Fiduciary Responsibility

An Investment Advisor has a fiduciary responsibility to each client that goes above and beyond that of the traditional broker.

A traditional stock broker has the responsibility to efficiently execute a transaction, and is paid only when these transactions are completed (such as a buy or a sell order). If a broker executes more transactions, he earns more compensation, regardless of the suitability of the investment or how well the portfolio performs over time.

An Investment Advisor, on the other hand, has a legally binding fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interest of the client. This is achieved by properly managing the assets according to the unique needs and requirements of each individual. Transactions (buys and sells) are executed without commission – meaning that the manager is not compensated for the number and/or frequency of trades. The manager’s sole focus is to tailor a portfolio that is suitable for each individual client, while striving to minimize downside risk and maximize income and growth potential.

Accountability

All clients receive a Quarterly Portfolio Review, which clearly shows the performance of their account, the performance of selected benchmarks, and the net investment over time. These Portfolio Reviews also contain useful information such as market commentary, asset allocation, portfolio statistics based on MPT (modern portfolio theory), risk/reward analysis, unrealized gains/losses for each position, and a schedule of realized gains/losses for the year. Although these reports provide a great amount of technical data, the information is presented in a very easy to read manner.

Management Fees

An Investment Advisor earns his or her fee based on a small percentage of the value of the portfolio that is managed. Therefore, if the account grows, the advisor earns more. And if the account value drops, so does the fee. This aligns the manager and client with one another.

No Conflicts of Interest

This management arrangement has another advantage in that the only form of compensation is the management fee. Investment Advisors do not earn commissions on trades, and are not compensated by other concessions on fixed income products, proprietary products, principal transactions, and “loads” on mutual funds. Therefore we are not clouded by conflicts of interest when choosing which securities are best for your portfolio.

At Alton Capital Management we provide a transparent fee structure – meaning that the only fee that you are charged is the management fee on your account. This fee is clearly stated on your quarterly account statement, labeled as “MGMT FEE”.

Professional Objective Management

The final advantage of working with an Investment Advisor is that we bring something to the table that our clients cannot: objectivity. We approach investing with an analytical perspective that is very difficult for most people to do when it comes to their own money. Most people tend to want to buy when a stock is hot, and sell when the markets are down. This is buying high and selling low – the exact opposite of what successful investing is. We calmly keep an eye on the long-term perspective and success for our clients.