Recently, I rediscovered the benefits of homemade smoothies for breakfast. They are nutritious, natural, easy to make, efficient, and delicious! Many days, my morning routine includes a few minutes throwing frozen fruit, almond milk, Greek yogurt, peanut butter, and whey protein powder into my blender, grinding it all up with crushed ice, and enjoying a cool smoothie out on the deck as I do my morning reading. It’s such a wonderful, relaxing way to start the day, and I highly recommend it!
This morning, I was thinking about how a good investment portfolio is like a good smoothie! For one, they both start with good ingredients. When I drink my smoothie, I know everything that I put in there is of the highest quality. Similarly, an excellent portfolio will consist of excellent individual parts. While there are lots of different ingredients available to use, I’ve always appreciated the way we’ve built our portfolios at Foster Group, using mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETF’s) that consistently, efficiently, and effectively capture a certain part of the stock market. And similar to the whey powder in my smoothie, I may not like every single ingredient on its own, but knowing and understanding how each ingredient serves a role in the final product allows me to benefit from the allocation.
Second, an excellent portfolio has many different ingredients. While I could simply grind up a whole blender full of frozen strawberries tomorrow morning, I would not benefit from the missing ingredients. That collection of strawberries could be stellar, or there could be one or two that would ruin the taste of the whole drink. You could certainly choose to build your portfolio with just one or two ingredients, but you’d miss out on the benefits of the parts of the market that you’d be avoiding.
Third, both a smoothie and your portfolio benefit from mixing these ingredients together in the right proportions. Just as I can access multiple recipes to find just the right mix of nutrition and flavor, I rely on excellent, informed professionals to combine the right ingredients to capture what the market offers, plus a bit more by leaning into those parts of the market that historically have rewarded additional exposure. At Foster Group, we have a well informed Investment Committee that meets six times per year and an excellent investment strategy group that meets weekly to access, analyze, and evaluate our investment models, making changes only when there is data that supports a modification. The result is a long-term, consistent investment experience that reduces complexity and increases the probability of success. Personally, I find it delicious!
I just finished my breakfast, strawberry/peanut butter smoothie if you are wondering, and am ready to start the day! I’m confident, well-fed, and fully nourished. If you find yourself famished for a portfolio that feeds you long term, give us a call here at Foster Group, because we put your interests first. Every time. And we might even treat you to a smoothie!