Investment Philosophy

Kopp Financial implements three strategies based on a client's needs and risk tolerance.

1) Conservative

Great for:

  • Investors looking to preserve wealth

  • Those comfortable with small returns

  • Older Retirees

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The conservative strategy aims to minimize risk and preserve the investment of capital.  Funds are invested in U.S. Treasury securities, investment grade corporate bonds, and bank certificates of deposit.  A very small portion may be invested in dividend yielding U.S. stocks, with the total stock allocation not exceeding 10%.

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Investors should not expect large returns from a conservative strategy, but should expect a prudent approach that keeps pace with inflation.

2) Balanced

Great for:

  • Investors comfortable putting some of their money at risk to earn higher returns over time.

  • Those expecting multiple decades to pass before needing all of their funds.

  • Investors of all ages, including recent retirees

A balanced investment strategy is appropriate for most investors.  To choose this strategy you must be comfortable putting some money at risk.  Over a long time horizon, investing in the stock market can be more profitable than other strategies, but over the short term it is possible to lose money.

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This strategy invests in stocks of both U.S. and international companies, with a preference for stocks that pay dividends. This is balanced with investments in investment grade corporate bonds and bank certificates of deposit.  The allocation of assets to stock market exposure will vary between 40% and 65% based on advisor discretion.

3) Aggressive

Great for:

  • Investors comfortable with significant risk for the potential of higher returns.

  • Those with a long time horizon before needing to withdraw funds.

  • Younger investors.

An aggressive strategy requires investors to be comfortable with a significant amount of risk.  Over 65% of funds are invested in stocks, with the allocation increasing to as much as 90% for very young investors.  The balance of funds are allocated to investment grade corporate bonds.

 

The risk/reward trade-off typically favors young investors, making this a popular strategy for investors under age 40.  

How do we pick stocks?

At Kopp Financial we believe it is important to build diversified portfolios and that investing in individual stocks is to risky.  For this reason we prefer to invest in funds that invest in dozens or even hundreds of companies.  We mostly use Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and will sometimes use traditional mutual funds.

 

When selecting funds, we follow the following strategies:

  • We prefer funds that include stocks that pay regular dividends.

  • Low fees are better than high fees, so we prefer funds that use low cost indexing strategies to funds that are actively managed.

  • We expect some diversification between large companies and small, but prefer larger, more established companies that are profitable and pay dividends.

  • We include some exposure to international markets, but mostly invest in U.S. based companies.

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