who we are and how we got here
A Brief History
Jeff Severin began his career in financial services in the early 1990s. He had great success in selling mutual funds and insurance products at a large global firm, which led the firm to mentor him on the nuts and bolts of those products. He participated in investment meetings with mutual fund managers and meetings on how their insurance products worked. As Jeff became more involved in the firm, he saw some glaring pitfalls to using products like mutual funds and annuities.
1. It's difficult to achieve a properly diversified portfolio using mutual funds because many different fund strategies tend to invest in the same securities. Also, many investors don't even know what their fund owns beyond top ten holdings.
2. Mutual fund prices may not always accurately reflect the value of the underlying securities, creating another level of risk for investors.
3. Mutual funds contain hidden expenses (buried in the prospectus) related to trading and tax drag within the fund, which increase with fund "redemptions." This means investors who stick with the fund help pay for trading costs and taxes generated by investors who leave the fund.
4. Annuities are incredibly complex products that many investors don't understand. They are also expensive, tend to hinder growth, and are usually pretty inflexible. He saw so many drawbacks, he no longer felt they were appropriate for most investors.
A Better Way to Invest
Then Jeff learned of an investment solution that solved for these glaring problems: managed money.
Investing each client into separate accounts with individual securities, allowed him to control his clients' holdings with precision. This helped him more effectively diversify their investment portfolios.
The clients owned the securities, not a fund. This means they didn't have to worry about the pitfalls of being in an investment club, such as share prices that don't reflect the underlying value of the securities, or expenses that were not generated by their own investment activity.
And he discovered so many other benefits to managed money as well. Many clients value the transparency of knowing exactly what they own and how much. They appreciate the ability to access large portions of their funds if their needs change. And they find it much easier to understand one comprehensive and competitive fee, rather than trying to keep track of several layered fees.
Jeff immersed himself in managing portfolios and developed a deep expertise in portfolio construction and security selection.
Severin Investments Today
Eventually, Jeff opened his own independent money management firm, Severin Investments. He has now been a portfolio manager for over 20 years, and has helped many families retire comfortably and leave a legacy for their loved ones.
Severin Investments has adopted advanced technology to improve our research, operations, and client experience. We've also implemented ETF portfolios and fractional share trading, which helps us manage money for clients who are still building their wealth.
But our core philosophy and values are the same. We strive to provide investors with the best investment vehicles available to manage their wealth. We develop and maintain a deep expertise of the investment landscape so our investors can feel confident that they are in a great portfolio that will serve their needs. And finally, we take care of our clients like family so we know how to meet those needs.