A lot of the work that goes into your portfolio happens in conversations you never see. More often than not, Connor Doak, our Client Portfolio Manager, is in those conversations, and I feel like it’s long past time we properly introduced him.
Connor joined Riverwater in 2021. In the video above, he and I sat down to talk about how he found his way into investing, why he chose a small firm, and how he thinks about building a portfolio. Here are a few things from that conversation that stood out to me.
How Did Connor Find His Way Into Investing?
Connor has always been drawn to history, math, and statistics, along with current politics and geopolitics. He thinks “the investment world really combines all of that into one.” Investment management gave him a way to bring those interests together while still working directly with people.
Why Choose a Small Firm Over a Large Bank?
Connor spent the early part of his career at a big bank with tens of thousands of employees. What brought him to Riverwater was the chance to take over manager research for the entire firm, at a time when we were only eight people. For Connor, being an early employee meant joining “a small, growing firm where everyone was rowing in the same direction.”
I understand that choice well, because mine was a similar story. Earlier in my career, I left larger financial institutions for the opportunity to lead a smaller, more agile wealth management team. I would say that’s a big part of what shapes our culture here. We’re a group of people who chose, deliberately, to work somewhere smaller and more aligned with what we care about.
For Connor, that alignment includes our commitment to responsible investing. He calls it “integral” to the firm’s identity and something he’s personally passionate about. I didn’t come from organizations with deep expertise in researching responsible investing, and I’ve appreciated learning a lot from Connor on that front, even at this stage of my career.
What Does the CFA® Designation Mean?
Connor is a CFA® charterholder. Earning the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation means passing three levels of rigorous exams, typically over several years, and meeting the professional work experience requirements set by CFA Institute. Connor describes it as one of the gold standards for investment analysis and portfolio management.
What he finds most interesting about it is that “it really brings you back to a process.” You can’t pass without a dedicated study process, and he brings that same discipline to managing client portfolios, with close attention to detail and a consistent, rigorous process.
How Does Riverwater Build a Client’s Portfolio?
As Connor puts it, “it really starts with a goals conversation, because first we have to identify what we’re investing for and why we’re investing.” This is the part of the process I care about most. Investing alone isn’t a financial plan, and I’ve learned over time that the numbers only make sense once we understand what they’re for.
Once we know your goals, we get into the more detailed questions, like the risks you’re comfortable taking and the returns you’d need to meet those goals. From there, Connor explains, we try to reach that target return with as little risk as possible.
Next come the building blocks. We look at how to blend asset classes, where alternatives might fit, and what your liquidity needs look like. Once the asset allocation is set, we select the specific investments used to build the portfolio.
I’ll admit I couldn’t resist jumping in on camera to make sure we talked about taxes. “Taxes are a huge element,” Connor says, “especially when we bring in a new client that already has an existing portfolio.” Handling that transition carefully, and managing the taxes that come with it, is a core part of what we do here.
What This Means for You
The goals-first conversation Connor describes is where our work with clients begins, because your portfolio should be working toward the life you want, not the other way around. You can read more about how we work with individuals and families.
If you’d like to talk through how this would look for your own goals, or you’d simply like to meet the people doing this work, Connor and I would be glad to sit down with you.
Brian Gigl, CFP®
Director of Wealth Management
Read the full video transcript
Brian Gigl: I’m Brian Gigl. I’m the Director of Wealth Management here at Riverwater Partners. Sitting beside me is my partner and colleague, Connor Doak.
Connor Doak: Yeah. Thanks, Brian. I’m Connor Doak. I’m the Client Portfolio Manager here at Riverwater. Been here a little over five years with the team, and excited to talk to you today.
Brian Gigl: Why don’t you tell me a little bit about how you got attracted to the field of investment management?
Connor Doak: Yeah. So I’ve always enjoyed the fields of history, math, statistics, current politics, geopolitics, and I think the investment world really combines all of that into one. And so getting involved in investment management was a perfect way to kind of blend all of these different passions into one, in a way that I can still work and talk with people.
Brian Gigl: I know I joined Riverwater Partners because of the exciting opportunity to lead a wealth management team. What brought you to Riverwater Partners, and why?
Connor Doak: Yeah, I think I was really excited to join a small, growing firm. I’d spent a lot of my career at a very large bank, and getting the opportunity to take over for manager research for the entire firm was a really unique opportunity to not only learn more from a manager research and investment research perspective, but also join a firm that at the time was only eight people. And being an early employee at a growing firm where everyone is rowing in the same direction was a really unique opportunity, especially when it was so focused on responsible and sustainable investment.
Brian Gigl: Connor, I’ve heard that you have your CFA designation. What does that mean exactly?
Connor Doak: The CFA designation stands for the Chartered Financial Analyst. And it’s a rigorous exam that goes through three different levels over multiple years, and it’s kind of become one of, if not the, gold standards for investment analysis and portfolio management.
Brian Gigl: Got it.
Connor Doak: And I think the most interesting piece about the CFA is that it really brings you back to a process. You can’t necessarily pass the CFA designation without having a dedicated study process along the way, and I think that’s something we bring to a lot of our clients: attention to detail, following a consistent, rigorous process.
Brian Gigl: I know I joined Riverwater Partners via working for larger financial institutions in my career, with the exciting opportunity of leading a smaller, agile firm as the Director of Wealth Management. What made you decide to join Riverwater Partners, and why?
Connor Doak: Yeah. Mine’s actually a pretty similar story to that. I was at a big bank with tens of thousands of employees, and joining a company with only eight employees at the time was a really unique opportunity to join a small, growing firm where everyone was rowing in the same direction, with the mission of growing wealth through sustainable investing. Joining a firm where growing wealth through sustainable investing is so integral to a part of our firm’s identity, and I think that’s something, as a millennial, I’m very passionate about going forward as well.
Brian Gigl: And I found it very interesting learning from you, because I didn’t come from organizations that had the in-depth expertise and background of researching what sustainable investing really is. So I’ve appreciated learning a lot from you, even at this stage in my career. So when a new client or potential client approaches us and wants to work with us, how do you describe our investment philosophy and process to them?
Connor Doak: I think it really starts with a goals conversation, because first we have to identify what we’re investing for and why we’re investing. After that, then we can get into the more detailed piece about what kind of risks do they take, what are their expected returns to be able to meet those goals. And from there, we try to achieve whatever that target return is with as low of risk as possible. And that’s when we’ll start talking about blending in the various asset classes, how we’re going to use alternatives, what their liquidity profile might be. And then from there, once we have kind of the asset allocation building blocks, then we can find the underlying pieces of the investment vehicles that we’re actually going to use to construct those portfolios.
Brian Gigl: And taxes.
Connor Doak: And taxes. And taxes are a huge element, especially when we bring in a new client that already has an existing portfolio. Making sure we’re going through a transition and managing the taxes appropriately is a very key element to what we do here at Riverwater.
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