True North Advisors

Vic Esclamado, COO

admin — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:00:49 +0000

“Stewardship is caring about the hopes and goals of our clients…and working smart and hard, year after year, to achieve them.”

“Addiction to Prediction”

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:19:47 +0000

January 1, 2010 – Financial Planning Magazine – (Abstract) Allan Roth writes shares his key takeaways from reading “The Little Book of Safe Money” by Jason Zweig: 1) People don’t like uncertainty or randomness so they look for experts who can make predictions about the markets; 2) We all are subject to “recency bias” in our ability to look ahead, that current events impact our thinking more than long term events; 3) Asset allocation is alive and well. Although all assets classes suffer in a major downturn, diversification is definitely beneficial during upturns or minor downturns; and finally 4) making decisions about when to get out (during downturns) and in (during upturns) of the market AND being right half the time results in inferior returns compared to practicing basic “buy-and-hold” investing.

To read the full article: https://secure.financial-planning.com/fp_issues/2010_1/addiction-to-prediction-2665136-1.html?pg=1

Barron’s names True North among the Top 100 Independent Advisors

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 02:36:42 +0000

August 31, 2009 - DALLAS, TX. – For the first time, True North Advisors was named by Barron’s on their “Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors 2009” list, published on August 31, 2009.

The ranking is based on a composite score from factors of assets under management, revenues generated for the firm, and quality of the advisors’ practices. Less weight was given to assets and revenues from institutional clients. This was True North’s first year to make the list, scoring 82.5 points compared to the top score of 100. Advisors who made the list are based all across the United States. True North was among a group of only 5 advisors that made the list, two others based in Dallas, and two others based in Houston.

“I am just excited to have True North included on this Top 100 List,” says Scott Wood, Founder of True North. “We have had our heads down, taking care of clients for the last 10 years…it’s good to see that the strong foundation we’ve laid is starting to get noticed.”

True North Advisors is an independent wealth management firm serving high net worth clients and institutions, differentiating itself with its objective, disciplined system to carefully steward client assets. Based in Dallas, Texas, True North is in its 9^th year of operations with a full-time team of 26 people and over $850 Million in client assets under management.

Firm Re-branding to reflect Unique Value and Service Offer

admin — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:17:53 +0000

January 15, 2010 – DALLAS, TX. – True North Advisors, celebrating its 10^th year of business in 2010, launched its updated brand identity to start the New Year.

The new company brand includes an updated look to reflect the unique value proposition and service promise that True North offers clients. Gone is the True North navigation compass icon, replaced by a more modern, blue and green mosaic icon, with a white triangle pointing upwards.

“We wanted to move away from the compass theme because it’s so commonplace these days,” says founder Scott Wood. “Our new icon symbolizes the varied parts of our client’s financial picture that are organized and given direction through our advisory process. We’re excited to see how our clients will react not only to our re-branding, but to the expanded wealth management services we’re rolling out this year.”

The new branding will be reflected in all True North’s communication materials, from business card to letterhead to website to client proposals and reports.

True North Advisors is an independent wealth management firm serving high net worth clients and institutions, differentiating itself with its objective, disciplined system to carefully steward client assets. Based in Dallas, Texas, True North is in its 10^th year of operations with a full-time team of 26 people and over $850 Million in client assets under management.

“Patience, Please, With That Investment Plan”

admin — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:22:03 +0000

December 27, 2009 – The New York Times – (Abstract) Those of us who stayed invested in the market and didn’t liquidate their holdings by fleeing into cash captured the most value from the dramatic market rebound in 2009. Senior Editor Paul J. Lim writes how the market advanced from March 9^th, 2009 through December 17 by nearly 65%. His analysis shows that the later you re-entered the market, the more of the rally you missed. For example, if you entered the market a month after the rally began, say April 1, you would’ve missed 40% of your potential gain. If you entered two month after the rally began, you would’ve missed about 60% of the rally’s gain.

One of Lim’s major points is that investors need to stay true to their long term strategy and not get swayed to move in and out of the market during volatile years.

To read the full article: http://www.cnbc.com/id/34600443

Wealth Manager Magazine ranks True North 150th in top 500

admin — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:38:50 +0000

July, 2009 – DALLAS, TX. – Wealth Manager Magazine released its 9^th Annual “Top Wealth Managers” List for 2009, with True North Advisors capturing the 150^th position among 407 firms that made the list. Rankings were done based on average AUM per client.

Analysis of wealth managers was done Wealth Manager’s practice management columnist Philip Palaveev, who is president of Fusion Advisor Network in Elmsford, N.Y., and a former Moss Adams principal. His deep knowledge of practice management for RIAs is legendary, and his full report on the survey and rankings can be found at wealthmanagerweb.com.

“We have emphasized with our clients that by having a view of their entire financial picture, we can provide better advice,” says Mark Gehlbach, Principal and Co-Founder at True North. “That, plus our focus now on clients with>$1MM in investible assets, has helped us increase our average AUM for our 500+ clients.”

Collaboration with Dallas Entrepreneurs to Launch New Website

admin — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:18:20 +0000

January 15, 2009 - DALLAS, TX. – True North Advisors has partnered with Brand-Loft, Envision Interactive, and Cardinal Marketing to launch its new website for 2010.

True North’s website, seen at www.truenorthadvisors.com, is a result of the collaboration of three entrepreneurial firms with True North’s team to produce a state-of-the-art advisor website in a very short timeframe for a budget affordable by most independent advisors.

Cardinal Marketing provided brand and content guidance and production; Brand-Loft came up with the unique logo, branding and website design; and Envision Interactive built the site to specifications.

“We have a great story to tell about how we’ve helped clients over the last 10 years. Our new website shows how we’re different from other advisors out there,’ says Vic Esclamado, True North’s Chief Operating Officer. “I’d recommend our team of vendor-partners to anyone…they did a great job! We’re glad we could do this project working with creative, highly-skilled entrepreneurs in the Dallas area.”

True North Advisors is an independent wealth management firm serving high net worth clients and institutions, differentiating itself with its objective, disciplined system to carefully steward client assets. Based in Dallas, Texas, True North is in its 10^th year of operations with a full-time team of 26 people and over $850 Million in client assets under management.

True North Advisors ranked #17 in DBJ Book of Lists

admin — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 02:40:21 +0000

May 15, 2009 – DALLAS, TX. – True North Advisors was ranked 17^th out of 25 Financial Asset Management Firms by the Dallas Business Journal’s annual publication, the “Book of Lists 2010.” Researchers Jerry Gunter and Helen Roth screened firms by the value of the assets under local management as of December 31, 2008. Citing about $860 million in assets under management, True North Advisors was recognized as one of the largest firms in its category in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex area.

The list included a broad range of different types of financial advisors: large banks’ advisory units, large brokerage firms, money managers, and independent advisory firms. “Although we are honored to be included on the Book of Lists for asset management firms, “ says Scott Wood, Founder of True North Advisors, “it’s important for clients to know that we are very different than most of the other firms on the list. We are a truly independent wealth management firm, free from any conflicts-of-interest that plague the traditional bank and brokerage firms.”

True North adopts MoneyGuidePro Financial Planning Software

admin — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 02:25:50 +0000

December 28, 2009 – DALLAS, TX. – True North Advisors licensed the use of the industry leading financial planning software suite, MoneyGuidePro. This recent license deal is evidence of True North’s continued investment in additional technology solutions to enhance its overall wealth management service for clients.

“MGP is really easy to use. It helps me work interactively with my clients to understand their goals, determine cash needs to meet those goals, and then design financial action plans we can execute now and over the years to come,” says Mike Anderson, JD, MS, CFP^®, and True North’s advisor spearheading the MGP adoption at the firm. “MGP also has a number of great calculator tools I can use with clients for specific analysis, like Roth Conversion or Life Insurance.”

In a December 2009 survey published by Financial Planning Magazine, MGP was reported to be the clear industry leader with about 20% of the advisor market share.

True North Advisors is an independent wealth management firm serving high net worth clients and institutions, differentiating itself with its objective, disciplined system to carefully steward client assets. Based in Dallas, Texas, True North is in its 10th year of operations with a full-time team of 26 people and over $850 Million in client assets under management.

True North Advisors named in “Top 50 Fast Movers” by Investment News

admin — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 02:44:21 +0000

November 20, 2008 - DALLAS, TX. – True North Advisors was named in the Top 50 fee-only registered investment advisors “Fast Movers” list, based on growth in discretionary assets under management. This is an annual list determined by Investment News. True North was included due to its rapid growth from 2006-2008. True North was #37 on the Top 50 list.

The criteria to be considered for the were: 1) A majority of their business must come from serving retail clients; 2) the firm must provide financial planning, portfolio management and or do due diligence on money managers; 3) the firm must not be a broker/dealer, bank or insurance entity; 4) the firm must not earn any commissions or have registered broker/dealer representatives at the firm; and 5) the largest portion of their investments should not be invested in proprietary products.

True North Advisors is an independent wealth management firm serving high net worth clients and institutions, differentiating itself with its objective, disciplined system to carefully steward client assets. Based in Dallas, Texas, True North is in its 8^th year of operations with a full-time team of 26 people and over $1 billion in client assets under management.