Our Structure
Our investment methodology is uniquely founded on a team approach. Unlike traditional brokerage firms that are built around a single advisor model, our structure allows best-in-class specialists focused on designated areas of expertise to collaborate on your individual plan, thereby delivering robust thinking, increased value and goal-driven performance.
Each client benefits from the expertise of a wealth manager, our research team, portfolio analysts and our Investment Policy Committee and each has a critical role in our collective success:
- Wealth Manager: Focuses on understanding our clients’ specific situations and needs
- Research Team: Specializes in understanding the best investment strategies to achieve client goals
- Portfolio Analysts: Execute on portfolio strategies and trade and re-balance portfolios to stay on track with our client’s long-term growth objectives
- Investment Policy Committee: Key leadership who meet weekly to collaborate on investment research and decisions by providing diverse perspectives and engaging in robust debate to yield sound investment decisions for our clients
True North Advisors stands apart from other wealth managers in the area of disciplined investment practices. And, through this inside-out understanding of our investment choices, we believe we are better positioned to anticipate opportunities and risks to optimize results.
Research Team Disciplines
Our Research Team builds diversified portfolios with broad exposure to various asset classes that are most appropriate for our client’s unique situation. We use the full range of investible asset classes when building client portfolios:
- Equities
- Fixed Income
- Hedge Fund Strategies
- Fund of Funds Strategies
- Real Estate
- Private Equity
- Natural Resources
Investment Vehicles
Our process does not discriminate or focus on any one particular investment vehicle to implement in our portfolios. We look for the best and most practical way to express the exposure we want to achieve for client portfolios. The vehicles include:
- Mutual Funds
- Separately Managed Accounts
- Limited Partnerships
- Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
- Structured Products
- Options/Derivatives
Money Managers
True North is a “manager of managers,” meaning that we develop client portfolios by choosing money managers focused on a specific investment strategy. When analyzing money managers, we analyze their investment strategies, organizational structure, personnel, process, philosophy and performance. We regularly meet with money managers throughout the year to keep a pulse on their strategies and activity related to the portfolios we’ve invested in. We are watchful of key triggers that would cause us to exit or increase our positions with money managers:
- A departure or hiring of key investment personnel
- Asset levels and their impact on the manager’s ability to execute their strategy
- A change in the firm’s ownership structure
- A change in the firm’s investment philosophy
- Asset under management trends and impact on firm’s resources
- An improvement or deterioration of the firm’s competitive advantage
