Investment Management Begins with Planning
Retirement financial planning and investment management are not standalone activities. Planning without investments that support your goals can fail. Investing without a clear plan is reckless. At Deane Retirement Strategies we integrate both disciplines to achieve optimum results.
Our Balanced Portfolio Strategy uses an actively managed mix of individual stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs) across equities, bonds, precious metals, and select alternative investments. That mix is intended to deliver reliable growth, protect principal, and generate sustainable income while controlling risk and volatility. All investing takes place in house, managed by an experienced Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®). No mutual funds, annuities, or packaged insurance products ever.
Our Six Investment Management Principles
1. Protect Your Principal
We design portfolios to avoid deep losses. That means managing exposure carefully, diversifying across sectors, and sizing positions so that no single holding can create unnecessary risk.
2. Growth to Hedge Inflation
We invest for long-term compounding. Quality individual stocks and equity ETFs are the engines of our investment strategy and provide purchasing power protection to help your portfolio keep up with the rising cost of living.
3. Control Risk
We never speculate. Our portfolios are built to withstand market stress through thoughtful allocation, quality holdings, and strict risk controls.
4. Control Volatility
Volatility is part of investing, but it doesn’t have to be disruptive. With controlled exposure, we actively monitor and adjust your mix of assets to help reduce large swings.
5. Generate Sustainable Income (When Ready)
When you need income from your portfolio, we design a tax-aware withdrawal strategy using dividends, interest, and capital gains that supports your lifestyle and works in line with your plan.
6. You Sleep At Night
A good portfolio doesn’t keep you awake. Our strategy is built to give you peace of mind, knowing that your investments are being watched, managed, and aligned with your goals.
Why Balance Matters for All Investors
While conventional wisdom often suggests younger investors should be aggressive and older investors should be overly conservative, we believe both extremes carry risks. Aggressive portfolios can suffer deep losses that take years to recover, while overly conservative portfolios may fail to keep up with inflation. Our balanced approach aims to provide growth, stability, and income; helping clients of all ages meet their goals without taking unnecessary chances.
Fee-Only Fiduciaries with Transparent Costs
At Deane Retirement Strategies, we are fee-only fiduciaries. That means we are legally and ethically obligated to act in your best interest at all times, with no hidden incentives, sales commissions, or third-party compensation. We do not sell annuities, mutual funds, insurance products, or anything else that generates commissions. Our only compensation comes directly from the clients we serve. Our fees are simple, transparent, and easy to understand. You will always know exactly what you are paying, down to the penny.
Our annual fee starts at 1.25% of assets under management and declines to below 1% as your portfolio grows. This single fee covers everything we do: retirement financial planning, in-house investment management, income planning, tax coordination, estate planning coordination and regular meetings to address the issues that matter most to you. There are no layered fund fees, sales charges, or hidden expenses. We believe clients deserve total clarity and full trust in their advisory relationship.
Why We Never Use Mutual Funds
We do not use mutual funds because of high hidden costs and lack of transparency. Mutual funds carry expense ratios often well above 1% annually and disclose holdings only quarterly, creating risk from overlapping securities and unseen volatility. By using individual securities and ETFs with full visibility we optimize clarity, control, and performance.
Assets Held Safely at Charles Schwab & Co. Inc.
We custody no assets ourselves. All accounts are held entirely at Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., who also facilitates trading, tax reporting and monthly statement generation. Clients can view their accounts at any time through Schwab’s secure online platform, providing complete visibility and peace of mind.