How is Portfolio Management Different at Fragasso?

Firm Difference:

Our portfolio management decisions are made by our Pittsburgh-based team.

What it means for you

• Clients receive consistent portfolio recommendations from a specialized local team 100% dedicated to asset management, while other firms assign these tasks to professionals with other responsibilities or managers in a distant home office.
• Our financial advisors are able to devote their full attention to your financial plan and client relationships, while still working closely with their colleagues representing our in-house portfolio management team.
• Your questions and concerns can be addressed immediately, and clients receive regular communications created by those actually managing their portfolios.

Firm Difference:

Fragasso Financial Advisors is completely independent and able to utilize products from virtually any provider or manage certain investments internally.

What it means for you

• Fragasso portfolio managers are free to choose the solution offering the best balance of cost, service, and performance for clients. We do not receive any commissions, have proprietary products, or any similar conflicts of interest.
• Portfolios are likely to contain a variety of passive indexed solutions, selected active managers, and potentially private or structured products, carefully chosen to provide cost effective diversification and meet your return objectives.
• We have access to carefully curated alternative investments to further diversify portfolios.

Firm Difference:

Our portfolio management team collaborates on portfolio decisions from asset allocation to security selection.

What it means for you

• Clients receive the most appropriate investments across asset classes, product types, and providers, while other firms may rely on siloed analysts lacking a full view of the investment landscape.
• Investment decisions incorporate the work of analysts with varied expertise and unique perspectives.
• Portfolio analysis benefits from both the input of deep asset class specialists as well as the broad knowledge of experienced generalists.

Firm Difference:

Our portfolio management team conducts off-site meetings with senior advisors and firm management on a quarterly basis to discuss performance, new opportunities, and potential changes to client portfolios.

What it means for you

• Client needs and concerns are constantly communicated to the portfolio management team, and advisors are informed as to the rationale and expected results of portfolio decisions.
• Major portfolio changes are debated and examined by a team of experienced investment professionals.
• Decisions are vetted by investors with well over 100 years of combined industry experience.

Firm Difference:

Minimizing taxes and other costs is the only “free lunch” in investments. Fragasso’s portfolios are structured to keep more of your hard-earned money in your hands.

What it means for you

• Sophisticated tax-loss harvesting strategies are utilized to lower tax liabilities without sacrificing performance.
• Favorable tax structures like ETFs and direct stock investments are preferred, when possible, to tax-inefficient mutual funds.
• We favor investments conducive to long holding periods to delay tax obligations and maximize the effects of compounding over time.
• We analyze the tax consequences of any recommended portfolio changes for new clients, never making wholesale changes without taking these costs into account.

Michael Godwin, CFA
Chief Investment Officer

Jim Sinegal
Senior Investment Analyst

Serhiy Zayats
Investment Analyst

Steve Limberiou
Trading Analyst