Pacific Investment Advisory

Why Smaller is Better

At Pacific Investment Advisory, each client represents a significant portion of our business - and is treated like it.

Smaller Firms Are Often Better

Money Management Letter reports that a 2002 InvestorForce survey found the best performance at smaller investment firms.

The newsletter also quotes investment management consultant Michael Rosen, who says, "As assets grow, performance tends to deteriorate."

The Small Firm Advantages:

A small firm can focus almost 100% on investments and money management, which means:

The investor comes first - not corporate issues.
More personal attention for clients and their concerns.
Greater flexibility in investment selection.

That can give a small company quite an edge contends Jim Phillips, the President of Pacific Investment Advisory in La Cañada. Having worked at a number of large firms, he has seen the bureaucracy take on a life of its own.

"I've managed money for three banks and a large international organization," Phillips says. "Larger firms, with their spotlight on cost efficiency and product selling, are not nearly as attuned to investors' needs."

But the big advantage, Phillips believes, and the reason for the small firms' superior performance, is that "At a small firm, you can concentrate on our real business - which is money management. Plus, I'm not forced to use a specific model or sell some proprietary product to my clients."