President's Message

One would think large, wealthy companies would best serve wealthy families, with complex relationships, when in fact the opposite is true. From my own experience I got lost in a large, well known wealth management firm. I learned that I had fallen through the cracks only when they failed to execute previously agreed loss prevention strategies, that had they been in place when the stock market moved lower, would have prevented significant losses to my portfolio. When I decided to leave that company, the question became: how do any of us know whether the people we trust with our investment portfolio or who act as a trustee are really good at what they do? Usually the only way we learn if someone is not very good is only after we have lost money, our trusts are in court or our taxes incur penalties. I went through that financial debacle and learned that the best -qualified people don’t always reside in a large name brand company.

To avoid making the same mistake twice, I educated myself about investments, estate and financial planning and trustee services. Then I built a team of the best advisors in each specialty and created the proper checks and balances. How did I know they were the best advisors? It’s simple - they were chosen by their peers as being the best at what they do.

It worked for me, so when I joined Atherton Trust I structured the company to use the best service providers, with proven track records, from an array of elite companies. At Atherton Trust, we give our clients the comprehensive services they need, and they trust us to deliver the results they seek.

INTIGRATING WITH YOUR ADVISORS

The fact is, as successful people we all think that we have the best advisors. What we don’t realize is that we often grow beyond the skills of our advisors; usually, we find out only when it’s too late. We also forget our advisors are human; they have family and health issues and they are not infallible. I solved this potential problem, for our clients, by having several well-qualified advisors in each specialty, and a knowledge-transfer system available in the event they need to step in for your advisor. In practice, we integrate our advisors with yours so that they seamlessly work together to achieve your personal and financial objectives.

INVESTMENTS

Over the last ten years many investment firms have stopped promoting their own products (unless they are top performers in their category) to use the best investments no matter what the source. Atherton Trust not only applies this methodology to its investments, but also to estate and financial planning, accounting and tax strategy and family advisory services. We believe we are among the best at providing trustee services, whether you choose to name us as a co-trustee or a sole trustee. We can also help you choose the right trust for your circumstance (there are MANY trusts, you have to be careful to choose the right one).

EXPERIENCE

Our advisors are chosen for their qualifications and experience. Our clients prefer to work with intelligent advisors who have a few nicks and bruises and a proven track record of performance. Therefore, all of our advisors have over 10 years of experience in their chosen professions and they have demonstrated that they are the elite in their field.

DIVERSIFICATION

What has amazed me over the years was how wealth management firms didn’t understand true diversification. Successful people understand diversification; they own real estate, securities and collectibles not just one type of asset. Their assets may be more heavily weighted in some areas than others, but most successful people understand the value of diversification. However, most advisors I worked with in the past did not understand how they all fit together, much less how to manage them to balance risk and achieve greater reward.

Why not? Most investment managers know just one asset class, usually securities. Few advisors understand that real estate has produced cash-on-cash returns that are very close to inflation-protected bonds over the last thirty years. The major difference between real estate and bonds is that real estate has the potential for appreciation as well as tax savings and deferral as well as leverage. They also don’t know that investment grade real estate has aggressive, balanced or conservative characteristics similar to securities. This enables real estate to be managed as part of a mixed asset portfolio. What they do know is that real estate is illiquid and they will site this as the reason not to own it in your portfolio. Therefore, when most wealth managers look at your portfolio, they will tell you to sell your real estate, and buy securities because that is what they know and how they are paid. Even fewer advisors understand how collectibles provide personal pleasure, potential appreciation and a financial reserve for a portfolio. Atherton Trust is truly a unique company. We have the expertise to manage all of your investments together. We take time to understand your risk tolerance and financial goals. We then work with you to balance your portfolio to gain the optimal financial results.

TRUSTEE SERVICES

As a trust company, we take the responsibility of being a trustee very seriously. We perform the normal trustee functions including investing, accounting, tax preparation and filing. We prefer to be a co-trustee with a family member rather than the sole trustee, although we have functioned in a fully discretionary role for clients. We adhere to the Uniform Prudent Investor Act (UPIA) and the state and federal rules and laws under which trustees must operate. Three of the key requirements of a trustee are to be unbiased, independent and to communicate openly with all beneficiaries. We provide your family member co-trustee with the expert advice and the services they need in order to perform their duties as trustee in keeping with the law. We provide quarterly reporting, giving you information about your trust’s investments, decisions and operations.

YOUR DECISION

Your choice then becomes, should I use a large institutional firm or Atherton Trust to manage my wealth portfolio?

Let me ask you this – if you could get the same or better investment, trustee and other advisory services in a small firm that you get in large company, which would you choose? This is an important question. Some people want the big building, marble and mahogany lobby and large corporate name, others prefer the personalized service that only a smaller firm can provide. If you want more personalized service from the best advisors in their respective fields, then please contact me. We will show you what intelligent wealth management is all about.