Ciovacco Capital Management, LLC is an independent money manager based in Atlanta, Georgia. CCM helps individual investors, large & small, achieve improved investment results via research and globally diversified investment portfolios. Since we are a fee-based firm, our only objective is to help you protect and grow your assets. Our long-term, theme-oriented, buy-and-hold approach allows for portfolio rebalancing from time to time to adjust to new opportunities or changing market conditions. When looking at money managers or hedge fund alternatives in Atlanta, take a hard look at CCM.
The following section, on hedge fund fees, was taken from a portolio management study:
conducted by Ciovacco Capital Management.
Without Using A Hedge Fund
Hedging Benefits Without The Hedge Fund Fees
Since hedging strategies are often misunderstood by investors and seen as "risky", three points are covered in this section an attempt to better clarify how hedging is used in the CCM Portfolio Management Strategy.
- As shown in Figure 27, hedging a stock portfolio in unfavorable conditions can significantly improve performance
- Professionally managed funds that use hedging strategies are available to individual investors and personal money managers. It is not necessary to pay high hedge fund fees to add hedging strategies to a well-diversified portfolio.
- A "long-short" hedging strategy is significantly different and less volatile than a pure "short" strategy.
The CCM Portfolio Management Strategy does incorporate a U.S. stock investment that, under unfavorable market conditions, uses options and futures contracts as "insurance" to hedge against declining stock prices. In this way, our professionally managed hedging strategy is very similar to a "long-short" hedge fund. The CCM Model Contraction Portfolio can have as much as 25% of the portfolio hedged based on the models used by the manager who operates the hedging strategy. The CCM Model Expansion Portfolio can have as much as 7% of the portfolio hedged based on the models used by the hedge manager.
Figure 27
The fees to implement this hedging strategy used in the CCM Model Portfolios are similar to those of a standard mutual fund. As hedge fund investors know, a typical hedge fund charges a 2.0% annual fee and they also keep 20% of the profits made. The hedged investment that we use in the CCM Portfolio Management Strategy has an annual operating expense (as of July 1, 2006) of only 1.10% vs. 2.0% for a typical hedge fund. The hedging strategy we use, does not charge the typical hedge fund 20% of the profits fee. To illustrate hypothetically how significant high hedge fund fees are in reducing investor returns, Figure 28 below shows the returns of the hedging strategy used in the CCM Portfolio Management Strategy vs. the same returns with a typical 20% hedge fund performance fee.
Figure 28
"Naked" shorting or shorting without also owning long positions to offset the short positions is a much more uncertain and volatile strategy. The CCM Portfolio Management Strategy uses only long-short hedging strategies and does not rely on short-only strategies. An example of a short-only strategy is the Rydex Inverse S&P 500 Fund, which attempts to produce returns that are inversely related to the return of the S&P 500 index. To illustrate the difference in volatility between long-short and short-only hedging strategies, Figure 28 compares the long-short strategy used in the CCM Model Portfolios (long-short) to the Rydex Inverse S&P 500 Fund (short only). A well managed long-short strategy can offer less volatility than a non-hedged investment such as the S&P 500 Index or Vanguard 500 Index.
Figure 29
To read the entire study, click below:
conducted by Ciovacco Capital Management.
Hedge Funds Atlanta - Are The Fees Too High?
Hedge Fund Atlanta: As independent money managers based in Atlanta, our clients often ask us about hedge funds in Atlanta. Our concern with hedge funds are the fee structures which can be roughly 2% per year plus 20% of the profits. While there is no doubt that many top hedge fund managers earn their keep, the industry is now crowded with many fund that are producing subpar returns while charging some of the highest fees in the industry. We encourage you to do some research on hedge fund fees in Atlanta. There are many registered investment advisors, like Ciovacco Capital Management, that use hedging strategies in a widely diversified global portfolio while charging significantly lower fees. Here are some articles on the topic:
- Pension Fund Says Hedge Fund Fees Not Worth It - Bloomberg
- Wall Street's Dirty Hedge Fund Secret - Bloomberg
- NASD Sets Up Hedge Fund Probe - Bloomberg
- Hedge Funds Raise Fees As Returns Decline Significantly - Bloomberg
- Flagship Hedge Fund Falls Over 11% in 2006 - Bloomberg
- Hedge Funds Might Die Before They Get Old - Bloomberg
Ciovacco Capital Management, LLC is an independent money manager based in Atlanta, Georgia. CCM helps individual investors, large & small, achieve improved investment results via research and globally diversified investment portfolios. Since we are a fee-based firm, our only objective is to help you protect and grow your assets. Our long-term, theme-oriented, buy-and-hold approach allows for portfolio rebalancing from time to time to adjust to new opportunities or changing market conditions.
Christopher G. Ciovacco, Chief Investment Officer
In order to concentrate solely on long-term prudent investing and financial advice, Chris Ciovacco resigned from his post as a Financial Advisor with Morgan Stanley in 1999. Ciovacco Capital Management was soon born as a nimble, and cost-efficient LLC (limited-liability corporation). By offering significantly reduced rates to his clientele, and improved accessibility and service, Ciovacco Capital Management was able to build a sound asset base very rapidly. If you are looking for an independent money manager or financial advisor, our firm is worth a look.Chris worked as a Financial Advisor for Morgan Stanley in Atlanta for 6 years earning a strong reputation for his independent research and high integrity. Morgan Stanley gave Chris the opportunity to gain some valuable experience in evaluating stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options, commodities, insurance, estate & tax planning strategies, and retirement planning. We offer service to clients nationwide.
Map & Location Info - CLICK HERE
Learn More About Chris Ciovacco - Money Manager