North Bay Business Journal

Eric Aanes, president

Titus Wealth Management

700 Larkspur Landing Cir., Ste. 109, Larkspur, 415-461-4800, www.tituswealth.com

Describe one significant challenge that you currently face as a wealth adviser.

Eric Aanes

One of the most significant challenges I face as a wealth adviser is customization. Titus Wealth Management provides customized portfolios for each client. This means we don’t have a few models that everyone invests in the exact same way. This approach is very time consuming for our firm to monitor and make adjustments. Although, we feel that we owe clients the customized approach since they are entrusting their life savings with our firm. This in turn limits the number of relationships our firm has and creates a closer connection to our clients financial and personal lives.

What mistakes do you see individual investors making in the current financial climate?

The two major mistakes I see from new clients that come to us are they do not review and make changes to their portfolio or they trade to often and do themselves harm.

What plot lines are you following as you look towards the future for investing?

We are starting to take a more global approach to investing and looking to continue with investments domestically that pay dividends. We start with a solid roadmap that is realistic, attainable and sustainable in the long run.

Jon Mallon

UBS Financial Services, Inc.

100 B St., Ste. 300, Santa Rosa, 707-535-2961, www.ubs.com

Describe one significant challenge that you currently face as a wealth adviser.

Jon Mallon

One of the biggest challenges we currently face as financial advisers, given the heightened market volatility and recent economic downturns, is to consistently stay ahead of the curve, ascertain sustainable trends, and identify the most compelling and appropriate investments for our clients. We work closely with our clients to develop a disciplined investment plan based on their needs and help them stick with the plan. We regularly discuss their objectives, communicate the strategy, and most importantly, help them maintain their focus on achieving their long tern goals.

What mistakes do you see individual investors making in the current financial climate?

The most common mistakes that we see individual investors make occur at different ends of the risk spectrum. For example, in the current low interest rate environment, we see some investors reaching for yield to maintain a level of income. However, they may not be fully considering the added potential risk with longer maturity bonds or less creditworthy issuers in their fixed income portfolios, and / or high dividend yields without contemplating the underlying fundamentals of the companies.

At the same time, other individuals, disillusioned by the market volatility have decided not to invest in the markets and may not fully recognize the negative impact that inflation can have on the purchasing power of their portfolio in the long run, or the opportunity cost of not participating in potential investment opportunities.

What plot lines are you following as you look towards the future for investing?

Looking toward the future, we see several long tern trends shaping our overall investment strategy including:

1. U.S. stocks will likely outperform bonds

2. We will likely see inflation trend higher over time which will make it more important to be selective with investments, especially long maturity fixed income investments. Regarding equity investments, we believe companies with pricing power will be in a better position to maintain margins and profitability in the face of rising costs.

3. An appropriate allocation to select alternative investment managers will likely produce uncorrelated returns that can lessen the overall volatility of one’s investment portfolio.