Investment Approach

For stocks and bonds, the analysis generally includes a review of:

• The issuer’s management;
• The amount and volatility of past profits or losses;
• The issuer’s assets and liabilities, as well as any material changes from historical norms;
• Prospects for the issuer’s industry, as well as the issuer’s competitive position within that industry;
• Credit ratings;
• Income potential; and
• Any other factors considered relevant.

For mutual funds and ETFs, the analysis generally includes a review of:

• The fund’s management team;
• The fund’s historical risk and return characteristics;
• The fund’s exposure to sectors and individual issuers;
• The fund’s fee structure;
• The fund’s management style;
• The fund’s investment philosophy;
• The fund’s total assets under management;
• The fund’s style consistency;
• The fund’s risk adjusted performance relative to peers;
• The fund’s regulatory oversight; and
• Any other factors considered relevant.

JFS assists retirement plan sponsors with investment fiduciary services like initial due diligence and investment screening, selections of Dimensional Fund Advisors, Vanguard, and other quality mutual funds, creating low-cost, diversified managed portfolio models, and ongoing monitoring. Similar to our investment approach for individuals and families, we will develop and maintain an Investment Policy Statement establishing the investment policies and objectives for the Plan, setting forth the asset classes and investment categories offered under the Plan, and providing the criteria and standards for selecting and monitoring such assets.