What We Do
Sentinel seeks to provide financial education, perspective and guidance to those seeking to reach a goal through the use of investments.
Sentinel Actively Manages accounts for individual clients or organizations on a discretionary basis. This means that you and your advisor will work together to determine what type of portfolio will work best for you, put the plan into action, and your advisor will then watch over your account on an ongoing basis, making updates as needed along the way. Your advisor does not need to call you each time a rebalance occurs or a change is made, so long as they work within the stated objectives and risk tolerance you’ve set for them. This allows quick action when necessary and gives you more control over how much time you spend on your accounts.
Portfolios tend to be made up of a combination of individual securities, with closed end and exchange traded funds (CEFs and ETFs), among others.
Closed End Funds
Closed End Funds are one of the three basic types of investment company. They sell a fixed number of shares at an initial public offering and are then traded on a secondary market, such as the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ. The price of shares is based on the market price of the shares, and may be more or less than the Net Asset Value (NAV). Investment portfolios are managed by investment advisers. Closed end funds are able to invest in more illiquid assets than a traditional open-end mutual fund, and can therefore offer a liquid means to invest in otherwise illiquid areas.
*Source – https://www.sec.gov/fastanswers/
answersmfclosehtm.html
Services
Sentinel uses models as the core of most client accounts, which allows for efficiency in account oversight and trading, and in many cases, just makes sense. But we recognize that not every client will have the exact same goals, tolerance for risk or expected timeline for investing. The models described below provide a foundation on which to build most clients’ portfolios, but as we work with you and learn your individual needs, we have the ability to customize portfolios to suit you.
Typically for accounts $100,000 plus to attain proper diversification
Step 1 – Determining Overall Allocation
The ratio of equity to fixed income is determined based on Sentinel’s proprietary formula, which uses a measure of investor confidence to indicate how much equity exposure is appropriate at any one time. Why investor confidence? Because, in general, the markets are not logical. They are heavily influenced by the media and by the emotions that occur as a result. So through adjustments to overall allocation based on these emotions, we are able to use this often-frustrating variable to our advantage.
Step 2 – Diversifying Among Industries
It may be that when money is tight, you will not buy the new big screen television that you have been coveting, but most people will continue to buy toothpaste. When your income rises, you might buy a new car rather than repair your old one. In every market environment, there are winners and losers. By making industry allocation an integral step of the investment process, we are more easily able to avoid those industries that are out of favor due to regulatory or market conditions and concentrate on value at yet another level.
Step 3 – Selecting Individual Securities
When it comes to making individual selections, we are looking for more than just the next big winner. From equities to fixed income, we seek value in each security. This is key to providing our investors with consistent growth without added volatility. We also limit the number of individual equity holdings in the portfolio at any one time. That way, you can be assured that we are choosing only those companies in which we have the upmost confidence.
Strategic Models are designed to maximize return based on a given level of risk (as with Markowitz’s Modern Portfolio Theory). Risk level is set using the Investment Policy Statement (IPS) which you will complete with your advisor at the beginning of our relationship with you and reviewed, at least annually, thereafter. These six portfolios are made up of a mix of ETFs and CEFs, rather than individual stocks and bonds, making them viable options for account values starting at about $2,000.
- Aggressive – 95% Equity, 0% Non-correlated, 5% Cash
- Moderate Aggressive – 80% Equity, 15% Non-correlated, 5% Cash
- Moderate – 70% Equity, 25% Non-correlated, 5% Cash
- Moderate Conservative – 60% Equity, 35% Non-correlated, 5% Cash
- Conservative – 30% Equity, 65% Non-correlated, 5% Cash
- Income – 10% Equity, 75% Non-correlated, 15% Cash
Additional Services
Retirement Income Strategies
Structuring income for those entering retirement
Retirement Solutions
Identifying goals and preparing to meet them
Estate Planning
To pass more money to the people or organizations meant to receive it
Educational Planning
To efficiently plan for the educational expenses
of the children in your life
Alternative Investments
Oil & Gas Programs, BDCs, REITs, Options –
Outside of the box investing
Insurance
For the right person, a tool used to complement
an overall strategy