Our Approach to Investing
Our Investment Philosophy
At Keep It Simple Financial Planning, we believe in a straightforward approach to investing that is grounded in academic research and a deep understanding of how markets work. Our investment philosophy is built on four principles.
Trust the Power of Markets
Markets are effective at processing information and setting prices. Rather than trying to outguess them, we harness their power by focusing on the factors that drive long-term returns.
Embrace a Scientific Approach
Decades of academic research have identified specific dimensions — company size, relative price, and profitability — linked to higher expected returns. We structure portfolios to target them cost-effectively.
Diversify Globally
Spreading investments across securities and asset classes helps manage risk and increases the reliability of outcomes. We build globally diversified portfolios with exposure to thousands of companies worldwide — not a handful of bets.
Maintain Discipline
Emotions lead investors astray at exactly the wrong moments. We help clients keep a long-term perspective and stick with the plan, even in challenging markets.
Investing in Retirement
Portfolios Built for the Spending Years
Most investment advice is written for people who are still adding money. Our clients are doing the opposite — turning decades of savings into monthly income. That changes what a portfolio has to do. The biggest risk isn't a down market; it's a down market in the early years of retirement, when you're withdrawing. So we organize money by when you'll actually need it.
Our Approach to Retirement Income
Three Simple Buckets™
Now
Next ~2–5 Years
Cash & cash reserves
Your near-term spending, held safely and insulated from market swings — so a downturn never forces you to sell at the wrong time.
Soon
Up to ~10 Years
Moderate, balanced portfolio
The bridge between today's spending and tomorrow's growth — invested more conservatively, ready to refill the Now bucket over time.
Later
10+ Years
Growth portfolio, risk-aligned
Long-term money invested for growth, aligned with your risk tolerance — with time to ride out markets and outpace inflation.
Three Simple Buckets™ is an approach we apply where suitable; specific time horizons, allocations, and implementation are tailored to each client's circumstances. Time ranges shown are illustrative.
The portfolio serves the plan — not the other way around. The buckets are coordinated with your spending and tax decisions through the Retirement Coordination Framework™, because an investment strategy that ignores withdrawals and taxes isn't a retirement strategy.
By applying financial science to investing, we offer clients access to well-designed strategies grounded in decades of academic research — with the goal of delivering a better investment experience on the path to their long-term goals.
We implement many client portfolios using Dimensional Fund Advisors — a firm built on the same academic, evidence-based foundations that guide our approach.
The Portfolio Is One Piece
Let's coordinate the whole picture.
Investing is one part of a retirement plan — spending and taxes are the others. See how they work together.
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