboard any time to view account performance and goal tracking. | One-on-one relationship with a Senior Financial Consultant and a Portfolio Consultant. A comprehensive digital dashboard provides a one-stop view of all investments, including account aggregation, integrated goal-tracking, and performance. | One-on-one relationship with a Senior Financial Consultant and a Portfolio Consultant. A comprehensive digital dashboard provides a one-stop view of all investments, including account aggregation, integrated goal-tracking, and performance. |
| Minimum investment | $250,000 | $500,000 | $1,000,000+ | $5,000,000+ |
| Advisory fees | 0.95% | 1.50% | 1.25% | 1.00% |
| Tax loss harvesting | automated | automated | yes, customized | yes, customized |
| Financial Planning Service (Money Guide Pro) | ||||
| Coordination of Estate and Tax Planning | ||||
| Sungarden Events | ||||
| Trade Notes Service | ||||
| Portfolio Scenario Analysis | ||||
| Portfolio Type | Robo-ETF | Custom ETF Mix | Custom | Custom |
| Support | via email w/in 24 hours | via email w/in 24 hours or SKYPE by appointment | dedicated support team | dedicated support team |
Customization
Just as no two people are alike, no two investors are alike, so a “one-size-fits-all” approach really ends up fitting no one. Sungarden manages each account separately so we can tailor it to each client’s needs.
Your unique goals and individual tolerance for risk will influence the approach we take to growing your wealth.
If there’s a specific amount of cash you need generated each year, we’ll customize your portfolio with that goal in mind. If you wish to invest more on long term growth, we offer a unique approach to a dedicated global portfolio.
Just as importantly, we also take note of your particular tax situation and how it impacts what you wish to achieve. And if you have any value-based parameters that might prevent you from investing in certain companies or sectors, we factor that in as well.
Finally, we consider your present capacity for income generation as well as other assets you own. Are you working? Own a company? Have holdings elsewhere? Own real estate? These details impact how we customize your investment plan and manage your assets. What it all comes down to is that you are you, and we treat you as such.
Our Team
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The material in the website has been distributed for informational purposes only. The material contained in this website is not a solicitation to purchase or sell any security or offer of investment advice. Information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but not guaranteed. Past performance is not a guarantee or a reliable indicator of future results. Investing in the markets is subject to certain risks including market, interest rate, issuer, credit and inflation risk; investments may be worth more or less than the original cost when redeemed. No part of this website may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without express written permission.
Rob Isbitts and Vincent Esposito are Investment Advisor Representatives with Dynamic Wealth Advisors dba Sungarden Investment Research. All investment advisory services are offered through Dynamic Wealth Advisors. A copy of Dynamic Wealth Advisors’ ADV Part 2A Firm Brochure is available upon written request and can also be found on the Securities and Exchange Commission website at https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD by searching under crd #151367.
Sungarden is the sub-advisor for the Dunham Alternative Dividend Fund.
Our lawyers made us say that.