Brian Gigl and Connor Doak on our goals-based approach to building portfolios. Read the full transcript below.
If you were driving from Milwaukee to Yellowstone National Park, would you start by picking out a car?
Probably not. You’d start with where you’re going, and then you’d figure out the route and what it takes to get there. Only after that would you worry about what’s under the hood.
It’s a simple idea, and comes from Brian Gigl, our Director of Wealth Management. It’s also the clearest way we know to explain the goals-based approach our wealth management team uses to build portfolios. Connor Doak, our Client Portfolio Manager, walks through it with Brian in the video above, and we wanted to put the thinking in writing too.
First, the Destination: Start With Your Goals
When someone comes to us, we don’t open with a conversation about investments. We open with a conversation about goals: what you’re investing for, and why.
“Before we even get to … our investment philosophy, we really have to spend the time to understand what our clients are investing for and why they’re investing.”
— Connor Doak
Maybe it’s a comfortable retirement, a gift to a cause you care about, or stewardship of assets for the next generation. Whatever it is, that’s the destination, and everything else in the process is built around it. Without it, we’d just be guessing.
Then, the Route: Required Return, Risk, and Allocation
Once we understand where you’re headed and why, the next question is how to get there. That starts with the return it would take to reach those goals. From there, we look at how to pursue that return while managing risk thoughtfully. If your goals can be reached with a more modest return, there may be no reason to take on more risk than that.
This is where a portfolio starts to take shape. We think about how to blend equities, bonds, and alternatives. We consider what your liquidity needs look like, meaning how much you may need to access, and when. Those pieces become the building blocks of the portfolio.
This is the route you design before you leave. And like any good road trip, it leaves room for you. Want to stop at the Badlands, or detour down to the Tetons on the way? You can. You don’t need every mile mapped out, just a clear destination and a plan designed to help you get there.
Only Then, the Engine: Choosing the Investments
The investment portfolio is the engine. Once the goals and the route are clear, we choose the underlying investments that will actually power the journey, whether that’s mutual funds, ETFs, separately managed accounts, or individual holdings.
An engine matters, of course. But it matters because of where it’s taking you. A powerful engine with no destination just burns fuel.
Taxes Along the Way: Transitioning an Existing Portfolio
Brian and Connor both came back to taxes in the video, and the topic deserves its own mention.
Taxes aren’t a final step. They run through the whole process. And they matter even more when a new client comes to us with an existing portfolio. Reworking that portfolio without managing the tax impact can quietly cost you. Handling that transition carefully is a key part of what we do here.
Why We Start With Goals
A portfolio is a tool in service of a life you’re trying to build, a mission you want to fund, or a legacy you want to leave.
If you’ve ever wondered what our approach to wealth management looks like in practice, or whether your current portfolio is built around a destination, we’d love to talk it through. Let’s schedule a conversation.
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