Fiduciary Responsibility

We adopt the ethical position of a true fiduciary. We act free from conflicts and willingly meet & exceed all of our legal obligations. We continuously challenge our processes & never cease looking for better ways to invest. We are 100% committed to the long-term service of our clients.

Investor Behaviour & Managing Emotions

Many investors struggle with biases and emotions. Biases can be derived from personal experiences and lack of knowledge. Emotions tend to compound these issues. Our minds are attuned to a ‘fight or flight’ response, something incredibly valuable during the stone age, but a handicap when investing in modern times. Uncontrolled emotions have the potential to be financially harmful.

We believe investors start with good intentions. To maximise profits at the lowest degree of risk they perceive. This is quite rational. However, due to biases and emotion, irrational behaviour can rear its head throughout the investment experience.

Without an understanding of what they can and can’t control, many investors focus on the uncontrollable elements. Mainly, the belief they need to outguess the market and make successful predictions. This leads to a belief they need to consistently be ‘doing something’, such as frequent trading. History has shown both of these beliefs are futile and financially damaging.

Investment Beliefs

We have developed a six-step process for aligning our client’s values, aspirations and goals with portfolios specifically designed to deliver their desired lifestyle outcomes.

We believe markets work and history has shown financial markets have rewarded long term investors for their supply of capital with an above inflation rate of return. We embrace modern portfolio theory including the key features of risk & return, and broad diversification as being core to our investment beliefs. We embrace market pricing, relying on information contained in the pricing mechanism provided by publicly listed markets.

We avoid market and security forecasting. We avoid illiquid, unlisted assets, or non-traditional assets such as precious metals, commodities, and opaque expensive hedge funds. Instead, we focus on known academic research which has identified specific ‘drivers of returns’ to design our investment portfolios.

We look to design portfolios at the lowest possible cost while taking advantage of tax efficiency.

Managing Investor Expectations

We believe it is essential to truly understand a person’s most important values, aspirations and goals in order to deliver quality investment and financial advice. Every client’s portfolio and asset allocation should be matched to their specific values, aspirations and goals.

Advising investors means using our expertise to help them understand the history of financial markets and the risk & reward characteristics of each asset class. This guidance ensures investors focus on the factors they can control, and the specifics shown to add value to the investment process.

This includes the use of forward investment projection rates. The use of such rates is done judiciously to ensure a client’s future financial expectations are fairly and reasonably established.

Investment Portfolio Construction Process

Portfolios are designed to meet a client’s specific needs. Our model portfolios are prioritised whenever possible. We make completely clear the three cost elements involved in managing a portfolio for clients. These are: investment management, portfolio administration and advice.

The managed investments that comprise our model portfolios are subject to detailed scrutiny. Client portfolios are reviewed and re-balanced regularly.

Investment Protection

Portfolio administrators or custodians who hold client portfolios are subject to rigorous scrutiny and we utilise the latest available security measures to protect client portfolios from fraud. Clients retain ultimate control of their portfolios. Wagga Wealth does not operate discretionary accounts and none of the firms’ staff have access to any client funds.

Portfolio Implementation Controls

Client portfolios are implemented by your primary adviser. Only client authorised transactions may be completed. Ongoing reviews and portfolio amendments are also undertaken by your primary adviser.

Investment Process Review

Our portfolio results are regularly reviewed against benchmark indices and peer groups over multiple time periods. The performance of the individual managed funds used within our portfolios are also regularly reviewed.

Whilst our investment processes are evidence based and thoroughly tested, there is still an obligation to challenge and assess. We continuously review our portfolio results, and question whether they deliver outcomes clients should expect against the performance of financial markets.

Research to benefit clients is a priority. Commercial and institutional research, along with academic papers, are regularly reviewed as we investigate any new strategies that might benefit clients. Evidence and theories provided are scrutinised and tested thoroughly to decide if they are worth adopting within our portfolios.