Frequently Asked Questions

A: Our minimum relationship size is $750,000. We will make exceptions, and waive our minimum, for family members of existing clients.

A1: We only buy individual securities. As a result, our portfolios have greater transparency. Clients know and can see what they own. Clients own about 40 stocks and 20 bonds.

A2: We follow a value investment philosophy (for our stock holdings) that is modeled after the writings and investment processes of Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett. We view each stock purchase as if we were buying a business. We are independent thinkers and do not follow the herd. We put a significant amount of emphasis on minimizing downside risk and focus on generating attractive absolute returns.

A3:: The implementation of our investment management process usually involves lower total fees. We only buy individual stocks and bonds. Most other financial advisors use mutual funds, third-party separate account managers, annuities and/or exchange traded funds. Using these investment vehicles adds a second layer of fees and increases the total cost of portfolio management for clients. The total fee our clients pay is usually lower than the total fee charged by other investment advisors.

A; There are two costs associated with managing a portfolio. First, clients are charged a commission of $4.95 per stock trade. These commissions are paid to the custodian. Second, we charge a flat percentage management fee, in arrears, based on the portfolio’s value at the end of each quarter. One quarter of the management fee is charged according to the following fee schedule:

A: Granite Value Capital does not hold clients’ assets. Assets are held by a third party custodian. Our clients use Charles Schwab as their custodian.

A: We communicate with our clients on a regular basis through detailed quarterly newsletters and periodic phone calls. We encourage “two way” communication with our clients and ask them to contact us with any questions or changes in their lives.

We think it is important to have patience and focus on a long-term time horizon when managing wealth and working with clients. We think this is one of the most important elements for achieving financial success. We conduct very comprehensive annual financial and portfolio reviews with clients. We think quarterly meetings do not achieve this objective because they are mostly non-productive and encourage short-term thinking.

(Note: We will meet with clients on a more frequent basis when starting the relationship or when a client has a life event such as death of a family member, receiving an inheritance, selling a business or real estate, approaching retirement or addressing a change in their long-term goals and investment objectives.)