30 West Patrick Street Ste. 100 Frederick, Maryland 21701

Investments

reflective water in baker park as the sun sets

The Family Heritage Trust Company provides a range of professional strategic portfolio management services and investment policy design.

Strategic Portfolio Management

Investment success requires time, not timing. This is why The Family Heritage Trust Company thinks long-term in our investment strategy and is not distracted by passing fluctuations or fads in portfolio management.

Time spent with each client allows us to understand their specific investment circumstances and objectives, along with your tolerance for risk. With each client, we create a detailed investment plan based on your specific long-term goals and are sufficiently flexible to adapt to changing life events and capital market conditions.

WHAT ARE DIVERSIFIED INVESTMENT MANAGED PORTFOLIOS?

“Multi-style” and “multi-asset class” mutual fund portfolios are used by investors to achieve their desired investment goals. The Family Heritage Trust Company is able to deliver a truly progressive service in concert with one of the nation’s leading mutual fund companies, Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA).

 

WHO SHOULD USE DIVERSIFIED INVESTMENT MANAGED PORTFOLIOS?

Clients looking to invest in a strategy that is aligned with their specific return and risk profile should consider a diversified managed portfolio. Each investment model is comprised of low-cost, no-load institutional mutual funds offered by Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA). The benefit to you is a low-cost way in which to invest in a diversified portfolio of quality, no-load mutual funds that have built-in due diligence for the funds and their managers. This ensures the model will always be managed according to its established risk and return parameters.

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WHAT IS MULTI-CLASS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT?

Client portfolios using diversified assets such as common stocks, bonds, and money markets foster year-to-year consistency of return and minimize the prospects of capital loss.

 

WHY USE MULTI-CLASS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT?

With each investor possessing distinct investment preferences, The Family Heritage Trust Company utilizes a multi-class investment management approach that is customized to the client’s specific rate of return expectations and tolerance for risk. This “one size does not fit all” investment service is guided by time-proven decision-making processes to ensure your portfolio is definitely managed to your needs and financial security.

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WHAT IS EQUITY MANAGEMENT?

In stark contrast to today’s popular perceptions toward stocks, The Family Heritage Trust Company maintains a belief that our clients wish to own the common shares of a quality business with a mindset to be the owner of that business. As a result, we assume a longer-term perspective in stock selection to take advantage of the rewards of being an owner of a good business, and to take advantage of the favorable tax treatment of long-term capital gains. This does not imply that a passive “buy and hold” approach is employed, but it does mean that we do our up-front analytical work to identify long-term economic trends and to invest in those companies that are likely to participate in these trends that often last for periods greater than one year. Our longer-term orientation helps to promote low portfolio turnover and minimize transaction costs. We adhere to guidelines to ensure sector and issue diversification as a time-proven way to manage risk.

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WHY USE A FIXED INCOME MANAGEMENT STRATEGY?

The Family Heritage Trust Company believes that bonds in a portfolio have a specific role based on the following principles:

  • To generate investment income.
  • To return principal at a specific future date.
  • To provide liquidity if needed.
  • To complement the risks associated with equity investing, therefore acting as a portfolio risk management tool.

 

As a result, we believe that a short to intermediate maturity structure of highly-rated fixed-income vehicles is the best approach to managing bonds. This preference also enables us to manage bond portfolios or select bond mutual funds consistent with our stated principles, and to build enhanced portfolio diversification of assets.

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Investment Policy Design

The cornerstone of our wealth management approach is to help our clients define their specific investment goals and document them in an Investment Policy Statement. We cannot underestimate the importance of a well-thought-out investment policy. An investment policy is a dynamic document that should be reviewed at least annually and revised as significant objectives and circumstances change. The investment policy must also be flexible enough to implement short-term investment strategies consistent with your objectives in light of changing capital market conditions.

WHAT DOES TAX EFFICIENCY MEAN IN TERMS OF PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT?

Tax efficient portfolio management requires diligent monitoring of the consequences of each investment decision along with awareness of long-term and short-term strategies. For example, when an investment is sold, it can make the difference between paying the higher taxes associated with a short-term gain or the more modest tax rate of a long-term gain. And, when gains are realized, The Family Heritage Trust Company utilizes tax harvesting and looks for ways to offset these gains with potential losses.

 

WHY USE THE FAMILY HERITAGE TRUST COMPANY?

Tax management can be a complicated process, and we track each account’s capital gain and loss situation over the course of the year. With each investor presenting a unique set of circumstances, we seek feedback from our clients to ensure that we are managing their portfolios as tax-efficiently as possible. In doing so, we strive to maximize after-tax rates of returns and honor the adage that states, “It isn’t how much you make, it is how much you keep!”

The Family Heritage Trust Company emphasizes the importance of clients being informed regarding their portfolio’s performance in light of their overall investment policy. We employ a third-party investment performance and reporting provider who generates reports detailing your account’s rate of return and risk characteristics. This independent measurement offers an unbiased view of the results of your portfolio.