Despite strong post-recession performances in recent years, today’s market remains volatile. Craig Forbes, founding partner of Alpha Omega Investment Advisors, expects the volatility will only increase in the coming year. 

Between inevitable adjustments coming from the Federal Reserve and the drop in oil prices, reactionary fluctuations could cause drastic changes in S&P returns. Forbes explained that near-zero interest rates over the past several years have created a false sense of security.

“We’ve already seen [changes] with oil prices hurting the markets. We’re likely to see the feds make a decision on what they are going to do with interest rates later this year.”

Forbes doesn’t foresee the Federal Reserve raising rates by much – but even a miniscule change in rates can have a sizable impact on the market and earnings. “That said,” he added, “companies are having trouble building on earnings that would have been tremendous for the last couple of years.”

For this reason, Forbes described Alpha Omega as a firm that uses a “deep value, high dividend and low-risk approach to the stocks we look for. This model,” he said, “has historically produced strong yields and effectively protected clients during down markets.”

“Our volatility in any period has been substantially lower than the indexes that we measure ourselves against. For us, volatility has always been an issue, particularly the volatility on the downside.” Avoiding junk bonds and hedge funds claiming proprietary, overly complex or hidden investment strategies are one way they have accomplished a proven track record of stability and high yield returns for their clients.

As true money managers specializing in asset management rather than asset allocation, Alpha Omega’s investment strategies typically attract institutions and families who are looking to protect rather than accumulate wealth. “On the equity side,” Forbes said, “we are more interested in specific companies that we buy which fit our low-risk high-dividend approach, and working in that style to the benefit of our clients.”

The six-person firm established in 2009 during the peak of the recession has grown to managing over $250 million in assets, with sights on surpassing $1 billion within the next five years.

For more information, visit: www.aowealth.com