T.E. Wealth advisor Valerie Pippy, who divides her time between offices in St. John’s and Toronto, describes her firm’s philosophy as a “disciplined approach” when it comes to clients’ portfolios.

The approach involves developing an investment policy statement, which takes into account the client’s investment objectives and the appropriate asset mix. The strategy is designed to maximize opportunities for portfolio growth over the long term while avoiding high-risk short-term decisions.

“We identify a strategy that sets the client’s asset mix, and try to remain within 5% of that goal,” she says. “If we had a goal of 60% fixed-income and 40% equities, but are actually getting 65/35, then we’ll recommend selling a portion of fixed-income investments and buy equities until we achieve the right balance.

“We don’t want our clients to be in a position in which they have to sell equities in a down market.” — GAVIN WILL