A Systematic Investing Process You Can Explain in Plain English
Our Co-Founders were motivated to meet needs and solve challenges faced by financial advisors when they created Blueprint Investment Partners. This focus is at the heart of our systematic investing process, which provides rules that answer all questions about what, when, and how much to buy and sell.
We wanted our process to be sophisticated, yet straightforward, something advisors can explain to their clients in plain English.
At a high level, our goal is to keep the process as simple as this:
Price is king – it’s our chief input for decision-making
We reduce exposure when prices fall
We increase exposure when prices rise
Our primary goal is to perpetually work from a higher base
We believe the way to accomplish our goal is to preserve as much capital as possible during market declines, while still participating in market gains
Our rules-based process is repeatable and can increase the chances of a financial advisor’s clients staying anchored to their financial plans because it leaves no room for emotional decision-making during times of euphoria or fear
All Blueprint Investment Partners strategies, which include both asset-class diversified and stock-only portfolios, follow this systematic investing process. Within the asset-class diversified portfolios, the process is applied to both ETFs and individual stocks.
Time Diversification & Tax-Loss Harvesting
Our process creates tax-friendly investment strategies because we incorporate a blend of timeframes:
Intermediate-Term Trend Following
If the 10-day exponential moving average (EMA) is above the 100-day EMA at the end of the month, it represents an “uptrend,” and we increase exposure. If the 10-day is below the 100-day, it’s a “downtrend,” and we decrease exposure.
Long-Term Trend Following
If the 50-day EMA is above the 200-day EMA at month-end, we increase exposure. If it is below, we decrease.
Strategic
A portion of the portfolio is bought-and-held.
This time diversification leads to a tax-aware portfolios because:
- Shorter-term timeframes inherently sell losing positions quickly when prices fall
- Gains are held if uptrends persist, with longer-term timeframes usually allowing us to harvest a portion of gains after 12 months
The result is a smoothing out of the tax profile, as well as less choppy ride for an advisor’s clients.
Daily Pricing Data Informs Monthly Allocation Changes
Although our process captures price data daily, we only act on it monthly.
This cadence is intentional because it optimizes our strategies for a financial advisory practice. Monthly is the “sweet spot” between:
- Acting too quickly – may avert a drawdown but comes with the potential cost of missing out on sharp rebounds, with the added sting of realizing gains that could have been deferred
- Acting too slowly – can cause clients to overreact and risk permanent loss of compounding
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If you’d like to further discuss the systematic investing process at work in Blueprint Investment Partners SMAs