Our firm is based on reality. The reality of our client's needs. The reality of the markets. And the reality of our core principles. Our client's needs may change, the markets may change, but these principles do not vary.

Some firms in our industry may pay lip service to concepts like integrity and independence because it is what they think investors want to hear today. Gerstein Fisher is different. We actually embody these qualities because they are at the very heart of our organizational DNA — and always have been. They are our reality.

In many ways, we believe that our value system can serve as a blueprint for how our industry as a whole can get on a path toward regaining investors’ trust and confidence — a path the industry must follow if financial advisory firms — and their clients — are to be successful in the future.

We would like to outline these core principles and provide concrete examples of how we live them every day.

INTEGRITY: The reality of our fiduciary role.

“Trust is paramount in the client-advisor relationship. Yet self interest has widely trumped client interest in our industry.”

Everything we do is done to care for our clients’ best financial interests — from who we hire, to the research we conduct, to the services we offer, to how we interact and communicate with clients.

Because our clients' assets are held outside our firm at custodians, we are not required by regulatory authorities to be audited. Yet we choose to be audited because we understand the value of transparency and accountability.

SCIENCE: The reality of how markets work.

“The majority of active attempts to outsmart the market fail.”

We engineer portfolios that combine some of the best of active management and index-based strategies to create portfolios designed to help optimize the risk/reward tradeoff.

Our dedicated research team partners with leading academics to ensure we stay current with the best thinking in the industry and apply this science in real ways to our client portfolios.

Emotions like fear, greed and regret drive many poor investment decisions. A large part of our responsibility to our clients is to help them manage these emotions and make decisions that are guided by research and fact — not feelings.

INDEPENDENCE: The reality of objectivity.

“When financial service firms confuse advising with selling, the clients’ best interests get lost.”

Not driven by a need to "push product" we can objectively survey the marketplace for the products and solutions that best meet our clients' needs — not our own sales targets.

We are an independent financial advisory firm — not a division of a larger firm — this is all we do.

WHOLENESS: The reality of each client’s total financial picture.

“A person’s financial wellbeing is a lot more than a good portfolio. All aspects of an individual’s financial life are interrelated and should be manage as such — too often they are not.”

It can sound trite these days, but every client is different. Whether it’s the ownership of a business, tax issues, insurance needs, or charitable giving aspirations, sound financial advice will always take these very personal factors into account.

We define key financial variables broadly. For example, our view of risk is not confined to portfolio context, but include variables like insurance and tax issues.

We partner with our client's other trusted advisors to ensure all components of their wealth picture — including those outside our firm — are working in harmony.

PROACTIVITY: The reality of change.

“Having a long-term approach does not justify putting investment and financial plans on auto-pilot through changes in market and circumstances.”

Money management is an ongoing, full-time job that requires active engagement. We anticipate and address clients’ needs and changing market circumstances on an ongoing basis, whether it’s a tax law change that impacts an individual or a market dynamic that affects all our clients.

Rigorous scenario planning and analysis allows us to prepare our clients for a wide-range of possible future outcomes.

A key tenet of our investing approach is to be prudently opportunistic — using research to help us identify areas in which we can proactively add long-term value to our clients’ portfolios.

COMMUNICATION: The reality of relationships.

“Too often, access and communication are a function of the size of an investor’s portfolio. No one should have to feel like just a number.”

We promote absolute accessibility for our clients so that we understand what is going on in their lives and they understand how we are thinking about their finances.

Using a pioneering, proprietary and robust client relationship management (CRM) system, our Client Advisors are easily able to notate and share changes to clients' profiles, ensuring that no matter whom a client communicates with, all appropriate members of the Client Advisory Team and Investment Policy Committee will systematically be updated.

REASON: The reality of understanding.

“It is important that investors understand why they are invested as they are. Unfortunately, many advisors either don’t communicate this at all or make it more complicated than it needs to be.”

Our clients need to understand the strategies we employ on their behalf and the rationale for the decisions we make.

When market perceptions are driven by fear and hype, we hope to stand above the fray as a clear and grounded voice of reason for our clients.

These beliefs are not just words, they are the heart of organizational DNA — our firm reality. They are the driving force behind our firm and are embodied in what we call RealLifeFinance. It is the concept that defines the kind of financial management we provide. By focusing on our clients’ best interest in the context of these core principles — whether an individual or an institution — we are able to deliver real advice that leads to real results. So our clients may achieve their real objectives. And the demonstrable reality of this approach is the fact that 75% of our clients come by way of referral from satisfied clients.

This is RealLifeFinance.

This is our reality.

And we believe every investor would benefit from this approach.