INVESTMENT PHILOSPHY

The FSA Approach

EXPERIENCE IS THE BEST TEACHER.
WE’VE SPENT OVER THREE DECADES GROWING WISER.

FSA believes successful investing is dependent on two factors:

The FSA Safety Net^®*: Our exit strategy
Follow the Money: Being properly invested in rising markets

Financial Services Advisory was built on the belief that we can best meet clients’ financial needs and expectations through an active and disciplined approach to investing. Our investment approach is designed to increase your portfolio value during rising markets, and the FSA Safety Net® (our exit strategy) helps reduce losses during sustained downward trends. We also offer additional strategies that include periodic rebalancing without the FSA Safety Net®. For clients wanting a buy-and-hold approach, we offer automated strategies that include periodic rebalancing. We cater to patient investors who value professional management and want to benefit from long-term returns of the stock and bond markets while minimizing the volatility.

Why Do We Rely on Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds?

Investing in individual securities comes with inherent risk and volatility. To reduce the effects, FSA uses pooled investment instruments such as open-end mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). An added advantage is that mutual funds and ETFs give us access to securities, such as commodities or inverse funds, which are not readily available in other structures.

This strategy gives us many tools to maximize opportunities in the markets. We will use both actively managed funds as well as index funds if we are just looking for exposure to a particular asset class or sector.

PLEASE NOTE: PAST PERFORMANCE DOES NOT GUARANTEE FUTURE RESULTS. THERE ARE ALWAYS RISKS INVOLVED WITH INVESTING, INCLUDING THE LOSS OF PRINCIPAL.

FSA SAFETY NET^®*

The above graph has been provided for illustrative purposes only to show how the strategy is designed to work and is not based upon any actual or hypothetical performance or trading data.

At FSA, our mantra is “You win by not losing.” This is more than just a catchy phrase. It is the root of our investment philosophy. Portfolio losses have a greater impact on total performance than gains. For example, a 50% loss must be followed by a 100% gain just to break even since that ground has to be regained with half the money. While many advisors and investors constantly seek opportunities for higher returns, we believe protecting your portfolio from sustained downward trends is equally important. That’s why we created the FSA Safety Net^®*.

As important as it is to know what type of fund to buy, it is even more critical to know when to sell.

The FSA Safety Net^®* is designed to represent an exit point for each security in your portfolio.

As the price of a security reverses and crosses through the exit point, it is our indication to move defensively to vehicles including money market funds and/or inverse mutual funds and/or exchange-traded investment/funds (ETFs) designed to perform in an opposite relationship to certain market indices. The goal is to prevent small losses from turning into major losses. The exit point is like a safety net used to protect a trapeze artist. The net is set low enough to allow the trapeze artist freedom to move but high enough to protect against catastrophic injury.

We customize a safety net for each Fund.

As prices rise, we raise the “net,” maintaining a consistent distance under the fund price. Eventually, when price trends reverse, we hold the net tight. When the price hits the net, we take defensive action to help reduce losses during sustained downward trends.

The FSA Safety Net®* has shown to be highly effective in preserving gains when price trends reverse. However, it’s no guarantee against adverse situations where mutual fund companies, custodian companies, or the bond and stock market exchanges themselves may, at their discretion, suspend, disallow, or fail to conduct trades, redemptions, or liquidations.

Please note: Past performance does not guarantee future results. There are always risks involved with investing, including the loss of principal.

*FSA Safety Net Disclosure

The FSA Safety Net^® is not effective in protecting assets in periods leading up to and including abrupt or sharp market drops, such as those that occurred in the market crash of 1987, the market drop of 1989, the market disruption after the terrorist attacks of 2001, flash crashes, and similar situations. See Disclosures page for more information.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. There are always risks involved with investing, including the loss of principal.

Follow The Money

Follow the Money
Law of Supply and Demand –When demand exceeds supply, prices rise.

Adjust Your Sails

Just as an experienced sailor adjusts the sails to catch the wind when it switches direction, we adjust your investment allocation to respond to shifts and changes in the market.

Selective Investments

FSA does not believe in holding the same investments through all market cycles. Asset classes and sectors go through extended periods being in favor and out of favor. Our strategy is to own those assets when they are in a favorable cycle and avoid them when they are out of favor.

Following the Money

Identifying when assets are in-favor is a function of “following the money” into investment areas dominated by buyers during good market cycles. It is as simple as supply and demand.

When demand dominates, prices rise. For example, during the late 1990s, money flows were greatest in technology stocks; in the early 2000s, real estate, emerging markets, and commodities dominated money flows. After the financial crisis of 2008, money flowed predominantly into all types of bonds.

When investors shift and move money “out,” the FSA Safety Net^®* — our exit strategy — is in place.

Investment Strategies

Select an Investment Strategy that meets your needs:

INCOME

This strategy emphasizes capital preservation by investing in income-oriented securities such as bond funds (e.g., corporate, government and/or municipal funds) within the U.S. and international markets, including other securities like inverse funds.

INCOME AND GROWTH

This strategy emphasizes capital preservation by investing in income-oriented securities such as bond funds (e.g., corporate, government and/or municipal funds) while complementing the portfolio with growth funds that offer the potential for capital appreciation within the U.S. and international markets, including other securities like inverse funds. Clients should be willing to accept modest stock market risk and volatility.

CONSERVATIVE GROWTH

This strategy seeks growth through capital appreciation and dividends/income by investing among U.S. and international stock and bond funds, including other securities like inverse funds. Clients should be willing to accept moderate stock market risk and volatility.

CORE EQUITY

This strategy seeks growth through capital appreciation, with minimal emphasis on dividends/income, by investing among U.S. and international stock funds, including other securities like inverse funds. Clients should be willing to accept stock market risk and volatility associated with an all-stock portfolio (e.g., S&P 500 index).

TACTICAL GROWTH

This strategy seeks growth through capital appreciation without any constraints on the type of securities used, including inverse funds. Portfolios may be concentrated in volatile securities including sectors, commodities, currencies, etc. Clients should be willing to accept increased volatility and trading with less diversification.