Our Investment Philosophy

Our “manager of managers” mentality helps us to analyze and choose which fund managers to suggest. We are unbiased in our choices, just as long as these fund managers offer sound investments for our clients. Since we are only compensated by our clients and not by the funds we purchase, you can rest assured our suggestions will be in your best interest.

As the manager of these managers, we not only make smart choices, but we stand behind these choices through a constant monitoring process. Should any of these funds show signs of prolonged underperformance, we have no commitment to keep them in your portfolio. Our only commitment is to you, our client. By adhering to our client-first investment philosophy, we provide relevant advice that many brokers cannot provide.

You might ask yourself, “isn’t investing just a numbers game? Why is a financial philosophy even important?” Society has conditioned us to want to believe this is the way the world works, but nothing can be further from the truth. True financial gain and security is a long-term process that is built on relationships. Those firms and businesses that put their customers first are the ones that thrive on grass-roots success that is built from the ground up.

Through sixty years in the financial services industry, we’ve served clients from all walks of life: everyone from young parents looking to purchase their first home to corporate executives of publicly traded companies. Though our clientele is certainly varied, the services we provide do not waver. Regardless of your assets or the complexity of your financial landscape, HeartStone aims to bring the same level of fiduciary care to all of our clients.

What Makes Us So Different?

As opposed to most investment firms, we do not make a living in red-tape and fine print. Our clients are well aware of how we make our living. We have simple and transparent fees in the form of an annual fee based on the assets we manage. No commissions, no sales charges, no half-truths and vague language. We are proud to offer independent and unbiased advice in a market that, to put it frankly, has garnered the reputation of doing just the opposite.

We off a “no B.S. approach.” We are plain in our language and, better yet, plain in our actions. What you see is what you get, and we would not want it any other way. We take a stand for our customers right to enjoy a secure future.

investment philosophy As wealth managers, we spend enough of our day sitting in front of a computer. When work is through, the Matarazzo family loves nothing more than to hit the trails, rivers, or lakes surrounding the Flathead Valley. In our opinion, client meetings don’t have to be at an office or even a coffee shop. If you enjoy hiking, we’ll gladly meet you at the trailhead. Fly fishing? We spend many weekends each summer on Northwest Montana’s world-class rivers. The outdoor pursuits don’t stop when the snow starts falling; some of our most productive meetings have been on Chair 1 at Big Mountain – a 7.6-minute mini-meeting! We are not only not afraid to get dirty for our clients, we encourage it.

As fiduciaries and registered investment advisors, we already have a leg up on the “traditional” brokers. We cannot charge any sort of opaque commission. Every fee we charge a client can be invoiced individually – just like you’d pay your plumber or electrician. Additionally, we are seasoned 401(k)/pension managers – a field that most financial advisors do not traditionally service.

All of this means we take the highest level of fiduciary care for the plans we manage. We actually outsource the vast majority of liability from plan sponsors. Coupled with the required certifications and degrees to be in this environment, we take your security and success to the next level. We are invested in you.

How Does Our Philosophy Affect You?

We invest in people, not money. All fund managers utilized by HeartStone Advisors are vetted to be among the finest in the industry. We know it’s “about people” for you too. We know you have people you care about. We know you have people you care about and people you love. We take that seriously and ensure that all of our actions are governed by this sentiment. We believe this gives us approachability in an often unapproachable market.

To be clear, we believe our philosophy greatly benefits our customers. Because of our relationship building focus, we are in it with you for the long term. Our success is predicated upon your success. This is why we only take an annual fee and are not worried about any sort of “nickel and dime” approach that is shared by many of our competitors. To them, volume is the key. With tons of clients, they can afford to make very little from each in order to make a whole lot from the many. We look at it differently. We are selective in the clients we take because we are looking for strategic partners who seek long term growth.

What’s Your Investment Philosophy?

We are not here to just offer suggestions, we are also here to listen. We encourage all of our clients to develop an investment philosophy of their own, allowing us to take the role of facilitator instead of director. We want to support you in your choices and offer advice to keep you on the correct path to your goals.

All of this starts with the “why behind the what” attitude. What you want is more money, right? Understood, but why? We want you to take inventory of what is closest to you and the success you’d like to see. Are you hoping to retire early? Pay for a child’s college? Start working for yourself and hoping to invest in a new business? These are the answers we’d like you to bring to us, so we can offer a balanced approach that is sure to respect your overall ambitions.

We believe it is important to know how you will invest long term. Hollywood has convinced us to “buy low” and “sell high.” While all of this sounds good coming from a movie star, the real world is far more nuanced. We can offer you the expertise, drive, and passion you and your loved ones deserve.

Get Started Investing Today

Suffice to say, the key fundamental of investing is using time. The earlier you start this journey, the longer that investment has time to grow.

Here, at HeartStone, we encourage to take your first step in your journey as soon as you feel comfortable. If you feel you’d be a great fit for our local family business, we urge you to reach out to us. We look forward to growing with you.

Get Started Today!