The main reason is to grow and manage your investments with better returns and less risk than you might be able to achieve on your own.It is not widely known that the S&P 500 stock index averaged only a 2.2% gain in thirteen years from its peak in 2000. We can provide a unique perspective and experience that can be helpful in bolstering gains and mitigating losses. For example, we can tell you if we are in a long-term bull, bear or sideways market; it is critical to be good at picking stocks versus mutual fund selection in a bear or sideways market.It is also imperative to understand how the direction of interest rates will affect fixed income investments, particularly bond funds versus individual bonds.We build custom portfolios to not only meet a client’s need for income, growth or both, but also on how much time is available to put money to work and how much price and income volatility one can tolerate.We analyze and keep track of what is happening in the financial markets and the interest rate environment and interpret the information for you. That helps us determine what we think will improve your portfolio performance.