Our investment approach is shaped by decades of professional experience, rigorous proprietary research and a culture of constant intellectual curiosity.
Plan for the Journey
We help you match your goals with a thoughtful strategy to get you where you want to go, including comprehensive financial planning for clients who want a detailed roadmap to help guide important life decisions.
“Can I afford to retire?” “What is a sustainable withdrawal rate?” “Which asset allocation has the best chance of achieving my objectives with the least amount of risk?” Planning helps answer questions like these, shaping the investment policy that will guide our portfolio management process.
Quest for Value
In our research efforts, we are constantly seeking opportunities whose potential is underestimated by the broader market. We are fundamental investors with an independent mindset.
Our investment process emphasizes the importance of cash flow. In our experience, earnings are more easily subject to manipulation. We also look for shareholder-friendly management and, wherever possible, firms with a competitive moat.
Embrace Diversification
Investors face two kinds of risk: market risk, or the risk of broad market volatility, and individual stock risk. Market risk is a fact of life for investors. Individual equity risk is controllable, and an important consideration in our portfolio construction.
We embrace diversification by conducting in-house research on companies worldwide. Our investment universe also includes small-capitalization stocks, real estate investment trusts, fixed income and alternative investments. Broad diversification helps control risk and reduce volatility.
Minimize Fees and Taxes
Thrift is at the heart of the Baker Ellis culture. As a firm, we have no fancy offices, and no salesmen or middle-management bureaucracy to support. Every member of the firm is performing research or working directly with clients, helping us keep our organizational overhead low.
In our investment process, we constantly seek to minimize fees for our clients, utilizing low-cost products available only through institutional channels and maintaining a constant focus on the tax impact of our investment decisions. After all, it’s not how much you make — it’s how much you keep.
Your Money, Your Values
One in four dollars under professional management in the U.S. is now invested in strategies that emphasize good environmental, social or governance (ESG) metrics, according to one recent study. We believe the trend is here to stay.
The blizzard of approaches to ESG investing can be confusing for investors. For example, should socially minded investors shun entire industries due to their historic characteristics, or be willing to invest in industry leaders who are undergoing transformation?
Because all of our accounts are individually managed, we are able to design an investment policy that reflects not only each client’s objectives, but also their values.