Investment Management
Our CFA-led investment team custom-tailors an Investment Policy to achieve your specific objectives while continually working to reduce unnecessary taxes and expenses.
How We Manage Your Portfolio
Your plan leads; the portfolio follows. We design, transition, and maintain your investments with clear rules, low friction, and steady execution.
Plan‑Aligned Blueprint
After we clarify your spending goals within your financial plan, the return needed to fund them, along with your existing investments, becomes the basis for your investment policy statement—a written framework for managing your portfolio.
Tax‑Aware Portfolio
We understand taxes can be a significant drag on net returns, so we seek to offset taxable gains by harvesting losses, minimize the tax bite on cash flows, and strategically position assets in taxable/non-taxable accounts to help keep your portfolio tax-optimized over time.
Disciplined Management
Client portfolios are run by process, not impulse. Once your Investment Policy Statement is in place, it becomes the roadmap we follow, defining how we allocate, how we rebalance, and what changes are appropriate, so we stay grounded in your long-term plan instead of reacting to every market headline or short-term swing.
Ongoing Oversight
Portfolios don’t live in a vacuum. We review progress on a set schedule, coordinate with your tax and estate professionals, and adjust only when your goals or constraints change—not because markets are loud this week.
Meet The CIO
With Chris Cannon leading the investment team, every client has a Chartered Financial Analyst governing the research, sourcing, and management framework for all investment decision making. His approach to each portfolio is tailored to the client’s specific financial objectives and implemented using risk-aware, cost-effective, and tax-efficient investment strategies.
Christopher Cannon, CFA
Mr. Cannon is a CFA charterholder with over 32 years of investment experience spanning institutional trading, arbitrage, derivatives and private client services.
How risky is your portfolio?
Investment risk is not determined by a rule-of-thumb or a “scale from 1-5”.
We employ a Nobel Prize-winning framework that engineers portfolios to meet investment expectations with a 95% mathematical confidence.
Pinpoint how much risk you want, how much risk you need to take to reach your goals, and how much risk you actually have in your portfolio.
Evidence-Based Done Right
Many firms claim to be evidence-based but fall into common traps. We take a different approach, one that acknowledges the limits of research and prioritizes your specific situation.
Correlation Doesn't Mean Causation
We evaluate research in full context, not cherry-picked data points. Academic findings do not always translate directly to real portfolios. We consider sample periods, market conditions, and practical constraints before applying any concept.
Practical Implementation
A strategy is only as good as its execution. We account for taxes, transaction costs, liquidity, and timing when translating and integrating research into your portfolio. Theory that cannot be implemented effectively stays on the shelf.
Sample Size Matters
Evidence informs our process, but your goals, timeline, tax situation, and risk profile drive actual decisions. We do not force-fit research conclusions onto portfolios where they do not belong.
Honest About Uncertainty
Markets and research evolve. We revisit assumptions regularly and adjust when new evidence warrants it, not when headlines or emotions demand it. No strategy is set in stone.
CFA® Charterholder-Led Investment Oversight
At FirsTrust, a CFA® charterholder oversees our investment division. The CFA® designation is earned by completing the CFA Program, passing three rigorous exams, and meeting ongoing ethical and professional standards set by CFA Institute, which adds an extra layer of rigor and accountability in a marketplace where many advisors do not hold this credential.
Want more details?
Call, email, or meet with a member of our FinancialTeam.