Last week we had the privilege of presenting our Stone Barn philosophy and strategies to an investors group located in Georgia (the state of and not the country). It was an enjoyable evening spent with a bunch of knowledgeable and inquisitive folks who enjoy talking markets and money as much as we do.

Coming out of that meeting there were several follow up questions we received by email. We thought we might address those questions here on the blog where anyone could see them. Below is a list of the questions and some responses.

Q- You mentioned October 1st 2019 as launch date for your services. Will everything be running then? Does that include the 30 day “test drive” ?

  • We are feverishly working to complete all the content for our website pages by that date. Judging by what we have already prepared and the length of our to-do list we suspect that we will have most of it ready by that date. More importantly, we are working with our web designer to make sure all the behind the scenes mechanics work properly for subscriptions and newsletters. Testing is happening now and we think it is likely we will be ready by that date for subscribers. Those who want to sign up for weekly updates can do so anytime. That part of the site is working well.

Q- I signed up for weekly up dates. What are they? When will they begin and what do they look like?

  • This week we added auto-response features to our list manager so that when you sign up for updates, you will get an email explaining what to expect, when to expect it and a sample view of the weekly update email. Our weekly updates are meant to be simple and easy to read and not overflowing with new content each week. Just new numbers to keep you updated.

Q- You said there would be a free portfolio as well, what does it entail and how does it differ from the other portfolios?

  • We plan to offer a portfolio that anyone can implement without cost. It will be a blend of a few index funds. We will deliver allocations and reports on this strategy as implemented with ETF’s, which we believe to be the most cost effective way to do so. Those who do not have access to ETF’s but must use mutual funds, will need to find equivalent funds to the ETF’s such as VFINX instead of SPY.
  • This portfolio is different from the subscription portfolios because it has no underlying stock selection strategies. The value in the free portfolio comes from allocation recommendations alone.
  • It will be posted on the site where it will be available without needing to pay for a subscription. We anticipate making this portfolio available before the end of the year.

Q -You suggested the minimum to follow the subscription service would likely be 50 K, do you have any suggestions for a “poor man’s” various.

  • The only suggestion we have would be to use the free portfolio mentioned above. Much of the value of the subscription portfolios comes from their ability to select individual stocks that meet momentum or volatility parameters. Smaller accounts would have to overcome the cost of trading as well as the cost of the subscription to make it worth the subscription fee.

You said there are no programs for 403B /401K type investors, however, there would be interest in such a program if you had one.

  • Yes, we agree that there is a great need in that area. For those plan participants that have access to self-directed brokerage within the plan, the portfolios can be implemented. For those with only mutual funds, we recommend the free portfolio.

You also mentioned managed (RIA) accounts.

Q- What are the minimum account sizes, and are they the same at Fidelity and Schwab?

  • With regard to managed account minimums, the RIA which licenses our research has a 100k minimum. For those with smaller accounts which seek a managed solution, we suggest speaking with the RIA. They do have solutions for smaller accounts, but those accounts would not use our portfolio research. We are told the minimums are the same at both Fidelity and Schwab.

Q- What is the fee schedule for these managed accounts, is it also $29.95, or a percentage of assets?

  • Our arrangement with the RIA is a license agreement for research. They do use an AUM fee structure for their managed accounts. Since we are a publishing firm and not an advisor, we don’t really get involved in their arrangements with their clients. The best thing to do is to let us know you want to speak with somebody about a managed solution and we will pass your information along to the RIA so that somebody can contact you. You can ask them all the questions you need about managed solutions using our portfolios.

That is the end of the questions we received. If you have others, let us know by using the contact form on this site.

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