Personalized Benchmarking for Investment Success

We believe that using the right benchmark is essential in the portfolio management process. Benchmarking allows you to gauge the relative performance of your portfolio and assess whether you’re on track to meet your investment objectives. However, many investors misunderstand the principles of investing by focusing solely on market indexes, without fully considering both risk and return.


At YZ Financial, we believe your investment portfolio should be built around your unique financial picture, factoring in the specific returns needed to achieve your goals—without taking on unnecessary risks. Success should not be measured against an arbitrary market index but against your personal benchmark.


Our approach focuses on maximizing your after-tax wealth, net of fees, in a way that aligns with your risk tolerance, time horizon, and ultimate financial goals. This personalized perspective ensures your investments are always working towards your definition of financial success.

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our investment management process

Step 1: establishing personal index

Establish your personal index - the benchmark for risk and return expectations that aligns with your investment objectives and risk profile.

Step 2: risk and cost budgeting

Determine what kinds of risks present the best opportunities to meet your personal index and consider potential sources of drag to portfolio, such as fees and taxes. 

Step 3: investing

Select investment vehicles and/or managers. As we select investments, we check back to ensure alignment to your risk and cost budgets.

Step 4: monitoring

To make sure that the portfolio remains on track to meet their goals as planned, we regularly check in on the alignment of the portfolio’s progress and your goals.

how it works

See some common questions and answers below, or contact us

  • Who do you provide this service to?

    In order to properly establish your personal index that serves as a benchmark to measure the success of your portfolio, we must understand your full financial picture and risk profile (the combination of your risk capacity and tolerance.) Therefore, we only provide investment management service to clients that also engage us for financial planning or in our financial fitness program.

  • Are you a fiduciary?

    Yes. We are a Registered Investment Adviser in Virgina and Maryland. In addition, as • CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®)  practitioner, we are required to adhere the highest standards of ethics and fiduciary duty.

  • How do you get paid?

    We are a fee-based advisor. For investment management, investment advisory fees are billed at an annual rate of 1% based on total market value of your accounts/Assets Under Management (AUM). However, the advisory fees are  negotiable for AUM over 2MM.  There are no additional commissions, sales charges or hidden costs. 


    Investment advisory fees are paid quarterly, in advance of each calendar quarter, pursuant to the terms of the investment advisory agreement. Investment advisory fees are based on the market value of assets under management at the end of the prior calendar quarter, independently valued by the Custodian.


    The advisory fees are exclusive of, and in addition to any applicable securities transaction fees, custody fees, and other related costs  which may be incurred by the Client. However, we do not receive any portion of these commissions, fees, and costs.

  • What are your qualifications?

    We are a Registered Investment Adviser in States of Maryland and Virginia. Echo Krisko is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®), Master Planner Advanced Studies™ (MPAS™), and Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor™ (CRPC™) professional. 


    You can also check out our Form ADV.

  • Do you have asset minimum requirement?

    Yes, we do. Our minimum is $100,000 for household aggregated Asset Under Management (AUM,) including employer sponsored retirement accounts, such as 401(k) advised by us.

  • What is included in investment management?

    You will receive ongoing guidance and service, which can include:

    • Establish personal index
    • Setting investment goals
    • Risk profiling
    • Investment strategies
    • Reseach and analysis
    • Investment selection
    • Asset allocation
    • ongoing moitoring
    • periodic trading and rebalancing
    • Annual portfolio review 

  • What investment vehicles do you use?

    It all depends on individual investment objectives. Here are some examples of the investment vehicles we use in our client's portfolios:

    • Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
    • Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs)
    • Mutual Funds (MFs)
    • Closed End Funds (CEFs)
    • Structured Products
    • Alternatives

  • Who is your custodian?

    Charles Schwab serves as the independent custodian for our clients. We entrust Charles Schwab for its industry experience, technology and innovation, and low cost for our clients.

  • Can you help manage my active 401(k)?

    With new technology powered by Pontera, we can proactively manage, monitor and trade on behalf of you for your held-away employer sponsored retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s. Studies have shown the shortcomings for investors managing their own 401(k)s. They conclude that having professional management on these accounts can generate 3% better performance each year net of fees.


    The fee to manage these accounts will be the same as your directly managed assets with us. Please contact us for more information.

  • How do I get started?

    To get started, please first schedule a 30-minute complimentary consultation to determine whether we are good fit and the steps to move forward.


    Schedule A Free Consultation

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