You can learn about risk and reward by looking at efficient frontiers and understanding that effective allocations between stocks and bonds can both increase return and reduce risk. Are you getting an effective allocation from your investment advisor? In 1830, Justice Samuel Putnam wrote the decision in Harvard College vs. Amory that enshrined the Prudent Man Rule. In the September 2015 issue of Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report, Dick Young wrote of Putnam and the Prudent Man:
The Prudent Man Rule is based on common law stemming from the 1830 Massachusetts court formulation Harvard College v. Amory. The Prudent Man Rule directs trustees “to observe how men of prudence, discretion and intelligence manage their own affairs, not in regard to speculation, but in regard to the permanent disposition of their funds, considering the probable income, as well as the probable safety of the capital invested.”
Since I started our family investment management firm in 1989, I have operated under the assumption that the Prudent Man Rule to this day carries as much weight as it did in 1830. Common sense and prudence just don’t go out of style—ever.
Action Line: When you want to talk about what a Prudent Man approach to asset allocation and the efficient frontier means to me as an adivsor, I’m here.
