About Us
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Quorum Investment Counsel (“Quorum” or “the Company”) is first and foremost an investment counseling firm dedicated to the needs of private individuals and the enterprises they control. In a world full of financial advisors, trust officers, investment managers, portfolio managers, financial consultants, wealth managers, financial planners, private bankers and financial professionals of every stripe, it is easy to forget that the world of financial investments is made up primarily of two groups of professionals: brokers and fiduciaries. Who you are depends on how you get paid. Brokers primarily sell financial products in exchange for commissions. Fiduciaries mainly provide investment advice in exchange for asset-based fees. Brokers are incented to move product. Fiduciaries are motivated to represent interests. Both seek to produce results, but in one case, the client is managing his own portfolio and in the other case, the client is delegating that function to an expert. If the client has the experience and knowledge to effectively manage her own portfolio, then working with brokers is the preferred mode of doing business. If the client is unable or unwilling to manage his own portfolio, then he will prefer working with a fiduciary to take over that function. Unfortunately for the investing public, the investment industry has done everything in its power to obscure the differences among the different financial services professionals so that few investors are clear on with what breed of animal they are interacting. Our firm is a true fiduciary and we receive none of our compensation from the commission or revenue-sharing on the sale of or introduction to any product. We rely on our own methodology to create our own portfolios, and adhere to our own discipline in effecting investment decisions. Though it may seem a bit outdated to follow these time-tested business practices, it is our objective, as outlined in our mission statement, to provide the rational investor with objective investment advice. The rational investor is one who recognizes the need to avoid speculation in achieving superior investment outcomes by making objective decisions. Objective decisions have two prerequisites, experience and independence. Speculation is defined as “the taking of above-average risks to achieve above average-returns, generally during a relatively short period of time. Speculation involves buying something on the basis of its potential selling price rather than on the basis of its actual value.” Unfortunately, the typical investor is under constant pressure to enter into speculative situations by the financial media, motivated salespeople, enthusiastic friends, and frenzied markets. We built Quorum in order to create a firm platform that protects our clients against the forces of speculation by preserving our independence, and making our advice completely transparent. Coupled with our experience in financial markets, we believe that this platform provides our clients with a superior method of attaining superior investment returns, in good times and bad. Quorum Investment Counsel is not a custodian and does not have custody of clients' assets.
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