ASPIRATIONS
IN BALANCE

We've learned a great deal about the markets over the past century. The most vital bit of wisdom? The market is smarter than any of us. Really, it's true. Second most influential bit of wisdom? Still too few folks believe the first bit… At Statera, we understand that investment markets naturally incorporate the collective knowledge of all investors. As prudent investors, we should like to take advantage of all that intelligence. Instead of attempting to be the smartest folks in the room, we bound our investment decisions with a rather simple set of rules:

• Accept that the more return we seek, the more risk we must accept
• Enhance diversification within our portfolios wherever possible and practical with an eye toward reducing overall portfolio risk
• "Tilt" our investments toward those characteristics that show to have been supportive of greater-than-average returns over time

Indeed, "investing" can be seen as the easier part of the process. The greater challenge can be deciding where we want to be, how we'll get there. In turn, though we likely will need to adjust the plan to accommodate life's sometimes joyous and sometimes not-so-joyous surprises, we'll want to stick to the plan. Our Investment Approach therefore accepts that the greatest benefits advisors can provide to clients are:

• Developing a realistic range of long-term financial goals and devising a rational investment plan that seeks to achieve them
• Recognizing and managing through the financial and emotional barriers that can limit our progress toward those goals
• Serving as a trusted partner, providing a voice of calm when market storms arise and a voice of reason when they appear exuberant

Statera seeks to support advisor efforts to address each of these goals. The foundation of that support is our suite of investment models that cover the entire range of potential client risk tolerance profiles, enabling advisors to provide a suitable response in most any investment situation they encounter.