Q1 2019
One of the main objectives at Alpha Advisors is to act as a risk manager on behalf of our clients. We want to make you aware of three areas of risk-management we feel are important in fulfilling this objective. We look forward to discussing any and all of these topics with you in the near future.
Market Protection: Financial journalists are falling all over themselves to report the first quarter of 2019 was the best first quarter ever. Often left unsaid is that there was a major correction in the fourth quarter of last year. The full story is that the market has not recovered to last year’s high even with the record first quarter. What is noteworthy is the magnitude of market movements that we’ve experienced in the last six months.
This is a good reminder that the number one measure of success for your portfolio is whether your returns are sufficient to fund your long-term plans. At times, protecting your money becomes the highest priority, especially for clients who are retired and will no longer be in a position to take advantage of lower prices should a bear market ensue.
We are encouraged by a recent offering of ETF products that provide risk management features which were previously unavailable without accepting high fees and limited access to your money. These investments seek to offer downside protection from a portion of any major decline that might occur. The cost of that protection is a limit on upside gains during the one year holding-period, but we believe that for certain clients this is a prudent investment.
Self-Protection: To comply with new regulations, Fidelity recently asked all of its customers to name a trusted contact on their behalf. A trusted contact is someone you authorize Fidelity and Alpha Advisors to contact if we are ever concerned about your personal, financial or cognitive well-being. Your trusted contact will not have access to your account. Adding a trusted contact is simple: You can contact Alpha Advisors to assist you or go to https://www.fidelity.com/trustedcontact to name your contact person.
Identity Protection: We continue to hear in the media of daily attempts to steal personal information. When emailing to Alpha Advisors any personal information or documents containing your personal identification, we encourage you to use our Citrix Sharefile email delivery system. We would be glad to assist you in using your Citrix mailbox.