Things are not always as they seem. Imagine a husband and wife are referred to a seemingly reputable money manager. At first they are comfortable with this manager. After all, several friends referred them to the manager. They are under the impression that their portfolio is well diversified. They believe that the money manager's past performance is exceptional. For a while they are satisfied.

But being cautious, they decide to get a second opinion. The first thing the new advisor notices is that they are exposed to serious risk of loss of principal. Although they are diversified within the stock market, they have no diversification outside of that. Secondly, although the money manager has outperformed the S&P 500 Index over the previous five years, it is only because he has one quarter of triple-digit returns. Without that one quarter, his performance is far worse than the index and significantly more volatile.

This scenario is not uncommon. Most investors either lack the time or the analytical expertise to dissect the true return generated by an investment manager. Determining real performance requires digging deep into the details. That is a primary skill set of Cornerstone Wealth Management. We apply it regularly in servicing our clients and when evaluating the portfolios of prospective clients seeking a second opinion.