Index funds are investments made up of various stocks that mirror the companies as well as the performance of a market index, for example, the S&P 500. They are passively managed, have lower fees but can produce higher returns.

We use low cost index funds for asset categories where additional return via active fund management is difficult to come by. The use of index funds helps capture the investment return available in these parts of the portfolio at the lowest cost possible.

These funds are just as described: a single manager or management team attempt to outperform the market by actively managing the fund, adapting to changing markets to select investments with the potential to outperform. These funds typically charge a higher fee because there is a greater opportunity that they will beat the market index for a larger return.

In asset categories where additional return is possible, actively managed funds are screened and compared to their low cost index counterparts. We selectively use actively managed funds if sufficient confidence exists that superior performance will continue.

We also may overweight and underweight certain asset categories based on long term investment return trends. While we believe that diversification is an important part of risk management, strict adherence to a broad portfolio allocation that includes low performing assets and does not focus on outperforming asset categories is sub-optimal.

When appropriate or desired by the client, we will include individual stocks and bonds in our customized portfolios.

Wilborn Advisors is committed to full disclosure and does not benefit from any investment that we suggest.

We provide updates on investment performance and use appropriate third-party benchmarks for comparison. We meet with clients regularly depending on their needs and meetings can be in person, by phone or virtually.

Many of our clients who have not yet retired have significant retirement assets in employer-provided 401k and 403b plans. We include these assets when constructing our portfolios and will review the quality of the funds available in a client’s retirement plan at their work. Any portfolio recommendations will include these off-site assets. We do not charge for any recommendations for assets held at a client’s work.