Founder’s Message: A Team Approach

January 5th, 2018 by Anchor Bay Capital's Investment Team

Happy New year and a very successful 2018 to all.

I begin with some administrative news that I’m happy to share. As some of you know I have been in the investment business for 31 years now and I formed my own firm, what is now known as Anchor Bay Capital, Inc., 26 years ago.

In starting my business, I wanted my existing and future clients to find an honest ally that was open and receptive to their personal needs and who was not compelled to sell them products that may or may not have been appropriate. To begin this venture I wrote a book, The Frugal Investor, to demonstrate my commitment to lower fees through common sense investing. That mission statement continues today as we embrace the belief that Financial Planning is the foundation for any coherent investment policy by providing unbiased advice for sound financial decisions.

For 26 years I have been Chief Investment Officer and for that matter chief cook and bottle washer. As our firm continues to grow and the complexity of managing a constant barrage of new regulations and compliance mandates increases, it has become apparent that I can’t manage the day-to-day operations of the firm and continue to manage each and everyone’s portfolio with the care and attention to detail that it deserves.

Because of these increasing needs for our company, as of January 1^st I have appointed Jeran Van Alfen as the company’s new President. Prior to joining our firm as Director of Financial Planning almost three years ago, Jeran spent a decade serving his clients as a financial planner while raising his family with three children. I look forward to each and every one of you having the opportunity to work with Jeran and the rest of the Anchor Bay team.

My official duties will remain as the Chief Investment Officer. To that extent, I have been training a very talented young man, Tanner Wrisley (a recent Harvard Graduate), as my assistant portfolio manager. Tanner has interned with our firm for the past two summers and joined us full time six months ago. Having his help with research and trade executions has and will make my job a lot easier.

Finally, in case some of you are concerned that I might be taking one foot out the door; don’t believe it. I love my job and continue to put in the work daily to run our portfolios.  On a personal note, I have three young people with college expenses that still need my support, so my commitment to your needs is as strong as ever.

Now for what matters to your wallet: We had a tremendous year in the stock market for 2017. We crossed the Dow 25,000 mark and it appears the New Year is continuing the upward trend. We’re nearing a Federal budget deadline towards the end of this month where 60 votes will be required in the Senate to fund the Government. This will be the first real test of the market’s resilience. It’s worth mentioning again that sustaining this market uptrend without a correction of some degree is foolhardy. We’ve put some insurance in place, as we have mentioned before, through the use of stop-losses, and we continue to monitor the fundamentals as we manage your investments with your long term goals in mind.

With less corporate regulations and strong company earnings, I’m hopeful that the economy will continue to do well in 2018.  As always my heartfelt gratitude for your confidence in our team here at Anchor Bay. We appreciate the opportunity to continue serving you.