Why Adapting Isn't the Same as Market Timing
Adaptive investing isn't about predicting the market's next move. It's about making disciplined portfolio adjustments based on valuations, long-term opportunities, and each investor's goals.
Jeff Keen
Employee-owned
Fee-only
Since 1997.
Portfolios that adapt. A commitment that stays.
We build your portfolio around a risk level that fits you, then adjust it as markets change. You can talk directly with the people who manage it.
Our Approach
Adaptive investing designed around you
Many portfolios are rebalanced to the same mix of stocks and bonds, even as market conditions change. But does one mix always make sense?
Our adaptive approach starts with a baseline allocation tailored to your goals and tolerance for risk. From there, we make measured adjustments, leaning more opportunistic when valuations look attractive and more conservative when they don't. Credit conditions, the economy, and market trends provide additional context.
The goal is to keep your portfolio aligned with your long-term objectives while responding to changing opportunities and risks.
Explore our approachYour comfort zone
Bonds
Stocks
More opportunistic
Your baseline
More conservative
Who We Serve
Investors who want more than a fixed mix
We work with professionals, corporate managers, business owners, and retirees who value experienced guidance, personal attention, and thoughtful management of their savings.
Our investment philosophy can be particularly relevant in the years surrounding retirement, when managing risk becomes increasingly important. Choices about pension lump sums and 401(k) rollovers can have lasting consequences. And once portfolio withdrawals begin, substantial market declines can be harder to recover from.
Examples
- A lump-sum offer with a deadline Diane, 61, has 90 days to choose between a monthly pension and a lump sum.
- Leaving a large employer with a 401(k) Mark and Linda weigh what to do with 30 years of 401(k) savings.
- Retired with a static portfolio Ray, 67, wonders whether his fixed mix still fits now that he's drawing from it.
Fictional client examples provided for illustration only.
About Us
Know the people behind your portfolio
Our partners, advisors, and client service team work together for you, and you can reach any of us directly.
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Chris Recker
Partner / Chief Investment Officer
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Jeff Keen
Partner / President
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Mike LaFontaine
Partner / Head of Advisory Services
Lump sum or monthly pension?
Enter the figures from your benefit packet to see the return your lump sum would need to match your pension, and how long the money could last. It takes about five minutes, and your results appear right away, no email required.
Example
- Lump sum amount
- $500,000
- Monthly pension (single life)
- $3,000
- Your age
- 65
- Cost-of-living adjustment
- None
To match this pension over an expected lifetime, the lump sum would need to earn about 3.9% a year.
Leaving a job with a 401(k)?
Answer a few questions about your plan and your retirement to see the factors that matter most, whether you keep it in your plan, roll it to an IRA, or move it to a new employer's plan. It takes about five minutes, and your results appear right away, no email required.
Example
- Your age
- 58
- Your status
- Leaving within 12 months
- Plan type
- 401(k)
- Retirement accounts
- 2–3
Reasons to keep it in your plan
Withdrawals from this plan can avoid the 10% early-withdrawal penalty; after a rollover to an IRA they generally can't until 59½.
Reasons to consider a rollover
Combining accounts can simplify tracking, withdrawals, and required distributions.
Why AZA?
For nearly 30 years we've helped individuals, families, and organizations pursue their goals with disciplined portfolio management and personal attention.
- Value-seeking and adaptive
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We build your portfolio around your goals and lean toward what looks attractively valued as conditions change.
- Direct access
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You can talk directly with the people who make the investment decisions, by phone, email, or in person.
- Employee-owned
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We're owned entirely by the three principals who shape our investment decisions, so we take a personal interest in every client.
- Fiduciary, fee-only
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We're legally bound to act in your best interest, and we're paid through advisory fees, never commissions or product sales.
- Independent
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We have no ties to a bank, brokerage, or insurance company, so our advice isn't shaped by a parent company's interests.
- Third-party custody
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Your accounts are held at an independent qualified custodian, which provides built-in checks and balances.
Common questions
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No. We believe no one can reliably predict short-term market moves, and we don't try to. But that doesn't mean holding the same mix in every market environment or paying any price for an investment. Valuations guide our decisions: when stocks look expensive relative to bonds, we lean toward bonds, and when they look attractively priced, we lean toward stocks. Credit conditions, the economy, and market trends provide additional context. Changes stay within set ranges around your baseline.
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Possibly. In a strong and sustained rally, a portfolio that leans away from expensive stocks may trail one that stays more heavily invested in them. We accept that trade-off. Over full market cycles, our value-seeking approach aims to help you avoid pitfalls and take advantage of opportunities, especially in the years around retirement, when a large loss is hardest to recover from. These are objectives, not guarantees.
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It depends on your specific objectives and how your portfolio is built around them. For example, a bond portfolio, a stock portfolio, and a blended adaptive portfolio would all behave differently in a downturn. In general, our adaptive portfolios aim to be less exposed to stocks when conditions for stocks are less favorable. The goal is to mitigate some of the downside and to be opportunistic on the upside. We can stress-test your portfolio across different market scenarios to give you a sense of how it might behave. These are objectives, not guarantees.
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Only through advisory fees, never commissions or product sales. For individuals and families, our fee is a percentage of the assets we manage, based on the level of engagement, and we state it clearly in writing before you decide to work with us. It's also shown on your custodian statements and performance reports. We also strive to keep your underlying investment expenses down by favoring low-cost ETFs and individual stocks and bonds, and by screening out higher-cost options.
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We schedule regular reviews at a pace that suits you, and you can reach us whenever something comes up in between. Our ongoing work happens in the background: we monitor your portfolio, adjust it as conditions change, and keep you informed. When you want to talk, you reach the people making the decisions.
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Your accounts are held in your name at an independent qualified custodian such as Charles Schwab & Co. or Axos Advisor Services. We manage the investments according to a plan we agree on with you, but your money stays with the custodian. The custodian sends your account statements and tax forms directly to you, and we send your performance reports and updates, so you can check one against the other. That separation is a built-in check and balance.
Our Thinking
Market commentary, analysis, and ideas on retirement decisions from the people who drive our investment process.
Living Below Your High Water Mark
The stock market has historically spent nearly seven months out of ten below a previous high. Why that's normal, and why the depth and timing of drawdowns matter more than investors might think.
Jeff Keen
How Sequence Risk Can Impact Your Retirement
Why the order of returns matters, and how investment choices with the same average return can produce very different results for savers, retirees, and endowments.
Jeff Keen
Start with a conversation
A no-obligation, 30-minute introduction with investment people, not salespeople. If it seems like a fit, we'll follow up with a written proposal.