Investment Philosophy
First
Affirmative understands that the ways we save, spend and invest can
dramatically influence both the fabric and consciousness of
society. We believe that in addition to the benefits of
ownership, investors bear responsibility for the impact their money
has in the world. We know that integrating money with values
can be both prudent and profitable.
- We are asset managers with a long-term orientation, which our clients generally share.
- We create strategies for investors who want to avoid making big mistakes, not for those who are willing to take big risks in hopes of achieving outsized gains.
- We believe that a disciplined process of portfolio diversification can help mitigate the risk of investing in financial assets.
- We support strategic asset allocation as well as more active portfolio management strategies.
- We believe in periodic rebalancing-trimming positions that have done well, and reallocating to asset classes that have underperformed (a mechanism for "selling high and buying low").
- We provide every client with an Investment Policy Statement (IPS), which describes how the portfolio will be managed. We believe that adherence to the IPS in good times and bad is critically important, and we manage client accounts accordingly.
- We prefer to invest client assets with managers who have demonstrated a capability for integrating analysis of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into the investment process.
Fiduciary duty is at the core of First Affirmative's approach. We follow an established investment management process consistent with strict standards of fiduciary care, and we recognize our fiduciary duty to manage investment expenses.