Why Choose Us?
Q&A With Water Street Financial
We sat down with WSF Managing Partner, Ryan Oates, to have him explain why choosing Water Street Financial might be the competitive option for your financial health.
Question 1: What sets you apart from your competitors, and how do you stay ahead in the ever-evolving world of finance?
Ryan: Many advisors focus on increasing assets and fees. At Water Street Financial, we prioritize a holistic approach, offering personalized financial life plans over sheer volume. We provide boutique experience, ensuring our select clients receive tailored guidance and comprehensive support for their entire financial journey. This commitment sets us apart, making us not just advisors, but dedicated partners in our clients’ financial success.
Question 2: What is your fee structure, and how do you ensure transparency in costs and services provided?
Ryan: Our transparent fee structure starts at 1.25% for assets up to $500k, dropping to 1% for the next $1.5 million, 0.85% up to $5 million, and just 0.65% beyond. Every detail is clearly outlined on our website and provided in writing before any commitment, ensuring full clarity and trust. This fee encompasses all our financial planning and investment management services, with only rare exceptions for custom solutions. We’re committed to delivering straightforward, valuable financial advisory services that prioritize your financial success.
Question 3: How do you measure and report investment performance, and what benchmarks do you use to gauge success?
Ryan: We tailor benchmarks to each client's unique financial landscape. After crafting a personalized financial plan, we set a custom risk benchmark that aligns with their goals and design strategies to pursue targeted returns. Our definition of success? Minimizing risk while securing your financial freedom—ensuring confidence by aligning assets, risk tolerance, and objectives. Our approach assures that investment performance is measured against what truly matters: achieving your personal financial goals.
Question 4: How do you stay informed of market changes and how do you incorporate this knowledge into your investment strategies?
Ryan: Our team actively participates in a variety of collaborative research groups, ensuring we’re always equipped with the latest market insights. This constant stream of information fuels our knowledge base. We regularly convene to analyze and discuss these insights, reaching a consensus on the current market and economic climate. Armed with this understanding, we strategically adjust our investment portfolios, typically referencing a three-to-six month outlook to guide our decisions. This dynamic approach allows us to adapt to market changes effectively, aiming to ensure our investment strategies remain robust and aligned with our clients' goals.
Question 5: How have you navigated a client through a market downturn more effectively than they might have on their own?
Ryan: Our strategy focuses on removing emotion from the decision-making process, allowing us to capitalize on current market conditions while always planning. Recognizing that we can't alter the past, we instead draw valuable lessons from it, identifying opportunities even amidst challenging market downturns. This forward-looking approach empowers our clients to navigate through volatility more effectively than they might on their own, aiming to transform potential setbacks into strategic advantages for their investment journey.
Question 6: What advanced tools or insights do you utilize that might not be readily available to individual investors, and how do they impact performance?
Ryan: Utilizing comprehensive financial analytics and proprietary insights from experienced institutional investment teams, our approach offers an advantage not available to the average DIY investor. These exclusive resources allow us to conduct in-depth analyses of global economic trends and market dynamics, providing us with a comprehensive understanding that informs our predictive strategies. This sophisticated analysis directly influences our portfolio performance, striving to ensure our clients are always positioned to capitalize on future market opportunities.
No strategy assures success or protects against loss.
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