How Should My Portfolio Be Positioned? - How Atlantic Edge Builds Portfolios

Summary

• We size risk to your financial plan first, then allocate at the household level.

• U.S. large caps receive our deepest fundamental research. Broad markets are accessed with low-cost index funds and selective active where justified.

• Fixed income is designed to protect capital, fund near-term needs, and earn a fair return for the risks taken.

• We rebalance within bands, manage taxes, and report in clear language.

Our Portfolio Philosophy

1) Start with your plan, not the market

• Model required cash flows, time horizon, and the volatility your plan can tolerate.

• Choose the least amount of risk that still supports your goals.

• Coordinate stock and bond exposure across all accounts so the household sums to one tailored allocation.

2) Equity building blocks

Your stock exposure spans:

• U.S. large companies

• U.S. mid and small companies

• Developed international markets

• Emerging markets

We hold long-term policy weights for balance and use measured tilts only when the risk and reward tradeoff improves. Think turning a dial, not flipping a switch.

3) Where we use index vs. active

• U.S. Large Cap: Focused intrinsic-value research. We seek strong businesses trading below our estimate of fair value, size positions deliberately, and sell when value is realized, the thesis breaks, or there is a better idea.

• U.S. Mid/Small Cap: Low-cost index at the core. Select active only when process, capacity, and after-fee edge are credible.

• International and Emerging: Index at the core. Add a focused active where market structure appears less efficient.

4) How we build the bond sleeve

The bond portfolio exists to protect capital, fund known needs, and earn a fair return for the risks taken.

• Keep duration in a moderate range aligned with the risk tolerance.

• Center credit quality in investment grade; use lower quality sparingly and diversify.

• For higher tax brackets, consider municipal bonds for after-tax income.

• Size cash reserves so you are never a forced seller.

Ongoing Management

Rebalancing and tax work

• Rebalance toward targets within pre-set bands.

• Locate assets tax-efficiently across accounts.

• Harvest losses when useful and avoid wash sales.

• Monitor distributions and focus on after-tax outcomes.

Cost discipline and transparency

• Index where markets are highly efficient.

• Use active only when the expected benefit exceeds the fee and tax impact.

• Disclose fund expenses and advisory fees so the total cost is clear.

What You Can Expect

• Risk-sized to your plan and coordinated across accounts.

• Index at the core and focused intrinsic-value research where it matters.

• Continuous oversight with plain-English reporting so you always know what you own, why you own it, and what it costs.

Practical Examples

Goal	Portfolio action	Rationale
Reduce the chance of forced selling	Maintain adequate cash reserves and laddered, high-quality bonds	Liquidity for near-term needs reduces behavioral and sequence risk
Keep costs low	Index at the core; selective active only where the edge is durable	Improve expected net-of-fee outcomes over time
Improve after-tax results	Asset location, measured rebalancing, and loss harvesting	Tax efficiency supports compounding without changing risk
Stay aligned with the plan	Banded rebalancing and periodic plan reviews	Keeps portfolio risk matched to objectives as markets and life change

Compliance Notes

• Investing involves risk, including loss of principal.

• Diversification and asset allocation do not ensure a profit or guarantee against loss.

• Any references to research, security selection, or manager selection describe our process and are not a promise of superior performance.

• Advisory fees, fund expenses, trading costs, and taxes reduce returns.

• For complete information about our services and fees, review our Form ADV.

• Information is for educational purposes only and is not individualized advice. Consider objectives, risk tolerance, and costs before implementing. Every portfolio is unique, and its construction may vary.