You built wealth by concentrating. Keeping it takes a different discipline.
You spent years making a concentrated bet: on a company you founded, or on the one you work for. It worked. Now the money is spread across accounts that were never designed together: a 401(k) lineup, an old brokerage account, equity grants, a trust, maybe proceeds from a sale sitting in cash.
Each account looks fine on its own statement. Together, they can lean the same way, carry the same risk and answer to no one’s plan in particular.
You may already have tried a robo-advisor or a large firm’s managed platform. Both rebalance well. Neither starts with your plan, and neither looks at the accounts they don’t hold.
What it costs you
- Risk you can’t seeCompany stock, a 401(k) lineup and a brokerage account can all lean the same way, and no one is looking at them together.
- The wrong yardstickJudging your money against an index tells you how the market did, not whether your plan is on track.
- Idle money after a liquidity eventProceeds sitting in cash while you decide, or rushed into whatever feels familiar.
- Decisions made under stressThe hardest calls tend to arrive in the worst markets, when emotions are loudest.
Our approach to investment management
Investment management at Different Investments™ is active, plan-driven portfolio management that builds every account you hold around your personal rate of return: the return your resources, goals, timeline and tolerance for volatility actually require.
We believe investing for the future is a process that takes skill, will and time. That’s why we bring the principles of financial planning and analysis into how we construct portfolios. Without a clearly defined plan, building an investment strategy is like throwing darts at the business section of the newspaper.
Our team screens thousands of investments using research tools such as GuruFocus and Morningstar, and tracks hundreds.
- 1Diversification with non-correlated asset classesWe build on Modern Portfolio Theory by pairing traditional asset classes with alternative strategies that help manage volatility.
- 2Active research, not buy and holdAn investment’s purpose and characteristics can change over time. We research and adjust rather than set and forget.
- 3Your personal rate of returnWe measure progress against the return your plan needs, not against an index you never chose.
What changes when your portfolio answers to your plan
How it works
Six steps, from the first conversation to a portfolio that works as one.
Discovery Meeting
In 90 minutes, we learn how you manage money today, your investment approach and your past experience with advisors. You leave with an initial assessment of your portfolio’s structure and risk profile.
Engagement
If we both decide to move forward, our operations team sends engagement paperwork outlining your investment objective, our services and your fees, then opens accounts and requests transfers from your current firm.
Risk Assessment
Between company plans, personal accounts and private investments, the risk adds up in ways no single statement shows. We measure it in aggregate.
Portfolio Analysis
We gather your liquid and illiquid holdings, then research and stress test the whole portfolio to find threats and areas of vulnerability.
Portfolio Recommendation
Recommendations are made account by account but designed to work together. If one account runs more aggressive, another may run more conservative.
Alternative InvestmentsOptional
For clients who want to look beyond traditional public investments, we explore private equity, private debt, real estate, hedge fund and energy strategies.
How we’re paid
Our investment management fee is an annual asset management fee, often called an AUM fee, charged on the assets we manage. The rate steps down as your assets grow, and householded accounts are combined. Our minimum is $500,000. Move the slider to see how the schedule applies.
Our minimum is $500,000. Householded accounts are combined, so the whole household moves through the tiers together.
- Assets in tierRateAnnual fee
- First $500K1.20%$0
- $500K – $1M1.00%$0
- $1M – $2M0.80%$0
- $2M – $5M0.60%$0
- $5M – $10M0.40%$0
- $10M – $25M0.30%$0
- Over $25M0.20%$0
Illustrative calculation based on our fee schedule. Fees are billed quarterly, and the weighted fee fluctuates with the value of your account balances.
For perspective
Over the 10 years ending October 2, 2026, the S&P 500 moved an average of 0.73%, up or down, in a single trading day. At $3,500,000, our weighted fee is 0.80% for the full year.
Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, S&P 500 [SP500], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, October 2026. Average of absolute daily percentage changes in the index’s closing value over 2,513 trading days, October 3, 2016 to October 2, 2026; Different Investments calculation. Index moves are not a fee or cost, and past market movements are not indicative of future results.
Example: A client engages Different Investments™ to actively manage $3.5 million. When accounts are householded together, this client would pay 1.20% on the first $500,000, 1.00% on the next $500,000, 0.80% on the next $1,000,000, and 0.60% on the remaining $1,500,000. The weighted fee would be 0.80% ($6,000 + $5,000 + $8,000 + $9,000 = $28,000 / $3,500,000 = 0.80%), paid quarterly (0.20% each quarter). As balances increase, the weighted percentage decreases.
Related reading
All insightsWho Benefits From Investment Management?
What investment management actually is, and the investors it serves best.
Read the articleStock Picking or Model Portfolio?
Why having “a guy” who picks stocks became a harder case to make, and what replaced it.
Read the articleHow Does Your Risk Tolerance Affect Your Portfolio Risk?
Why a questionnaire label is a poor substitute for knowing the risk your plan can carry.
Read the articleQuestions before you decide
Is it worth the fee?
That depends on your situation, and we would rather tell you honestly in the Discovery Meeting than promise a result. If your accounts are simple, already coordinated and measured against a clear plan, you may not need us. If you hold concentrated stock, accounts across several institutions or proceeds from a sale, the value of seeing and managing it all as one strategy tends to be clearer.
I already have an advisor. Do I have to switch?
No. Some clients move every account to us; others start with part of their portfolio. We’ll coordinate with your CPA, attorney and planner, and we’ll be clear about where our work fits.
How much of my time does this take?
Most of it is front-loaded: the 90-minute Discovery Meeting, then the paperwork and a review of the risk assessment and recommendations. After that, you meet with us when your plan or the markets call for it, and our team handles the day-to-day management.
Should I start before or after a liquidity event?
Before, if you can. The months ahead of a sale, distribution or secondary are when decisions about cash, concentration and timing are easiest to plan. If the money has already landed, we start with where it is today. For the personal side of selling a company, see Exit Planning at C-Suite Planning™.
What does the investment management fee cover?
The annual fee covers the work described on this page across every account we manage: the risk assessment, portfolio analysis and recommendations, ongoing research and active management, and regular reviews against your plan. It is billed quarterly and steps down as your assets grow.
Is there an account minimum?
Yes. Our minimum is $500,000, and householded accounts are combined.
See your accounts as one portfolio
In a complimentary 90-minute Discovery Meeting, we’ll review how your accounts work together today and how their combined risk compares with what your plan can carry. It’s also how we both decide whether we’re the right fit, with no obligation.