The cornerstone of our process is in allocating capital to various asset classes in order to achieve diversification and manage risk. Consisting of over 240 investment professionals, the Wells Fargo Investment Institute provides us with asset allocation guidance based on their Capital Market Assumptions. Risk tolerance, time horizon, tax constraints, return requirements and personal preferences are factors that determine what is optimal for each individual.

Domestic and international public equity, fixed income, private equity and cash equivalents are the most common asset classes in our investment portfolios.

Economic trends, market research and sector preferences refine our view on where to seize opportunities and avoid risks. Well-researched insights are critical which is why we rely on reports from the Global Investment Strategy team. We also follow the research of Wells Fargo Economics, Morningstar and other third party analysts.

Our Global Manager Research team consists of 46 professionals, many of whom are CFA® charter holders. They provide in-depth research and due diligence on investment products through regular conference calls, onsite visits and performance reviews. Our philosophy is to emphasize managers that demonstrate consistency in their process and results. We believe that both index investing and active management can be combined to form effective portfolios.

Our Global Securities Research team consists of 28 professionals providing thoughtful equity and fixed income research in the form of sector, industry and individual security research. We prefer investing in equities that are consistently profitable, have strong balance sheets, significant and growing market share and competitive advantages. For fixed income we favor United States Treasury securities for their liquidity and credit quality.

We believe tax efficiency is essential and pursue it with a number of techniques including Asset Location, Investment Selection, Tax-Loss Harvesting and Strategic Planning.

Asset Location is used to determine where (in what account type) each investment is held. Investors with Trust accounts, Roth IRA’s and Traditional IRA’s, for example, can benefit from holding different types of investments in each account type.

Investment Selection consists of selecting tax-efficient investment products or categories.

Tax-Loss Harvesting is the practice of strategically selling investments at a loss in order to reduce taxable income. We also take steps to maintain investment exposure while avoiding wash-sale violations.

Strategic Planning considers how and when gains are realized in the context of client and market circumstances.