FAQ

We strive to make the account opening paperwork as easy as possible by filling it out for you, so all you have to do is sign. You will receive an official monthly statement from the custodial bank, quarterly statements, and letters from Scholtz & Company. Additionally, our back-office team will handle all communication with the custodial bank so clients can rely on a single point of contact at Scholtz & Company who knows their unique situation and can help with anything related to investments or logistics.

A Financial Planner is focused on helping clients prepare for retirement through budgeting, insurance decisions, and estate planning. They typically outsource the asset management process through funds. A Portfolio Manager is focused on the actual investing of your assets. Scholtz & Company specializes in asset management but also offers financial planning services.

After an in-depth review of a new client’s circumstances, our Portfolio Managers build a customized portfolio for the client according to their return and risk goals. For example, with respect to particularly conservative clients, Portfolio Managers will focus on less risky securities, while clients with higher risk tolerance are more apt to invest in securities with higher return potential. This also applies to asset allocation, where the mix of cash, stocks, and bonds reflects risk tolerance.

No. All Scholtz & Company clients have their own accounts that are individually managed. Through online access or monthly statements sent to you by mail, you can see exactly what securities you own. Assets are not commingled with other clients’ portfolios.

Scholtz & Company Portfolio Managers and Analysts spend the majority of their time searching for and researching potential securities to add to client portfolios. This involves a variety of analyses, including a review of public financial statements, meetings or calls with a company’s management, and deep financial modeling. Additionally, Scholtz & Company has developed computer screening models to help search for new ideas.

Depending on the account size, accounts will hold 30 to 40 positions. Larger accounts will be toward the higher end of this range. We are comfortable in this range as it gives our accounts enough diversification to control risk.

Scholtz & Company does not use mutual funds. First, mutual funds are our competition. We pick securities and build a portfolio; mutual funds do the same, except they cannot be customized for individuals. Second, mutual funds also charge a management fee (which comes directly out of the fund). By investing in mutual funds, you would be paying double fees. In terms of ETFs, we generally do not invest in them except for a few unique situations, such as to invest in a commodity (e.g., gold) or a specific country (e.g., China) on a broad basis. Fees in ETFs are also usually much lower than fees in mutual funds.

Scholtz & Company charges a quarterly management fee based on the assets under management (AUM) and the investment strategy as listed in the Client Relationship Summary. Besides a management fee, accounts will be charged commissions for all trades Scholtz & Company put through with broker-dealers. Scholtz & Company does not receive any of these commissions, typically amounting to 0.10-0.20% of the account annually (depending on trading volume for any given year). Other fees, such as custody fees, are typically paid by Scholtz & Company.

For more information on a variety of topics, please call our office at 203-714-9900.