As no two people have the same fingerprint, everyone has a different need and differing thoughts on how to manage assets in pursuit of their goals. Again, if you are reading this, you are probably unsure as to what to do, and understandably so.

There are many types of financial people who are licensed to manage money all touting their philosophy, not to mention the plethora of material you can read to try and get a handle on what any of it means. What it comes down to is plain and simple: The person managing your money should have a risk management process that can easily be explained to you. Our focus will clearly be on owning strong positions in strong asset classes. While this goes against conventional asset allocation, we have no interest in seeing money disappear through holding a poor asset class.

The first thing you can expect from us as a potential client is a technical/risk review of your existing investments. This tends to highlight positions that are technically weak. We then apply a fundamental perspective. If we have a weak technical position, but a positive fundamental opinion, most times we will follow the fundamental opinion if it is a recent one. Knowing how we assess a portfolio may give you some comfort in our assessment process and the benefit of a second set of eyes. We maintain a group of names and asset classes that we are happy to own or buy at most times and our intent, if you agree in the goals, is to remove weak positions in favor of the stronger positions.

The following should be considered building blocks or discussion points rather than suggested solutions, though they may very well be appropriate solutions, individually or in concert, depending on your individual circumstances.

Fixed Income

With interest rates still at historic lows, fixed income investing is a little more dangerous than we would like to see. As part of our initial discussion on portfolio composition, we can discuss your income requirements and how best to accomplish that goal.

Suffice to say, income can be obtained from many different asset classes. We will consider your needs against what might make sense from a relative strength of asset classes and perceived risk perspective. Currently in the first half of 2017, I prefer other types of investments for this feature and would be happy to explain this further.

Bond prices and yields are subject to change based upon market conditions and availability. If bonds are sold prior to maturity, you may receive more or less than your initial investment. Holding bonds to term allows redemption at par value. There is an inverse relationship between interest rate movements and bond prices. Generally, when interest rates rise, bond prices fall and when interest rates fall, bond prices generally rise.

Growth/Growth and Income

We run three main equity strategies all seeking growth in different ways. These strategies will generally have 20, 25 and 30 positions and on occasion may mix all strategies in a single account.

The first of these strategies is based on the annual list Raymond James publishes of our Analysts’ Best Picks. We are happy to share historical returns going back more than 20 years.

The second is comprised of approximately 25 stocks where our goal is to provide appropriate growth and minimize transactions.

The third is built based on opinions we’ve gathered from Raymond James research and also those from Credit Suisse. Every stock in this pool of ideas has a decent fundamental opinion. We select your portfolio by running these positions through a technical screen. Your individual portfolio will be unique depending on when an account opens.

Raymond James is not affiliated with Credit Suisse.

Tactical Strategy

The tactical strategy utilizes exchange traded funds (ETFs). The tactical aspect comes from the selection process and the positions we might own dictated by the marketplace. This is something best explained visually.

If you own an individual stock, you accept the specific risk of that stock. An ETF can help avoid the specific risk inherent in owning an individual stock while embracing a broader sector exposure.

Why Tactical Portfolio Management (PDF)

ETF shareholders should be aware that the general level of stock or bond prices may decline, thus affecting the value of an exchange-traded fund. Although exchange-traded funds are designed to provide investment results that generally correspond to the price and yield performance of their respective underlying indexes, the funds may not be able to exactly replicate the performance of the indexes because of fund expenses and other factors.

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of an exchange traded product carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information and should be read carefully before investing. The prospectus is available from your investment professional.

Views expressed are not necessarily those of Raymond James and are subject to change without notice. Information provided is general in nature, and is not a complete statement of all information necessary for making an investment decision, and is not a recommendation or a solicitation to buy or sell any security. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investing always involves risk and you may incur a profit or loss. There is no assurance that any allocation strategy will achieve its objectives. No investment strategy can guarantee success.