Austin Trust Company - Investment Strategy

Investment Strategy

Austin Trust Company takes pride in its ability to meet the individual and diverse needs of each client in formulating and implementing realistic investment strategies and goals. Our focus is to achieve competitive investment returns while keeping risk at a level comfortable for the client.

Asset allocation and the determination of the client’s risk tolerance are among the most important tools of investment management. We strive to develop an investment strategy appropriate for each client’s goals and needs. We believe portfolio structure affects returns more than market timing or security selection. Our portfolios are statistically designed to take advantage of risk factors, identified through academic research, to exhibit higher expected returns over time. An integrated investment approach should increase returns by reducing internal friction through minimizing portfolio transaction costs, expenses, turnover, and increasing tax efficiency.

Our primary investment research is provided by a number of leading institutions, including Dimensional Fund Advisors, Goldman Sachs, Standard and Poor’s and Morningstar. A variety of other investment research sources are also available to us.

Our equity investing uses a blend of capitalization (small, mid, and large), style (value and growth), and geography (domestic and foreign, developed and emerging). We typically utilize a number of equity sectors and themes to create smoother performance by gaining exposure to a large range of opportunities. Risk is managed through diversification of the portfolio.

Our fixed-income investment strategy seeks to provide stable income, predictable returns, and protection against loss of principal. We focus on investment grade short and intermediate term fixed income, diversified by maturity, issuer, and geography. The primary purpose of fixed-income is to diversify portfolio risk by reducing volatility.