Potomac Wealth Management, LLC FAQs
Potomac Wealth Management’s most frequently asked questions. Should you require more information please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Frequently Asked Questions
For your convenience we have compiled some of the most frequently asked questions about Potomac Wealth Management, LLC. We also encourage you to contact us directly to explore your options in working with us on managing your personal assets, retirement planning, wealth management and preservation strategies as well as company retirement plan management and fiduciary services.
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Who is Potomac Wealth Management, LLC?
We are an independent Registered Investment Advisory practice that works with a select group of clients to help them make intelligent decisions with their investments and finances. We have significant experience working with high net worth clients and understand their unique needs. As fee only advisors, we have removed the conflicts of interest that exist with most brokerage, banking and other commission based providers. We are motivated only by providing the best possible advice to our clients and not by the need to sell certain products in order to earn a commission. Removing conflicts of interest in order to be completely objective with our advice, along with our independence, is central to our service model and one of many qualities that sets us apart from larger institutions.
What is a fee-only registered investment advisory company?
What are your investment minimums?
Minimum account sizes at Potomac Wealth Management, LLC are $250,000 per client. Household accounts may be aggregated to meet this threshold. Exceptions may be made to our stated minimum account size at the discretion of the advisor. Please inquire with us if you would like to discuss your personal situation in greater detail.
What happens to the custody of my accounts and my investments?
As you consider various service providers to manage your funds, you will want to be sure there is an independent third party serving as a safekeeping function for your investments. That provider is referred to as a custodian; they provide a measure of safety and protection for your funds against fraudulent schemes. Potomac Wealth Management, LLC currently uses Shareholders Service Group as a custodian and broker dealer. Shareholders Service Group in turn clears its transactions through Pershing, LLC, a subsidiary of Mellon Bank, and the largest independent clearing company in the U.S.
What is a fiduciary?
A fiduciary is defined by the Encarta dictionary as: “A manager entrusted to control property or to act on behalf of and for the benefit of another”. In other words, a fiduciary is required to put the client’s interests ahead of all others’ including their own. Most broker dealers, insurance agents and other commission eligible service providers do not serve in a fiduciary capacity.
How does PWM differ from large firms?
Potomac Wealth Management, LLC is very different from its larger competitors. Companies like Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo Advisors and most other Wall Street companies make money, at least in part, by using proprietary investments or other investments that are lucrative for them to include when assembling client recommendations. Potomac Wealth Management, LLC is completely independent and is therefore free to assemble recommendations from best-in-class offerings instead of those that meet a corporate agenda. The end result to the client is often lower fees and better investment performance.
What is your investment management philosophy?
At Potomac Wealth Management, LLC, we believe investment markets work and are very efficient. Markets throughout the world have a history of rewarding investors for the capital they supply. Companies compete with each other for capital and investors by the millions compete with each other to find the most attractive returns. This competition quickly drives prices to fair market values and ensures that no investor can expect greater returns without accepting greater risk. Traditional managers attempt to beat the market by taking advantage of pricing “mistakes” and attempting to predict the future. This often proves costly and futile. Predictions go awry and managers miss the strong returns the market provides by holding the wrong stocks at the wrong time. Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT): Developed at the University of Chicago, by Nobel Prize winners Harry Markowitz and Merton Miller and later expanded upon by Stanford University professor William Sharpe, looks at a portfolio of assets based on how they perform as a group and not as individual securities. As a result of their work, it is possible to develop an optimal combination of investments that will produce the highest rate of return for each level of risk. These rates and risk levels, when graphed form an arc often referred to as the Efficient Frontier.
- Diversification: Investors can reduce their risk of loss by diversifying systematically.
- Asset Allocation: How an investor’s assets are allocated among asset classes and sub asset classes determines as much as 96% of his/her investment return; 4% is attributed to market timing and security selection. By the way, the 4% attributable to market timing is typically a negative contribution.
- Invest Efficiently: The most efficient way to achieve exposure to the desired asset classes while achieving broad diversification is probably the best way. Fees and trading costs matter!
- Other Considerations include: Minimizing taxes and turnover, thinking long-term, applying discipline, holding low-cost funds, and maintaining asset allocation parameters.
What kind of performance reporting do you provide?
Am I locked-in? Are their termination penalties?
Where can I download your Form ADV Part 2?
737 Walker Road, Suite 1B
Great Falls, VA 22066
info@potomacwealthmanagementllc.com
Contact Us
Great Falls, Virginia 22066
202-236-9667
info@potomacwealthmanagementllc.com
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