Investment strategies
Each strategy has a distinct objective and its own intended range of market exposure. What they share is a rules-based approach: the conditions that reduce exposure and the conditions that restore it are defined in advance, not decided in the middle of a bad quarter.
The philosophy
A sailor crossing an ocean does not set one sail and hope. They carry several, and the skill is knowing which one the conditions call for, and when to reef before the weather arrives rather than after.
That is the whole argument for active risk management. A static allocation makes a single bet on conditions staying roughly similar. Our strategies are designed to reduce equity exposure as conditions deteriorate and re-engage as they improve, so a portfolio is not obliged to ride the full extent of every decline.
This matters most for people drawing income. A deep drawdown in the first years of retirement converts a temporary loss into a permanent one, because you are selling into it to live. Sequence-of-returns risk is the specific thing these rules exist to address.
The lineup
Portfolios combine several of these. The mix depends on what a household needs from the money and when they need it.
The broad core holding.
Exchange-traded funds
A broadly diversified, growth-oriented core built with ETFs. It holds a strategic asset allocation and retains the flexibility to over- or under-weight asset classes as conditions warrant.
Typically used as: The center of most portfolios.
Growth with environmental and social screens.
Exchange-traded funds
ETF-based growth investing that applies environmental, social, and governance considerations, with the ability to take tactical positions in wind, solar, water, and clean technology.
Typically used as: Households who want their screens applied at the portfolio level.
Higher conviction, fewer positions.
Individual equities
A more focused growth approach built with individual equities rather than funds, for a concentrated expression of the research.
Typically used as: A satellite position alongside a diversified core.
Follows market leadership as it moves.
Mutual funds
Rotates dynamically across market segments to pursue areas showing leadership, rather than holding fixed weights through every regime.
Typically used as: Portfolios that want exposure to leadership rotation.
Trend signals plus tactical risk controls.
Exchange-traded funds
Combines sector and style rotation with technical trend signals and tactical risk controls. Can include commodity exposure when the signals support it.
Typically used as: The most actively risk-managed sleeve in the lineup.
Income first, with downside controls.
Mutual funds
Seeks income and some capital appreciation by investing in higher-yielding segments of the market, managing downside exposure through dynamic stop-losses.
Typically used as: Households drawing income now.
What we can and cannot tell you here
As an SEC-registered investment adviser, TradeWinds is subject to rules governing how performance may be advertised. Rather than present figures hedged into meaninglessness, we describe what each strategy is designed to do and discuss the rest with you directly, with the disclosures those conversations require.
Strategy descriptions on this page state investment objectives and the processes used to pursue them. They are not predictions, projections, or guarantees. All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. No strategy assures a profit or protects against loss in a declining market, and diversification does not eliminate the risk of loss. Any reference to reducing exposure describes an objective and the process followed to pursue it, not an assurance of any particular result.
Additional information about TradeWinds Asset Management, LLC, including its investment strategies, risks, and fees, is available in its Form ADV Part 2A.
