From a big-picture view of your whole portfolio, to a focused look at the individual assets that comprise it, your investment statement offers a wealth of useful information. Here are some things to consider when you’re looking at those numbers.
The goal of the investment portfolio summary is to understand where your investments are and if you’re on track for your goals. This means you may want to read your statements in context with a financial plan.
The first page of your EP Wealth Investment Portfolio Statement is a topline summary of your current asset allocation and recent factors affecting any change in its value. Pie charts depict, by percentage and dollar value, the breakdown of your portfolio into the major asset classes of equities, fixed income and other, as well as the breakdown into the sectors, such as small-, mid- and large-cap stocks, within those classes. The Components of Change table shows your overall portfolio’s beginning and ending balances for quarter to date, year to date and the previous 12 months. For each period, you’ll be able to see how your contributions, withdrawals and investment gains contributed to the final value.
The next two sections of your statement—Performance Summary and Portfolio Holdings— give you a detailed picture of how specific sectors have performed year to date, and the contributions of the individual assets within those sectors.
Your investment portfolio summary spells out the quantities and dollar values of the various assets in your portfolio and how they add up to create your overall asset allocation.
However, the investment portfolio summary won’t show how your investments fit into your overall financial plan. This is why we recommend clients create a financial plan that helps align investment strategy and allocation with an individual's goals.
How do the current percentages and values of the various sectors in your portfolio compare to where they stood at the end of the preceding year? The Performance Summary section of your statement shows you. Column by column for each sector, you’ll see:
Lastly, we come to the section of your statement that gives you a deep view into the inner workings of your portfolio. Grouped by asset class, the Portfolio Holdings table provides seven important pieces of data for each individual asset:
The better you understand your Investment Statement, the easier it becomes to work with your investment advisor to discuss the performance of your portfolio in light of your goals, current market conditions, and your financial plan. There’s also the satisfaction that comes with being knowledgeable about a topic that is important to your financial well-being and that of your family and everyone who is important to you.
If you’d like to know more, feel free to contact your personal EP Wealth Advisor.
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Material contained in the EP Wealth Advisors Investment Statement should serve only as supplemental information to your custodial statements. The pricing enclosed in this report might differ from that denoted by the custodian, for, among other reasons, this report is inclusive of accrued interest and we report trades as of the trade date and not the settlement date. Custodial statements should be viewed as the official statement of your portfolio. Custodial statements must be delivered on a monthly basis. Please verify that you are receiving monthly custodial statements and contact us if you are not.
The EP Wealth Advisors financial planning process starts with the relationship between you and your financial advisor. How do you value a financial coach? Developing a partnership that ensures we understand your goals lets us help you prioritize and organize your financial decisions—so you can achieve peace of mind and live your life.
