SERVICEs
Proprietary Investment Management
“Good management is rare at best, it is difficult to appraise, and it is undoubtedly the single most important factor in security analysis.” - Philip L. Carret
We take a patient, long-term approach to active stock investing. We focus on businesses we understand and prefer those that are able to compound value over years by way of sustainable competitive advantages and stable or growing cash flow generation. We aim to acquire stakes in these businesses at attractive prices. We favor business managers who act like owners and who focus on long-term value creation. Our preference is for those managers who exhibit integrity and skill, treat their customers and employees well, think independently, and deliberately strengthen and sustain their businesses’ competitive advantages.
Only a limited number of publicly traded companies meet the above criteria, especially when it comes to leadership quality and culture. Most public boards and management teams are content maximizing short-term profitability via good enough products, high employee turnover, never-ending restructuring programs, and questionable acquisitions. We often find high-quality management and culture in founder-operated companies, family-controlled businesses, and companies led by visionary, long-term-oriented CEOs.
Our approach to portfolio construction is akin to a running a portfolio of private businesses. We invest in a limited number of businesses to incentivize rigorous research and to allow individual holdings to have a larger-than-average impact on investment performance. While this approach is not for everyone, i.e., it can create material deviations from broad market returns, we consider it an important element of attracting like-minded investors and building wealth together over many years.
Financial Planning
In addition to managing investment portfolios, we provide comprehensive financial planning services to individual investors and families at no additional charge. Our financial planning services include:
Retirement planning
Cash flow analysis and goals-based planning
Education planning
Tax planning strategies
Multigenerational wealth
Business exits
Legacy holdings
Income generation needs
To direct maximum time and effort toward serving our clients, we keep our affairs simple and efficient. To that end, we recommend that our clients’ assets are custodied at a single custodian firm--Charles Schwab & Co (please note that we do not receive any compensation from Charles Schwab for this recommendation). We have established an institutional relationship with Charles Schwab through its Schwab Advisor Services unit dedicated to serving independent advisory firms like Meeting House Capital. As a registered investment advisor participating on the Schwab Advisor Services platform, we receive access to software and related support without cost because the Advisor renders investment management services to Clients that maintain assets at Charles Schwab.
We adhere to the principles of transparency, ethical behavior, and candor. Our clients keep their Meeting House assets in separately managed accounts custodied at Charles Schwab. This structure allows for complete transparency over the investment activity in client portfolios, i.e., our clients can view account activity at any time. Since we do not have any lock-up periods, clients are also free to close their accounts at any time.
We are all-in on this. Oleg Litvinenko, Founder and Managing Partner of Meeting House Capital, LLC has his public equity assets invested in the Meeting House portfolio. We aim to match our own investment experience with that of our clients.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is your edge over other investments advisors? How are you different? We take a longer-term, business owner approach to investing. This means that we will spend a considerable amount of time understanding each business and the people who run it. That also means that we will likely make fewer changes to our portfolios when compared with other investment firms and advisers unless of course the market presents us with many opportunities in a short space of time as was the case, for example, during the 2008-2009 recession. We also pride ourselves on having like-minded clients who understand our approach to investment discipline and expect us to act accordingly in times of rising and falling markets.
2. How much control do I have over my portfolio? Clients have complete control over their portfolios custodied at a large, well-established U.S. custodian firm, such as Charles Schwab & Co. At the outset of the relationship with Meeting House, Clients sign an advisory agreement that grants the firm discretion to make changes in their portfolios. Clients have the right to withdraw funds from their portfolios or terminate their relationship with the firm at any time.
3. Are you supervised by financial regulatory authorities? Yes. Meeting House Capital, LLC is an independent registered investment advisor located in Concord, Massachusetts. Investment advisors registered in the state must meet certain minimum standards of conduct, education, and financial solvency. The state reviews all applications for registration to ensure compliance with the requirements of Massachusetts securities laws and regulations. Registrants must submit to a thorough background investigation, pass examinations on general securities principles and state securities laws, and agree to meet certain record-keeping and disclosure requirements. Registrants are also subject to examination by the state’s regulators.
5. Does the firm have an investment track record? Yes. Please please refer to our Equity Returns tab for Equity-Only Model Portfolio Performance. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Please also note that our advisory fees cover both investment portfolio management and financial planning, including retirement planning.
6. What types of accounts do you manage? We help clients with a wide variety of account types, including:
Retirement accounts: IRA, Rollover IRA, Roth IRA, Simple IRA
Taxable accounts: Individual, Joint, Custodial, Community Property, etc.
Trusts: Revocable, Irrevocable, Testamentary, Realty/Nominee
Organizations: Corporations, Partnerships, Foundations, Endowments, Pooled Investment Accounts, etc.
7. Is there a minimum account size? We prefer portfolios of at least $250,000 in size to be able to effectively implement our investment strategy.
Would like to know more or have questions? We would love to hear from you. To obtain additional information about our investment approach or how to become a client, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.