Investment management and retirement planning have emerged as two of the most critical issues facing investors today. Not only do they exhibit the potential for dynamic and rewarding opportunities – but at the same time both carry the risk of damaging results. Netherby Advisors LLC recognizes this inherent “two sides/same coin” conundrum and has built its investment strategies around finding creative solutions for combating unforeseen threats to its client’s financial welfare.

Founder and Managing Partner Fred Busk III recounts how he established Netherby Advisors with Nate Dougall in 2009 as an institutional offering providing investment strategy, manager research, and practice management technology to third-party Family Offices and other advisors servicing high net worth clients.  The offering grew out of his previous experience as the CEO of a Trust Company and strategic consultant to Family Offices and other Trust companies.  Notes Fred, “as consultants, we found that many of our clients were experiencing similar issues at various stages in their growth cycle.  By outsourcing some of the tasks to us and leveraging our expertise in business strategy, operational technology and investment research, they were better able to deliver a high-quality and well-differentiated client experience.”  Netherby further enhanced its investment strategy and research capability with the addition of partner and Chief Investment Officer Tom Hoffman.

In 2012, Netherby introduced its family office services. This private client feature focuses on providing comprehensive wealth management and advisory services tailored to high net worth families. “The one consistent attribute of our clients is that they have some complexity to their financial lives and want to access our expertise as their financial advocate.  Our clients are professional – Doctors, Lawyers, Professors, Business Owners and Corporate Executives that are very good at their jobs.  They recognize that their time is valuable and they want to work with a firm like ours that specializes in their needs”. 

What sets Netherby apart is a personal commitment to understanding each client’s unique situation without oversimplifying. Fred comments, “There is a tendency in the financial world to oversimplify issues and we work hard to ensure we fully understand the nuances of each of our clients situations and have a thorough understanding of their goals and objectives.  Technology serves a vital function in this regard, not just in operational efficiency but in the depth and level of reporting we do.  Our reporting system provides a holistic view of all of a client’s assets, whether held with us or in company-sponsored plans or even at other firms.  This level of reporting provides better insight to both the client and ourselves, improves the quality of the discussion and ultimately allows us to provide more customized and contextual advice.  This is a source of empowerment as well as protection for clients.

The level of engagement that Netherby delivers to its clients is that of “proactive advocates, tracking issues that might affect their financial lives, ranging from standard planning such as college savings, retirement and estate planning to more sophisticated stock option and tax planning issues.”

Created in the midst of the economic downtown, the recession of 2009 taught its management important lessons still relevant today. The most pressing matter remains vigilantly guarding a client’s portfolio against what Busk calls “the ‘wipe-out’ – a long-term and protracted negative impact on a client’s portfolio, which can be devastating from both an emotional and financial perspective – and can lead investors to make poor decisions.” Netherby’s wealth management approach is designed to balance downside risk with reward opportunities. Netherby does so by constructing portfolios that are designed to be well diversified and by including more specialized investment strategies such as infrastructure and alternative investments.  “The market for so-called Liquid Alternative investments has boomed since 2008 and while we are supporters of greater choice, many of these products simply do not add value.  Tom and his team have developed a specialized expertise in this emerging area of the market and help us to identify those we think make sense from those that don’t”.

Another lesson Busk capitalizes on, is the importance of effectively preparing for retirement. His team goes to great lengths to cover all situations that can befall clients prior to and during retirement.  Busk explains ‘The risk of outliving one’s assets in retirement is a major issue that must be planned for regardless of the size of one’s portfolio. It is important to understand the various risks that retirees face and to employ appropriate risk mitigation strategies to manage them.  “By doing so, our client’s feel confident that their retirement will be what it should be.”
Netherby’s Family Office Service is also unique in its business model with a goal of just 100 client families.  Notes Busk, “I believe that our client’s are best served long-term by a focused group of professionals that consistently emphasizes the quality of our work over quantity.”  With that, Busk sees Netherby’s private client business doubling in 2016.

For more information visit: www.netherby.com