AGG ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC is a registered investment advisory firm. The firm operates in the state of California, headquartered in Westlake Village. The firm provides asset management services primarily for individuals and business entities, both for qualified and non-qualified assets.

AGG Asset Management, LLC also provides individual analysis and assessments on pre-existing investment positions for a fee. Capital preservation and liquidity are primary objectives in managing client assets, while also providing for income and long term growth.

PHILOSOPHY

The philosophy of AGG Asset Management, LLC takes the macro economic environment into consideration. The firm believes that the investment environment today is vastly different than from prior decades.

The evolvement of volatility, within a tapestry of international variables, has created an environment flush with uncertainty, but also with opportunity.

NEWS UPDATES

Benefits of Stock Dividends During Market Volatility - Financial Planning

As interest rates have dropped over the past eight years, investors seeking income sought out the benefits of stock dividends. Companies with healthy cash flows and steady earnings tend to pay consistent dividends to shareholders. Such dividends offer a stream of income usually paid out on a quarterly basis while also offering the opportunity for long-term capital appreciation from the price of the underlying stock.

During periods of increased market volatility, dividends act as a buffer against the uncertainty of companies’ earnings and a changing economic environment. Dividend paying stocks tend to be largely held by institutions and pension plans seeking consistent income in addition to conservative long-term growth.

Management becomes more accountable with dividends since a reliable stream of cash flow and earnings is essential in order to maintain consistent dividend payouts. Companies may also tend to increase their dividend payouts as their earnings and cash flow increases, acting as a hedge against inflationary pressures.

Historically, stocks termed as value companies that have reached their growth cycle tend to be dividend payers, versus growth companies that would rather reinvest their cash back into their companies for further growth. Over the past few years, the amount of cash accumulated by companies after paying all debt and operating expenses has increased, allowing some growth companies, such as those in the technology sector, to pay dividends to stock holders.

Many investors have found that a balance between dividend paying stocks and interest paying bonds tends to generate consistent and reliable income streams, and with conservative growth.

Source: S&P, Bloomberg, Dow Jones

Personal Savings Rate Indicates Consumer Sentiment - Consumer Behavior

Federal Reserve data show that the average consumer checking account balance, a measure of consumer personal savings, has increased in 23 of the past 30 quarters.

Recent data from December 2017 through March 2018, illustrates an increase in the savings rate to 3.1% of disposable personal income as of March 2018. Economists view this increase as a possible pause in economic growth until consumers feel more confident about spending.

The Federal Reserve defines the personal savings rate as a percentage of disposable personal income (DPI), frequently referred to as “the personal saving rate,” and is calculated as the ratio of personal saving to DPI. Personal saving is equal to personal income less personal outlays and personal taxes.

Historically, Americans tend to save more as economic times become more difficult, and tend to spend during prosperous periods. Past slow downs such as in the mid 1970s and the early 1980s saw an increase in the savings rate, a barometer of consumer sentiment. The expansion during the mid-to-late 1990s saw a gradual drop in savings, as consumers spent more confidently as their incomes rose.

Sources: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PSAVERT

PROCESS

Given that the number of publicly traded stocks exceeds 10,000 companies, an effective idea generation process is essential. We use both formulaic screening and ideas from our extensive investment network. Formulaic screening utilizes many different metrics and reports are created frequently.

Once an idea is generated, the fundamental in-depth research begins. This involves financial statement analysis, competitive positioning, industry analysis, historical performance and return on capital analysis. Finding what we believe to be a quality business is often harder than it appears, as deceptive accounting, or misleading market share statistics might take a forensic approach or feet on the street activity to get the real story.

The fundamental research leads to valuation work which involves a multivariate discounted cash flow process which is supplemented by additional valuation techniques to arrive at a cluster of values. From that range we obtain our aforementioned intrinsic value for the business. The last step involves a review of executive management and the Board of Directors in terms of experience, past executive decisions, history of capital allocation and executive compensation. 

Preservation of Capital is Paramount

Downside risk is often considered one of the most crucial elements of stock selection. You win in both investing and sports by avoiding frequent and big mistakes. This is achieved by paying the correct price for the security, in other words, buying it at a discount to its intrinsic value. Equally important is doing comprehensive fundamental research on the company to avoid major investing pitfalls.

Internally Generated Research

Most of our research is done internally, free of Wall Street biases and short-term focus. Research efforts based on quarterly results and someone else's expectations is usually not a productive use of an analysts time and can be detrimental to the long-term focus that is often necessary for successful investment performance.

Contrarian Approach

Following a disciplined value oriented philosophy involves a great deal of contrarian thought. Pragmatically this means that one will often be selling when the crowd is buying and buying when the masses are selling. However, those willing to follow this path have often earned the best investment returns over time.

A Long-Term Time Horizon

This is an essential concept for our investors. A concentrated portfolio and the practice of buying out of favor stocks can result in monthly or quarterly volatility and underperformance. Although a long-term time horizon means different things to different people, we believe a minimum of two to three years is required to recognize the performance benefits of this style of investing.

SOLUTIONS

Capital preservation and liquidity are key objectives in managing client assets. The question is not what the investment return is, but rather how much volatility you are willing to accept. Greater volatility over the long run can erode total returns and lengthen investment objective timelines. Because of this phenomenon, active management of volatility exposure and risk is essential in all portfolios that we manage.

OUR SOLUTIONS INCLUDE:

• Current Income (taxable and tax free)
• Income with Long Term Growth
• Long Term Growth

All portfolios are tailored to the needs and circumstances of each client, and are created uniquely.

ANALYSIS

A complete and comprehensive portfolio analysis allows for the identification of unnecessary exposure to various dynamics such as: 

• Market volatility 
• Fundamentally distressed debt
• Municipal uncertainty 
• Rising interest rates
• Tax law changes 
• Concentrated positions

Allow us to examine and assess your current portfolio for suggestions to better accommodate your long-term objectives.

OFFICE