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You deserve straight-up investment advice that works for you—not for someone’s commission check. We cut through the noise with real strategies, no fluff, no gimmicks—just honest guidance so you can focus on what actually matters.
You deserve straight-up investment advice that works for you—not for someone’s commission check. We cut through the noise with real strategies, no fluff, no gimmicks—just honest guidance so you can focus on what actually matters.
Built on Standards That Matter
Markets go up and down—what matters is how you respond. Successful investors stay on course by following clear, disciplined standards when managing investments and making decisions. These standards reflect a core fiduciary principle: acting with accountability rather than relying on luck.
Sift's Investment Advice programs are built around this concept of fiduciary accountability. Developed by Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analysts®, our programs incorporate one of the highest levels of training in the financial industry—focused on fiduciary principles, applying rigorous standards of care, and helping ensure every investment decision is made with purpose and integrity.
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Services for Individuals and Families include Investment Advice, Portfolio Review Program, and RFP Support.
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Services for Small Business Retirement Plans include Portfolio Review Program, Investment Advice, IPS Services, and RFP Support
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Services for Foundations and Endowments include Portfolio Review Program, Investment Advice, IPS Services and RFP Support.
Do you want to ensure your portfolio aligns with your investment goals, risk preferences, and time horizon? Are you concerned about fees and getting value for what you pay for? Have you been sold investment products or are you uncertain about why you own certain investments? Do you just want a second opinion on your portfolio for the peace of mind that you are headed in the right direction?
You want investment advice but aren’t interested in turning over investment management. Maybe your investment account restricts you from working with outside managers. Whatever the reason, this program is designed for individual clients and families whose investments are not directly managed by Sift but who need guidance on portfolio design and investment selection.
You are considering hiring or replacing an investment fiduciary. The challenge is that you're not an investment expert, so it can be difficult to tell if an investment fiduciary is truly qualified or simply skilled at sales and marketing. What is the process for hiring an investment fiduciary, and how do you manage it? What expertise do you need, and how do you navigate the financial industry's sales tactics? What about friends or family who subtly push you to hire "their guy"?
A fiduciary is required to follow the duties of loyalty and care. Loyalty means avoiding self-dealing or bias toward "their guy." Care means securing prudent and professional performance. Individuals and families should approach hiring an investment fiduciary like choosing someone to care for an aging parent. Are they world-class? Do they show up every day and do their job? Do they need supervision?
Just as a thorough vetting process helps ensure the right care for a family member, a well-run RFP can do the same for your money.
If you serve on the investment committee or board of directors for an endowment, foundation, or nonprofit organization, you likely carry some level of fiduciary responsibility for overseeing the organization's finances—including its investment program. The Portfolio Review Program is designed to inform and empower you to make better, more impactful decisions about your investment portfolio's performance and how it can be improved.
This program addresses how well your portfolio aligns with your organization's investment goals, risk preferences, and income needs. It also helps identify imbalances between value and fees and provides a framework for more meaningful conversations with your investment manager(s). Whether you're seeking a second opinion or peace of mind that you're headed in the right direction, a Portfolio Review can help.
Supervising investment managers or personally making investment decisions on behalf of an endowment, foundation, or nonprofit makes you a fiduciary—an important role that carries liability. To help manage this responsibility, many organizations hire third-party professionals to assist with their investment programs. These professionals may be investment managers, who directly buy and sell investments, or investment advisors, who provide guidance on how to operate and improve the overall investment program. Because these roles are often misunderstood, we offer clearly defined scopes of work and transparent pricing—similar to how attorney and accountants charge.
The Investment Policy Statement (IPS) serves as the organization's "rule book" for investment oversight. It should be written specifically for the organization, taking into account how investment decisions are made, decision maker competencies, and the organization's internal governance structure.
Your organization may be considering hiring or replacing an investment manager. The challenge is meeting the fiduciary obligation to make a prudent decision—one that follows a specific and defensible process. But what does that process look like, and how do you manage it? What expertise is required? How do you navigate the salesmanship that often dominates the financial industry?
What about board members or major donors who not-so-subtly push for hiring "their guy"? A fiduciary is required to uphold the duties of loyalty and care. Loyalty means avoiding self-dealing and resisting bias. Care means securing prudent, professional-level performance.
Organizations should view investment managers much like they do employees: Are they world-class? Do they show up and do the work? Do they need supervision? Just as a strong hiring process helps you choose the right people for the job, a well-executed RFP helps justify, document, and explain why specific investment manager hiring or firing decisions were made.
Employer-sponsored retirement plans are highly regulated, frequently litigated, and notoriously complex—filled with potential risks and liabilities. SUITEk is Sift's specialized program built to help employers navigate these challenges and improve retirement plan outcomes.
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) establishes what many consider the strictest fiduciary standards in law, overseen and enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Many firms and advisors in the financial industry offer services for ERISA-covered employee benefit plans such as 401(k), 403(b), or defined benefit plans. However, few focus on helping organizations better manage their fiduciary obligations and reduce liability—without requiring engagement for plan administration or investment management. In many ways, this is like letting the fox guard the henhouse. It may simplify things and sound well-intentioned, but would you really be surprised if the fox ate the chickens?
The legal accountability hierarchy for ERISA-covered plans starts with the Named Plan Fiduciary or fiduciaries (i.e., business decision-makers/responsible parties), followed by any sub-fiduciaries such as 3(21), 3(38), or 3(16). A Named Plan Fiduciary can hire a sub-fiduciary to help reduce liability and improve plan performance, but doing so only reduces liability if proper fiduciary oversight of the sub-fiduciary is maintained.
This program focuses on providing guidance to Named Plan Fiduciaries on how to reduce plan-related liability and improve performance by prudently managing vendors, including sub-fiduciaries.
Provides second opinions, guidance, recommendations for improvement, and IPS design specifically tailored to the needs of ERISA-covered retirement plans, such as 401(k) plans and 403(b) plans.
Every organization with ERISA-level fiduciary responsibility should have an IPS customized by someone thoroughly understands ERISA fiduciary standards and the investment industry. A well-crafted IPS improves the organization's ability to manage fiduciary risk, control expenses, set realistic benchmarks, and achieve long-term performance goals.
Your organization may be considering hiring or replacing vendors such as a custodian, TPA/recordkeeper, 3(21), 3(38), or 3(16) investment company. The challenge is that ERISA requires fiduciaries to make prudent decisions—something that involves a specific and well-documented process. What does that process look like, and how should it be managed? What kind of expertise is needed, and how do you sift through the salesmanship of the financial industry?
Then there are the board members or key employees who have relationships with certain investment providers and are not-so-subtly suggesting you hire "their guy". As a fiduciary, you are required to follow the duties of loyalty and care. Loyalty means avoiding self-dealing or favoritism. Care means ensuring prudent, professional-level performance.
Organizations should evaluate vendors and sub-fiduciaries just as they would evaluate employees: Are they world-class? Do they consistently show up and deliver? Do they require constant oversight? A well-run RFP process can help ensure you are selecting the right people for the right roles—and, just as importantly, help justify, document, and communicate the reasoning behind your vendor or fiduciary hiring and firing decisions.
Get straightforward answers to your investment questions. We’re here to help you make informed, confident decisions—no jargon, no sales pitches.
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