BART CHATTERSON, CIM® Portfolio Manager, RetireSURE™ Wealth Management iA Private Wealth
Bartt Chatterson Saskatoon, SK
"Understanding Retirement Essentials – The SURE Approach"
The title of Ben Steverman’s June 13, 2019 article, “Retirees worldwide may run out of money 10 years before they die,” captures how many people are feeling about the future -that the COVID 19 pandemic only widened the gap between the time available to recover from a financial loss and retirement.
“Don’t panic,” Bart Chatterson, Portfolio Manager at iA Private Wealth says. “Real risk comes from speculating about what’s around the corner and moving ahead without a plan. A big part of our role is to develop and implement a plan with a system for navigating financial decisions,” Bart says.
The goal of his RetireSURE™ Process is to create and manage ongoing investment and financial strategies designed to help you:
Have peace of mind knowing that you are on sound financial footing both now and in the future.
Support your desired lifestyle now and in retirement.
Give to future generations and the causes you care about.
Know that you are deploying sound strategies that are appropriate for you and your family.
Give you greater control of your financial future which allows you to relax and enjoy life in the process.
Bart has been a Wealth Advisor for 23 years. The depth and breadth of this experience allows him to understand financial markets, investment management, asset allocation strategies, retirement planning, and transitioning to retirement. He is also licensed to provide advice on estate planning and insurance investment solutions as well as strategies for income, growth, and tax reduction.
For investment planning, Bart uses a disciplined, comprehensive process that mitigates risk while planning for the long-term. “Certainty about the future isn’t about knowing what will happen tomorrow, it’s about having a realistic plan to deal with it. Nor is investing about timing the market; it’s about having a defined process that supports strategic participation,” he adds.
Prior to entering the Financial Services industry Bart studied and worked in logistics and workflow management. “Turning raw materials into products doesn’t happen by magic. A tried and tested process is needed. I have incorporated this same scientific approach to building, managing and protecting wealth for clients,” he explains.
Philosophy & Approach
Investment markets, like all other markets, are driven by supply and demand. Buyers drive prices up and sellers drive prices down. “Aligning our portfolios to capture these trends is key to investment success. We believe that capital preservation is an overriding investment priority. Our goal is to participate in up markets and to protect capital when markets decline. We do this through an active approach to asset allocation,” adds Bart.
The retail investment industry has been defined by the principles of Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) and the Buy and Hold Model. A traditional asset allocation model typically owns positions in a variety of asset classes, each to varying degrees, based on an individual’s specific risk profile.
MPT asserts that investors can minimize the volatility or risk in their portfolios and maximize expected returns simply by owning a diversified portfolio. MPT includes quarterly, semi-annual, or annual rebalancing. In short, rebalancing means that you are taking profits from the winners in your portfolio and are using the proceeds to buy into the losers in your portfolio to return to your original asset allocation.
“I believe there are three basic problems with traditional asset management. The first is that at any given time, you are holding losing positions in your portfolio, sometimes for extended periods. Clients tend to focus solely on the losers during portfolio reviews, often ignoring the big picture. Second, rebalancing drives up trading costs because you are constantly selling your winners. We believe that winners should be allowed to run until there is a reason to sell. Failing to do so gives up the opportunity cost of the winners continuing to rise and the losers continuing to drop.”
“Finally, as we saw in 2008, these portfolios offered little protection to the immense drawdowns that occurred. This brings into question the very basis for MPT and Buy and Hold. Very few individuals can stomach declines as high as 30-40%.”
Bart believes that it's time to separate ourselves from the Buy and-Hold MPT way of thinking and to instead embrace the tools of Relative Strength. “Clients benefit in multiple ways: in bearish conditions relative strength should assist in capital preservation, and in bullish conditions it should improve our ability to separate the "winners" from the "losers."
He adds, “At RetireSURE ™ Wealth Management, we believe that a Relative Strength approach to investing is the most predictable method of forecasting future returns and the best way to generate superior, long-term results. We use Relative Strength to identify the strongest asset classes, markets, sectors, and holdings,” Bart explains.
Bart relies on a sophisticated Relative Strength software program which is based on a set of pre-established rules or algorithms. This removes the guess work from the investment management process. “It’s like logic and rules versus emotion and intuition. When it comes to wealth, logic trumps emotion every time. Our software does billions of calculations every night which means I am not forced to rely on the sales team for the research needed to make responsible buy/sell decisions.”
Bart’s rules-based active management process also helps him maintain a mix of the strongest market performers. “Having a defined process means there is less mystery in your portfolio. And, less mystery means fewer surprises. Although knowing when to buy is important, knowing when to sell is even more important,” he adds. “Our technology helps us identify the winners and kick out the losers. Thankfully, we win more than we lose.”
As a Discretionary Portfolio Manager, Bart can make instantaneous changes to client portfolios. Many advisors only make changes when they meet with clients, which typically only happens once a year. This means that several months could go by before what used to be a time-sensitive change is made. Many opportunities are missed. “It’s one thing to set a financial goal. It’s another to assess if you are on track to achieve it or if and when some corrective action is required.”
Bart is especially proud of his fully transparent fee system – 1/12th of the fee is charged every month and clients can easily see what they are paying for fees as a percentage of their assets. This approach also helps him work in accordance with his fiduciary obligations.
Up Close & Personal
Bart is committed to life-long learning. His educational journey began with his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Saskatchewan (Field of Study: Finance & Marketing) and extended to many industry-specific courses including four courses from the Canadian Securities Institute, namely, Portfolio Management Techniques, Hedge Fund Essentials, Insurance, and Options Licensing.
He is a native of Saskatchewan and strives to give back to the community. When he is not on the job Bart can be found spending time outdoors and enjoying everything that Saskatoon has to offer. When he is not hanging out with the family - his daughter is an accountant, and his son works for a Nanaimo concrete forming company - playing hockey with the same group of other 40+ weekend warriors or following a golf ball around the links you will probably find him renovating his home in the old part of town.
As a last word, Bart says, “Most individuals and their families can avoid costly mistakes through proper and proactive planning and disciplined investment management. We believe that our RetireSURE ™ strategies can help you save more of what you earn and maximize what you can do with your investments and wealth. For most of us this includes preserving wealth for yourself and future generations while enjoying your work and personal life.”
This article was prepared by My Business Magazine and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of iA Private Wealth Inc. This newsletter is a general discussion of certain issues intended as general information only and should not be relied upon as tax or legal advice. Please obtain independent professional advice, in the context of your particular circumstances.
Suzen Fromstein is the author of Suits and Ladders, Ten Proven Ways to Keep Your Job Safe - with a few jokes thrown in. Suits and Ladders was an Amazon Best Selling Book in the Career Guides Catagory.
Bart Chatterson, B.Comm, CIM
Portfolio Manager
iA Private Wealth |RetireSURE
#401-3301 8th St. E.,
Saskatoon, SK S7H 5K5
306-700-5106