About Us

Post Asset Management LLC is an independent Registered Investment Advisor based in New York City. We provide investment management services to individuals and small businesses on a fee-only basis.

The definition of enlightened -‘freed from illusion’- best captures the vision of Post Asset Management LLC. Compelling empirical evidence and theoretical research strongly suggest that the conventional approach to investing, based on stock picking and market timing and promoted by the majority of financial advisors, is not only unnecessary, but in fact, detrimental to investment performance.

Clients of Post Asset Management, freed from the illusion that stock selection and market timing are necessary to be successful investors, benefit through the implementation of efficient, globally diversified portfolios based on disciplined investment plans. By embracing this investment philosophy, our clients maximize the likelihood of achieving their long-term financial goals.


Biography
Ian Andrew Post, CFA

Mr. Post is the principal of the firm. During Mr. Post’s twelve years in the financial services industry, during which he held equity research positions at Citigroup, Credit Lyonnais, and Bear Stearns, Ian gained unique insights into the question of whether there is investment value in the security selection process. The investment philosophy underpinning Post Asset Management is the culmination of Mr. Post’s extensive research into how investors can benefit by utilizing an efficient, systematic process for designing, building, and monitoring portfolios.

In 1998, Ian earned a Master of Business Administration degree with concentrations in Finance and Statistics from the Stern School of Business at New York University. Mr. Post also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering and Public Policy from Washington University.

Mr. Post is a holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and a member of the CFA Institute. In addition, Ian is a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts where he serves on the Private Wealth Management committee. Ian lives in New York City with his wife Dana and daughter Emma.


Frequently Asked Questions

1.    What is investment management and what does it involve?

Post Asset Management LLC provides investment management services on a continuous basis. Our approach to providing investment advice begins with setting up an investment framework appropriate for the unique circumstances of each client.

The investment framework takes into account the client’s willingness and ability to take risk, investment objectives, time horizon, and tax considerations. We develop a written Investment Policy Statement (IPS) for each client, which contains the strategic asset allocation and proposed portfolio design, risk and return estimates, Monte Carlo simulation forecasts and information on how the portfolio will be managed in the future.

Forward-looking issues covered in the IPS center on client communications, portfolio rebalancing guidelines, and when changes to the strategic asset allocation might be appropriate. The IPS also includes the cost of portfolio implementation and estimated future investment expenses.

Following the portfolio implementation, we continuously monitor client portfolios, deliver quarterly performance reports and are always available to address any questions or concerns our clients may have.

2.    How is Post Asset Management compensated for its services?

Post Asset Management is a fee-only advisory firm, and our services are provided for an annual fee based on assets under management. The following schedule describes our fee structure:

                       1.00% on the first $1,000,000
                       0.50% on the next $4,000,000
                       0.30% on assets over $5,000,000

Fees are paid quarterly, in-advance, based on the value of client accounts at the end of the preceding quarter. Fees are deducted directly from client accounts. The minimum annual fee is $2,000.

3.    What is a Registered Investment Advisory firm and how is it different from a brokerage firm?

A Registered Investment Advisor is a firm that is licensed through a State securities department or the Securities and Exchange Commission to provide investment advice for a fee. A Registered Investment Advisor is a legal fiduciary which requires the firm to place the interests of clients ahead of its own.

Brokerage firms are licensed as a broker-dealer with FINRA (formerly NASD). Employees of brokerage firms are not legal fiduciaries but rather salesmen and are permitted to place their interests ahead of the interests of their clients when conducting business.

4.    Where are client assets held and how are clients assured that their assets are secure?

Assets managed by us are typically maintained at Fidelity Investments in an account in the client's name. As the owner of the account, only the client has access to the funds held on his or her behalf. At no point does Post Asset Management LLC maintain custody of client funds.
     
 
5.    What is Post Asset Management’s relationship with its corporate partners, Dimensional Fund Advisors and Fidelity Investments?
  
   
 
Post Asset Management LLC works closely with Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) and Fidelity Investments in support of our clients. We choose, but are not under any obligation, to work with these firms and we do so based solely on the quality of the products and services they provide. Post Asset Management LLC does not receive any compensation, nor do we pay any compensation to DFA or Fidelity Investments.
  
   
 
My Personal Journey
 
 
I formed Post Asset Management LLC in 2006 after a Wall Street career that spanned more than ten years. The majority of my Wall Street career was focused on equity research and the pursuit of market-beating stock picks. My role was to analyze companies, write reports and to help make buy, sell and hold recommendations on individual stocks. I was a professional stock picker.

Early in my career, I held a view of investing familiar to most people; that shrewd stock selection and deft movement of money in and out of the market were the keys to successful investing. Over the course of a ten year period, however, observations garnered from both personal and professional experiences completely changed my perspectives on investing. Some of these experiences and observations are summarized below:

  
         
  Personal  
 
1.
My personal stock picking experience was similar to many investors; big winners almost completely offset by big losers while incurring trading costs and taxable distributions along the way.

  
 
2.
My investment decisions were made on an ad-hoc and emotional basis because I lacked a cohesive  framework  for making investment decisions; a recipe for underperforming the market.
 
         
  Professional  
 
1.
Equity research analysts who, as a group were smart, dedicated, hard-working and well-connected professional stock-pickers, could not consistently outperform the market.

 
  2. Interaction with our mutual fund portfolio manager clients resulted in two key observations:  
         
   
a.
Portfolio managers, who are responsible for dozens of companies, have far less knowledge about the companies they trade than equity analysts, who as previously noted were largely unsuccessful at producing winning stock picks.

  
   
b.
Portfolio managers tend to implement very similar investment approaches which suggest that any particular portfolio manager is unlikely to be able to add value commensurate with the management fees levied on investors.

  
 
Not willing to accept these observations at face value, I began researching the effectiveness of standard investing practices. I reviewed numerous academic studies, articles and books which confirmed what my observations had suggested; on average, stock picking and market timing reduces investor returns. (Please see the Investment Philosophy section of our Website for a more detailed discussion)

These observations and insights began to coalesce into an investment philosophy in 2001 when I met the lady who eventually became my wife. When I first met my future wife, she had accumulated significant savings which she maintained in a bank savings account. Faced with the prospect of investing assets belonging to a very important person in my life, I began rethinking what successful investing entails. I started with the following principles and, in conjunction with the observations previously noted, an enlightened approach to investing began to emerge.

  
 
   
Due to inflation, risk-free assets (such as bank savings, treasury bills and short-term CDs), lose purchasing power over time even as the total number of dollars increases.

  
 
   
‘Risky’ assets, such as stocks, offer the only investment opportunities that, over long periods of time, can outpace inflation and increase real wealth.

  
 
   
An investment framework and systematic processes are needed to keep investment decision-making rational  and not driven by emotion.

  
 
   
Long-term investing is too important to people’s lives to be left to the whims of a ‘professional’ stock picker or market timer  who might have an off day (or year).
  
 


About this time, I also began to realize that investors were not being well served by their financial services professionals. Most financial advisors promote stock selection and market timing acumen as the keys to successful investing. In addition, commission-based advisors are driven to generate commissions at the expense of typical client goals of wealth creation or capital preservation.

I decided that a new financial services firm was needed. This new firm would be built on a foundation of business and investment principles which place the interests of the client first. The culmination of these experiences and insights was the enlightened approach to investing and the creation of an investment advisory firm based on the following principles:

  
     
  Business Principles:  
     
 
1.
As an independent registered investment advisor, Post Asset Management LLC is legally bound to place the interests of our clients ahead of our own. This fiduciary standard is a higher ethical standard than what is required of major brokerage employees. We believe a fiduciary relationship is the appropriate standard when offering investment advice.
  
       
 
2.
Our only compensation comes from asset-based fees paid directly by our clients. We accept no commissions of any kind  or  compensation from other parties. As a result, our only allegiance is to our clients and our interests are aligned.
 
     
  Investment Principles:  
     
  1.
Markets are efficient. For investment purposes, market prices are good estimates of fair value. The use of strategies which attempt to “beat the market,” on average, reduce investor returns.

  
  2.
Risk and return are related. Over time, investment returns are commensurate with market risk. Individual security risk (non-market risk) is not compensated.

  
  3.
Portfolio performance is primarily a result of the asset allocation decision. The portfolio structure (choice of asset class, such as equity and fixed income, and the percentage of the portfolio invested in each) is the key determinant of long-run  returns. In contrast, the  impact of stock selection and market timing on performance is negligible

  
  4.
There is no such thing as a free lunch (but diversification comes close). 
Asset allocation reduces portfolio risk and can also increase returns.

  
  5.
Fully diversified portfolios should include all major investable assets.
To maximize  the diversification effect, portfolios should include a variety of asset types (equity/fixed  income/ real estate/ hard assets), across different areas of the  world (U.S./ Europe/ Asia/ Emerging Markets),  with various capitalization sizes (large/small) and valuations (value/growth).

  
  6.
Discipline is the essential quality for successful investing. Emotion, ego, and overconfidence all work against investors that strive to stick to a long-term investment plan. Discipline, in the midst of difficult market conditions, allows investors to  receive compensation  commensurate with the risks that have been assumed.