Developing and Sustaining a
Successful Investment Plan

1. Why a Plan Matters

Investing isn’t about chasing returns. It’s about aligning your money with what matters most.

If you’re nearing retirement or already retired, the stakes feel higher. Your portfolio is no longer just about growing wealth. It’s about preserving your lifestyle, generating reliable income, and creating a lasting legacy. That’s why your investment strategy must be rooted in something deeper than market trends.

We believe investing is most powerful when it’s grounded in purpose. That starts with a financial plan designed around your real-life goals, values, priorities, and desired impact. Not just your risk tolerance.

In a world full of noise, a disciplined, evidence-based investment approach can offer clarity, confidence, and peace of mind. It’s not just about managing volatility. It’s about giving you the freedom to focus on the life you want to live, knowing your portfolio is working in support of it.

We view money as a tool. But like any tool, it needs a plan and a steady hand to use it well.

2. Our Investment Philosophy

Our philosophy is grounded in a simple conviction: the best investment plan is one you can stick with through bull markets, bear markets, and everything in between. We believe in being intentional, not reactive. Every decision is shaped by research, experience through varied market cycles, and a commitment to disciplined execution.

Evidence Over Emotion

We build portfolios using decades of academic and real-world research – not market predictions or product pitches.

According to Vanguard, advisors who provide structure, discipline, and behavioral coaching can add the equivalent of 3% in net returns annually. Source: Vanguard Advisor’s Alpha Study

That edge doesn’t come from market timing. It comes from:

• Global diversification
• Factor-based investing with long-term return drivers (such as value, size, profitability, and momentum)
• Tax-efficient implementation
• Patience through market noise

These are the building blocks of sustainable success and they require consistency.

Consistency Over Complexity

We construct all portfolios in-house and manage them at the firm level, not client-by-client. This ensures every client receives the same disciplined, cost-effective strategy and adjustments are research-driven and consistent. You won’t get a portfolio designed around gut instinct. You’ll get one backed by research, tailored to your broader financial plan, and managed with discipline.

Aligned with What You Value Most

We believe that investing is personal. While the principles may be universal, the purpose isn’t. Whether your focus is on family priorities, generosity, faith expression, or simply reducing complexity, your portfolio should reflect what you value. Our role is to build and maintain a strategy that honors those values while keeping you on track.

A Long-Term Lens

Markets move in cycles, but your goals likely span decades. And over time, disciplined investors tend to outperform reactive ones.

For example, during the COVID downturn in early 2020 and the volatility of 2022, clients who followed our investment discipline were able to buy into the downturn, not flee from it. This positioned them for stronger recoveries and better long-term outcomes. Of course, past returns are no guarantee of the future.

We believe in using structure to resist the natural urge to react. Because long-term success isn’t just about investment returns. It’s about making good decisions at the right times.

3. How We Build Portfolios

We build portfolios with intentionality, discipline, and a deep respect for the research. Every portfolio is constructed by a clear investment process , so that every client benefits from the same high-quality approach.

Four Building Blocks of a Strong Portfolio

We design portfolios using four distinct components, each serving a unique role:

1. Broad Market Stocks

This is the foundation of long-term growth in our portfolios: diversified exposure to U.S. equities, international developed markets, and emerging markets.

We use low-cost, globally diversified funds that provide broad access to global markets. These core exposures are modestly tilted toward factors with higher expected returns, such as value, size, and profitability.

Within tax-advantaged accounts, we apply a quantitative relative momentum screen that allows us to dynamically shift between U.S. and international equities. When U.S. markets are leading, we modestly overweight U.S. stocks. When international markets are outperforming, we lean into that strength. It’s a disciplined, data-driven approach to align with market leadership.

This equity core is designed to give our clients participation in global growth, while embedding smart, research-based tilts that enhance expected return over time.

2. Broad Market Bonds

While stocks are the engine of growth, bonds are the stabilizer, especially for those nearing or in retirement.

Our bond strategy emphasizes high-quality, short to intermediate-duration bonds as the foundation. These serve as a buffer against equity volatility, and when combined with an income strategy, can help reduce sequence of return risk – the risk of withdrawing during a market downturn.

We reserve a portion of the bond allocation for quantitative, duration-based adjustments, which allow us to adapt to changing interest rate environments without abandoning stability.

Put simply: our bond strategy isn’t designed to “beat the market.” It’s built to preserve, stabilize, and provide flexibility when you need income the most.

3. Focused Factor Stocks

This portion of the portfolio tilts toward areas of the stock market that have historically delivered higher expected returns, using a rules-based, quantitative approach.

We implement two academically supported strategies:

• Quantitative Value: Companies trading below intrinsic value based on fundamentals
• Quantitative Momentum: Companies demonstrating sustained, relative price strength

This is not about stock picking or forecasting. It’s about increasing exposure to long-term return drivers that are backed by research, and doing so systematically.

4. Tactical Allocation

We reserve a portion of each portfolio for our trend-following strategy. It’s a fully data-driven model that adjusts exposure across key asset classes: U.S. stocks, international stocks, intermediate treasuries, real estate, and commodities.

The goal is to identify whether asset classes are in a “risk-on” or “risk-off” environment – and shift exposure accordingly.

When trends are strong and upward, we participate in growth. When trends deteriorate, the strategy reduces exposure or moves to defensive assets. It’s a disciplined way to manage downside risk without relying on gut instinct or prediction.

This tactical sleeve is not designed to time markets perfectly. It’s designed to respond to what markets are actually doing, using rules and data to guide decisions.

Designed for Real Life

Portfolios aren’t built in isolation from your real life. That’s why we integrate your retirement income needs, tax situation, and behavioral risk into the design.

This includes:

• Withdrawal strategies designed to withstand market cycles
• More stable assets for near-term income needs
• Tax-conscious positioning from the start

4. Why It Works

We don’t rely on instinct or opinion to guide investment decisions. We rely on data, history, and a framework built to endure.

Over decades, research has shown that disciplined, diversified portfolios, when paired with investor coaching and tax-aware implementation, produce more reliable outcomes than most alternatives. In other words, it’s not just what you invest in. It’s how you behave, and how your strategy is managed.

Most Investors Underperform Their Own Investments

According to Morningstar’s annual “Mind the Gap” study, investors in mutual funds and ETFs consistently earn less than the funds themselves. Why? Because they buy high and sell low, often reacting emotionally to headlines or short-term noise.

In 2024, Morningstar found that the average investor lost out on around 15% of the returns their funds generated over the 10 years ended Dec. 31, 2023. Source: Morningstar Mind the Gap 2024

Discipline and Coaching Create Real Value

This is where a structured investment philosophy – and a steady advisor – matters. Vanguard’s widely cited “Advisor’s Alpha” research shows that an advisor who applies sound practices (like rebalancing, asset location, and behavioral coaching) can add significant value.

In 2014, Vanguard published their Quantifying Advisor’s Alpha research, which found that advisors following wealth management best practices can add up to, or even exceed, 3% in net returns for their clients. Source: Vanguard Advisor’s Alpha

Why Evidence-Based Strategies Beat Guesswork

Successful investing doesn’t rely on prediction. It’s about following a repeatable process that’s grounded in data. Across decades of academic research, certain long-term drivers of return have consistently shown up: value (undervalued companies), momentum (price persistence), profitability, and size (smaller companies). When applied systematically and with discipline, these factors have been shown to increase the odds of long-term success – especially when paired with global diversification and thoughtful risk controls.

For example, multi-decade studies from academic researchers such as Eugene Fama and Kenneth French have demonstrated that factor-based investing, when executed consistently, can outperform purely cap-weighted or market-chasing strategies over time. Source: A Five-Factor Asset Pricing Model

Rather than chasing trends or reacting emotionally, we stick to a strategy that’s been proven to work historically . Not because it predicts the future, but because it’s built to endure it.

5. Tax, Cost, and Real-Life Efficiency

Good investing isn’t just about what you earn, it’s about what you keep. That’s why we place a strong emphasis on after-tax returns, cost efficiency, and real-world implementation that works with your broader financial plan.

Tax Efficiency Is Essential

Smart tax planning can improve your outcome without adding risk. Our portfolios are built with this in mind from day one.

We implement:

• Tax-Loss Harvesting: realized during down markets to offset gains and reduce taxes
• Asset Location: placing tax-inefficient investments in tax-advantaged accounts
• Capital Gains Management: limiting unnecessary gains
• Gifting with Appreciated Assets: avoiding capital gains while supporting generosity

Controlling Costs Without Compromising Quality

Lower cost should never mean lower quality. We use low-cost index and factor-based funds – the same ones we recommend for our own families. Because we manage portfolios in-house and avoid outsourced models, we maintain control, reduce fees, and deliver consistent experiences across clients.

Implementation That Reflects Real Life

Your portfolio is not separate from your tax return or your income strategy. We work to ensure that your investment plan and your broader financial life are fully integrated. Whether that means designing a Roth conversion strategy, planning charitable gifts, or reviewing distribution needs – we coordinate the details so your money works smarter.

6. Our Process to Keep You On Track

Even the best-designed investment strategy will fail if it’s not implemented with discipline and care. That’s why we focus just as much on process as we do on philosophy. Our clients don’t need to wonder what’s happening in their portfolio or whether they should be doing something different, because they know there’s a research-backed plan in place, and a team behind it, monitoring and adjusting when needed.

Rebalancing with Intention

We monitor portfolios and rebalance when assets move outside tolerance bands. This keeps your risk aligned and creates natural opportunities to buy low and sell high.

During downturns like 2020 and 2022, this helped clients reposition for recovery, even when emotionally, the timing felt uncomfortable.

Income Planning with Guardrails and a War Chest

We use a guardrail withdrawal system to manage retirement income, adjusting as needed to protect your long-term plan. To further reduce risk, for clients taking income we maintain a “war chest” of typically 3-7 years of income in more conservative assets – so you’re not forced to sell during down markets.

Tax-Aware Execution Throughout the Year

We look beyond April 15th. Throughout the year, we:

• Review Roth conversion opportunities
• Manage capital gains exposure
• Execute tax-loss harvesting
• Coordinate with your CPA or tax professional when needed

Behind-the-Scenes Monitoring

You won’t need to approve every decision we make, but were confident you’ll feel the results over the long-term. We manage all portfolios according to the firm philosophy, not ad hoc per client, so you receive the same thoughtful and consistent oversight regardless of your situation.

Clear and Ongoing Communication

We meet regularly, review your strategy proactively, and keep you informed. You’ll never have to wonder whether your investments are on track, or feel like you’re managing it alone.

7. Ongoing Advice – One Degree Off Course

Even a single degree off course, if left unchecked, can lead to an entirely different destination. That’s why ongoing advice matters. Markets fluctuate. Plans evolve. Life changes. And staying aligned requires a steady hand. We believe the most valuable part of our job happens not during portfolio construction, but in the months and years that follow.

What Does That Look Like?

• Helping you hold steady when fear dominates headlines
• Realigning your strategy when life changes – career transitions, family needs, health challenges
• Providing perspective when emotions threaten to derail your plan

We walk with you providing clarity, encouragement, and course correction. Because over time, it’s the small, consistent decisions that make the biggest difference.

8. What We Believe

We don’t believe the only goal of investing is to beat the market.

We believe the goal is to maximize your return on life:

• Your financial plan should drive your investment decisions
• Simplicity beats complexity when built on wisdom
• Long-term consistency matters more than short-term outperformance
• Purpose is more powerful than performance

Whether you’re nearing retirement, navigating a major life transition, or simply want to know your money is being managed with care, we’re here to help you stay on course.

Let’s build something that works.

While this paper describes our overarching investment philosophy, every situation is unique and may require customization that varies from this description. Investment decisions should be reviewed with your One Degree financial advisor for personal application. Diversification does not guarantee a profit or protection from losses in a declining market. Investing involves risks. Stock and bond values fluctuate in price so that the value of an investment can go down depending on market conditions. Stock prices may fluctuate due to stock market volatility and market cycles, as well as circumstances specific to a company. The two main risks related to bond investing are interest rate risk and credit risk.  Investment advisor representatives offer advisory services through One Degree Advisors, Inc.