Investment Approach

401 Advisor, LLC has a history of being an early adaptor of trends and technology that can benefit the investment management of our clients’ accounts. We were one of the first investment advisors to adopt a fiduciary-based investment management service for our clients more than 20 years ago. Through our Fund Trader Pro service, we are still one of the few companies that offer in-house management of client 401(k) accounts.

Today technology has streamlined the financial planning practice to the point where we cannot understand firms that have investment minimums. At 401 Advisor we offer clients with as little as $10,000 to invest, the same portfolios that are traded with accounts of clients with a million dollars or more. Through Fund Trader pro we can establish investment plans for individuals who are just starting out with a regular investment plan whether in their own account or through an employer’s 401K) plan.

Anomaly – Pronunciation: /əˈnɒm(ə)li

noun (plural anomalies)
Something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected:

In investing most individuals focus on their returns without adequately gauging the risks involved. However, professional investors understand that a particularly “high” return is not necessarily something to emulate if that return came about due to taking an outsized risk. The profession of investment management is really about getting higher than expected returns with lower than expected risks. Doing so is generally considered to be an investment anomaly, as efficient market theory says that higher returns are only attained by taking more risk. Practitioners of buy and hold and diversified portfolio strategies are typically believers in an efficient market.

At 401 Advisors we believe that even the most casual observer of the stock market would call it anything but efficient! Stock prices can change by 3% – 10% in just a day and bounce right back again just a few days later. With seemingly nothing really new transpiring in between. Instead, we take advantage of three known and well-studied anomalies – strategies that historically have provided higher returns with less risk.

1. Dividends. Multiple studies have shown that stocks that pay dividends, particularly those that consistently raise their dividends, outperform non-dividend-paying stocks in good, bad, and sideways markets. Albert Einstein said, “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world.” Dividends can compound when reinvested, growth does not. For the investor building wealth, there is no surer way to wealth than investing in well-screened, cash flow generating dividend stocks and reinvesting those dividends. For retirees, dividends can provide a rising income stream that can last for generations.

2. Value. dominate styles of investing – those looking for fast-growing companies that they hope will keep growing. And investors that look for undervalued companies that they hope will turn around and appreciate. Over time value investing has shown that it offers higher returns with less risk than growth investing. We certainly recognize that there are good growth managers out there. But why look for a needle in a haystack? We prefer to pick stocks from those that have value attributes and of companies that have the financial stability to drive up future stock prices

3.Momentum. Momentum is the tendency of an object in motion to remain in motion. For stocks, there is a demonstrated tendency for stocks that have been performing well to continue to do well, and those that are doing poorly to continue to do poorly. While this may seem simple, at 401 Advisor, LLC. and Fund Trader Pro we use our own proprietary model to identify consistent momentum indicators among groups of investments. 401(k) plans that offer a limited set of investment options are a perfect example of accounts for us to model and make investment recommendations for our clients. Simply put we rotate investments into what is working, based on our proprietary system.