Morningstar Advisor - February/March 2012 - (Page 13)

Jerry Slusiewicz, principal, Pacific Financial Planners To add alpha for clients with growth- or ballast-oriented portfolios, he’ll often determine the leading stock in a mutual fund or ETF and buy shares of that name. For clients more interested in preservation of capital or income, Slusiewicz will often set up a laddered bond portfolio. This strategy uses fixed-income securities with different maturity or call dates. When it comes to stock-picking, Slusiewicz’s independent thinking again reveals itself. He doesn’t stick to any market cap or geographic region, preferring to invest in market leaders, regardless of capitalization, sector, or home country. He doesn’t shy away from small caps or even lower-priced equities to achieve growth. He adheres to strict exit rules, so he has more latitude to use volatile instruments than a buy-and-hold advisor may have. However, in the erratic market conditions toward the end of 2011, Slusiewicz gravitated toward stocks that paid a high dividend, or those with growing dividends. Reader and Writer Slusiewicz says that he’s constantly reading and tracking the market. “I tell people I read for a living,” he says. But writing and podcasting are also part of his routine. He does a weekly podcast that’s posted on his website, http://www.yourmoneytalks.com. “The writing crystallizes my thoughts into actionable ideas and words. I lay out the logic behind what I’m doing. From my clients’ point of view, they know that it’s something that I’ve thought out and formalized in print before taking action,” he says. He sums up his investing philosophy by emphasizing the need to think independently and manage risk. “If more advisors and more individuals focused on that, it would be a much better world for the investment community,” he says. K Kate Stalter is a columnist for RealMoney at TheStreet.com. She also writes a daily column for MoneyShow.com. How he caught our eye: Writes articles and produces podcasts not only to educate clients but also to help him think through investing strategies. Academic and career path: Earned bachelor of science from Kettering University. Started finance career with Shearson Lehman Hutton; was an advisor at Union Bank and Wachovia. Founded Pacific Financial Planners in 2004. Personal: Married for 16 years and has two children: a daughter, 13, and a son, 11. Both children are black belts in Tae Kwon Do. Community involvement: Serves as a planning commissioner for the city of Laguna Niguel, Calif., volunteers for a variety of projects through his church and his children’s school, and is active in the local Chamber of Commerce. “This business is very dynamic. It’s the same thing with these mutual fund families out there,” he says. “I am not opposed to using anybody out there, but it seems like it’s a migration. Because it’s a dynamic world and change happens in all parts of our lives, we have to be able to change and be dynamic with our portfolios as well.” Slusiewicz uses mutual funds and closed-end funds, but he has developed an expertise in exchange-traded funds. He writes a daily column on ETFs and does extensive research into sectors, holdings, fees, and performance. He uses Morningstar.com’s ETF screener, along with the site’s articles, in his research. “It’s always been important to me to find the leading sectors,” he says, explaining how he scouts for ETFs. “That’s one of the things I use Morningstar for. The site has great resources not only for mutual funds but also ETFs, and you can look up what sectors have the best returns over different time periods.” Slusiewicz prefers more-liquid ETFs, comparing fees and performance before making decisions. He recently invested in the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF IBB rather than the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF XBI. XBI had lower expenses, but IBB’s superior performance since the market low in August proved persuasive. “Am I not fee-conscious? Of course I am, but it’s the forest for the trees,” he says. “I’m always going to look at fees, but the performance is a big factor, as well.” MorningstarAdvisor.com 13 http://www.yourmoneytalks.com http://www.TheStreet.com http://www.MoneyShow.com http://www.MorningstarAdvisor.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Morningstar Advisor - February/March 2012

Morningstar Advisor - February/March 2012
Contents
Contributors
Letter From the Editor
Make a Difference Stories, Not Debates
How Concerned Are You About Europe?
Analytical and Independent
What to Ask When a Fund Manager Leaves
Past, Present, Future
Have Financials Gotten Cheap Enough?
Four Picks for the Present
Investment Briefs
Tactical Funds Miss Their Chance
Specialty Retail: Ad Hoc Opportunity
How Europe Is Making Its Crisis Worse
Impact on U.S. Economy Will Be Minimal
European Banks: Bargains or Value Traps?
Don’t Count the Euro Out Yet
Europe on the Brink
GoodHaven Realizes Its Vision
How Index Trading Increases Market Vulnerability
Nonlisted REITS: Handle With Care
Safety Picks for the Many Moods of Mr. Market
On the Prowl for Large- Blend Index-Beaters
Our Favorite Mutual Funds
50 Most Popular ETFs
Undervalued Stocks With Wide Moats
The Math That Matters

Morningstar Advisor - February/March 2012