Beginnings
We started The McBride Group in the spring of 2009, in the very depth of The Great Recession. With the stock markets down over 50% we knew it would be an uphill fight. To put it politely, the cards were stacked against us. We prevailed in large part because of our belief in four principles:- The Fiduciary standard,
- Our code of ethics,
- A service to others mindset and
- Our conservative investment philosophy.
BEST INTERESTS
All professions have ethical guidelines and standards of conduct. Strangely, the investment advisory profession has two. One is called “suitability” and other is the “fiduciary” standard which requires “a fiduciary to act in their client’s best interests, at all times when providing financial advice.” The gap between the two standards is wide and deep but so simple it can be illustrated on a napkin.
CODE OF ETHICS
An important lesson from the financial crisis that caused The Great Recession was the profound absence of basic ethical standards in many parts of the investment community. We believe the American cowboy is a much better mentor of ethical behavior than Wall Street. We practice those standards brilliantly summarized by Mr. James P. Owen in his book Cowboy Ethics: What Wall Street Can Learn from The Code of The West.
- Live each day with courage
- Take pride in your work
- Always finish what you start
- Do what needs to be done
- Be tough, but fair
- When you make a promise, keep it
- Ride for the brand
- Talk less and say more
- Remember that some things aren’t for sale
- Know where to draw the line
SERVICE to Others
We believe service to others is a hallmark of a successful life. The motto of our firm is “Go for Broke!”. It is the motto of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. It was the most decorated unit for its size and length of service in the history of the US military. The 442nd was a segregated Japanese American unit whose soldiers fought and died for our country, the same country that held their families in internment camps. Like the Tuskegee Airman and the Navajo code talkers, they put service to others above everything.Investment Philosophy
The McBride Group, LLC is an organization dedicated to capital preservation and conservative investment strategies. Our clients are only those investors with a long-term perspective. When the legendary investor Warren Buffet was asked what an ideal holding period was for an investment, he answered simply “forever”. We share Mr. Buffet’s sentiment.
Our portfolios are designed to be the most efficient for each client’s risk profile and financial goals. By “efficient” we mean optimal asset allocation for a given level of risk. We keenly understand the devastating impact of losses on the long-term success of investments. We strive to minimize losses. It is of central importance to our strategies. Mr. Buffet’s mentor Benjamin Graham pointed out that investing is not about avoiding risk but managing risk.
Our portfolios consist primarily of stocks, bonds and exchanged traded funds (EFTs). We are strictly fee-only and therefore avoiding high commission products such as annuities.
