Why should I hire Eads & Heald Investment Counsel as my portfolio manager rather than investing in mutual funds?

What type of accounts does Eads & Heald Investment Counsel manage?

Where will my securities reside once you begin management of my account?

What options do I have for paying my quarterly fee to Eads & Heald Investment Counsel?

Will you negotiate your fee?

What is a wrap fee?

What is your minimum account size?

Will Eads & Heald Investment Counsel help me define and implement an overall financial plan?

Will you obtain my approval before making security transactions in my account?

What input do I have in the construction of my portfolio?

Can I control when and how much capital gains I realize?

How many stocks will I own?

What is your investment time horizon?

What is your asset turnover ratio?

Will an individual or team manage my account?

How often will you call me and how often will you correspond with me regarding my account?

Do you manage bonds?

Why should I hire Eads & Heald Investment Counsel as my portfolio manager rather than investing in mutual funds?

Mutual funds are fine. With load funds your fees can be higher than with no-load funds. Our fee plus trading commissions are quite competitive with the cost of using the average no-load mutual fund. With no-load funds you may not have someone with whom to discuss your personal portfolio needs unless your asset size is quite large. Also, with mutual funds you have little, if any, control over realization of capital gains. Eads & Heald Investment Counsel offers personalized portfolio management service and we are always directly available to our clients.

What type of accounts does Eads & Heald Investment Counsel manage?

Eads & Heald Investment Counsel manages money for ERISA accounts, pension plans, profit-sharing plans, defined benefit plans, IRA's, family limited partnerships, trust accounts, and taxable portfolios. Generally speaking, we manage any investment vehicle for which stocks and/or bonds are appropriate. We manage such accounts on behalf of corporations, partnerships, municipalities, endowments, foundations, and individual investors.

Where will my securities reside once you begin management of my account?

Eads & Heald Investment Counsel does not take physical possession of any of your assets. Usually, the securities and cash reside at a brokerage firm of your choice. You give the custodian written permission allowing us to trade assets in your account.

What options do I have for paying my quarterly fee to Eads & Heald Investment Counsel?

We can bill you directly and you send us a check. Alternatively, you can have your account set up where we will send our bill to the account custodian. The custodian then automatically debits your account and pays us by check. In this instance, you will still receive a copy of the bill for your records.

Will you negotiate your fee?

We do not negotiate our fees. The one exception is when we are presented to a prospective client by a brokerage firm as part of a wrap fee package.

What is a wrap fee?

An example of a wrap fee is where a brokerage firm works with you for a flat, defined percentage fee of your assets each year. Typically, this fee would cover your commission trading costs as well as the fee of an outside money manager.

What is your minimum account size?

Our minimum account size is $250,000. The exception to this is a lower minimum in certain wrap fee programs through various brokerage firms.

Will Eads & Heald Investment Counsel help me define and implement an overall financial plan?

Eads & Heald Investment Counsel is a portfolio management firm. We are not financial planners, estate planners, insurance experts, etc. While we will not define or implement an overall financial plan for you, we will want to be aware of your overall financial situation in order to feel comfortable that the portion of your assets that we manage generally makes sense for you. We will prepare a Statement of Investment Objectives that addresses the portfolio(s) we manage on your behalf.

Will you obtain my approval before making security transactions in my account?

No. Obtaining client approval for trades is tantamount to both client and manager managing the account. This process simply does not work. Your specific investment objectives will be set forth in a Statement of Investment Objectives. We will abide by those objectives in managing your account. However, day-to-day involvement by the client in managing the account is counterproductive.

What input do I have in the construction of my portfolio?

We prepare a Statement of Investment Objectives for your approval before we begin managing your portfolio. In your Statement of Investment Objectives you can delineate specific companies or industries you do not want to own if you so choose. If you have liquidity, income, or asset mix needs, those should be addressed as well. Beyond that, we need to be free to manage the portfolio as appropriate in an attempt to meet your long-term investment goals.

Can I control when and how much capital gains I realize?

In general, it is better to manage a portfolio for fundamental reasons and let capital gains take care of themselves. Of necessity, think of some percent of your realized capital gains as going toward taxes. A portfolio can become convoluted if one has an extreme focus on minimizing capital gains. Nevertheless, our investment philosophy lends itself to minimizing tax consequences given our low portfolio turnover and emphasis on growth rather than dividends.

How many stocks will I own?

The number of stocks owned will depend somewhat on the size of your portfolio. In periods where we believe the stock market is "high", we may want to own more stocks to achieve greater diversification. Unlike many portfolios managed by individuals, we will own many more than five, ten, or fifteen stocks.

What is your investment time horizon?

We are long-term investors. We look out three to five to ten years and longer. If your primary focus is on six to twenty four months or so, we would not be a good fit for you.

What is your asset turnover ratio?

Once a new portfolio has been traded to reflect our investment philosophy, our security turnover is generally quite low: 15% to 20% annual turnover. With a 20% turnover, you are holding the average stock for five years. Of course, in reality, you might hold some stocks for much longer or shorter periods. Some of our trading is done in order to reduce oversized positions caused by certain stocks doing very well.

Will an individual or team manage my account?

Each portfolio will have an assigned manager. All of our portfolio managers are working within the same corporate investment philosophy, so longer-term results will be very similar regardless of who is actually assigned to your account(s).

How often will you call me and how often will you correspond with me regarding my account?

We tend to not initiate calls. However, you are welcome to call us with questions anytime. We view our clients as busy, smart, and successful people who will call us when they want something. Quarterly, we will send you a review letter covering your portfolio and our outlook for the future.

Do you manage bonds?

We do not manage pure bond portfolios, but do manage balanced portfolios containing both stocks and bonds. The bonds can be corporate, government, agency, or municipal bonds. We are bond "investors" and generally do not attempt short-term swapping. We prefer high-quality bonds and typically like to stay under 10-15 years in maturity.

Are you regulated?

Yes, we are regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). If you would like a copy of our SEC filing (Form ADV), please contact us.

What are your professional affiliations?

The principals of Eads & Heald Investment Counsel hold the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. All Portfolio Managers also hold the CFA designation. Several professionals within our firm are working towards earning the CFA designation. We maintain memberships with the CFA Institute and the Atlanta Society of Financial Analysts (ASFA). As such, we abide by the CFA Institute's Code of Ethics and The Standards of Professional Conduct.