When it comes to investing, the most exciting stories often make the worst strategies. At Amplius Wealth Advisors, we believe that sustainable wealth is built on principles that might not make headlines, but they work.
Matt Liebman, one of our founding partners, recently shared insights into the core investment philosophy that guides our approach to wealth management. If you’re looking for get-rich-quick schemes or hot stock tips, this isn’t it. But if you want to understand what actually drives long-term investment success, keep reading.
The Cocktail Party Theory
Picture this: You’re at a social gathering, and the conversation turns to investments. Someone enthusiastically shares how they picked the perfect stock that “went to the moon” or how they perfectly timed the market right before a crash.
Sounds impressive, right?
Here’s the truth: Most of these stories are exaggerated at best, and completely fabricated at worst. More importantly, even when they’re true, they represent strategies that are nearly impossible to replicate consistently over time.
Now imagine a different conversation at that same gathering. You mention that you worked with your advisory team to develop a financial plan built around your goals, created an asset allocation strategy to help achieve those goals, and monitor it regularly. By the end of that explanation, you’ve probably lost your audience.
But here’s what matters: The boring approach is the one that actually works.
Principle #1: Asset Allocation Is Everything
The most important investment decision you’ll ever make isn’t which stock to buy or when to jump in and out of the market. It’s your asset allocation—how you divide your money among stocks, bonds, cash, and alternative investments.
While the financial press, individual investors, and even many advisors obsess over market timing and security selection, academic research tells a different story. Studies consistently show that 80-90% of the variability in long-term investment returns is determined by asset allocation, not by which specific investments you choose or when you buy and sell them.
Think about it logically: You could have the greatest investor in history managing your stock portfolio. But if stocks only represent 5% of your total wealth, even spectacular performance won’t significantly impact your financial life.
Conversely, during downturns like the 2008 financial crisis or the 2022 rate spike, if you had 90-95% of your wealth in stocks, it almost didn’t matter which stocks you owned—you were going to experience substantial losses. Whether those losses were acceptable depends entirely on your financial plan and goals, but the point remains: Your overall exposure to different asset classes drives your returns far more than individual security selection.
This is why we emphasize what we call the “balanced, boring approach” to investing. We focus on what actually matters to your financial success, not what makes for exciting dinner conversation.
Principle #1A: Investor Behavior Makes or Breaks Your Plan
Even the most perfectly designed asset allocation strategy can fail if you can’t stick with it. That’s why investor behavior is equally critical—we consider it principle 1A.
Over your investing lifetime, which could span 20, 50, or even 80 years, you will almost certainly face ugly markets. Stock market crashes. Bond market turbulence. Commodity crises. These events are inevitable.
Here’s what we’ve observed time and time again:
Investors who panic and sell during downturns typically fail to reach their financial goals. They lock in losses and miss the subsequent recovery.
Investors who hold steady and ride it out usually achieve satisfactory outcomes. They maintain their allocation and trust their plan.
Investors who have the discipline to buy during market distress often thrive. They take advantage of opportunities when others are fearful.
At Amplius, our goal is to position our clients to be either holders or buyers during difficult markets—never panic sellers.
How We Help You Maintain Good Investor Behavior
Maintaining discipline during market turbulence is simple to describe but challenging to execute. We support our clients in two essential ways:
1. Building a Sensible Financial Plan
Everything starts with a comprehensive financial plan tailored to your unique situation: your financial goals, risk tolerance, cash flow needs, and time horizon. Our financial planning team works closely with clients to create plans that serve as their North Star during both calm and stormy markets.
When you have a plan built around your specific circumstances, you’re far more likely to stay the course when markets get volatile. You can look at the turbulence and ask, “Does this change my long-term goals?” Usually, the answer is no.
2. Providing Trusted Guidance When It Matters Most
The second piece is having an advisory team you trust. When markets turn ugly or life throws you a curveball, you need someone to call—someone who understands your situation, knows your plan, and can help you make rational decisions when emotions run high.
Whether through a phone call, an in-person meeting, or a video conference, having that trusted relationship can be the difference between making a decision you’ll regret and staying on track toward your goals.
Beyond the Core Principles
While disciplined asset allocation and solid investor behavior form the foundation of our investment philosophy, they’re not the complete picture. Two additional elements deserve attention:
Keeping Investment Fees Reasonable: Excessive fees can significantly erode returns over time. We’re mindful of costs and work to ensure you’re getting value for what you pay.
Tax Efficiency: It’s not just about what you earn—it’s about what you keep. We help clients manage their investments in the most tax-efficient manner possible, so more of their wealth stays in their hands and less goes to the government.
The Bottom Line
Our investment philosophy at Amplius Wealth Advisors won’t win any awards for excitement. You won’t have dramatic stories to share at cocktail parties. But you will have something far more valuable: a disciplined, evidence-based approach designed to help you achieve your financial goals over your lifetime.
We believe in focusing on what you can control—your asset allocation, your behavior, your fees, and your tax efficiency—rather than trying to predict the unpredictable or chase performance.
If you’re interested in learning more about how our investment philosophy can be applied to your unique financial situation, we invite you to reach out. Our team is here to help you build a plan that’s designed not to be exciting, but to work.
About Matthew
Matthew Liebman, CFA®, CRPC™, CAIA®, is the Founding Partner, Chief Executive Officer, and Wealth Advisor at Amplius Wealth Advisors, a registered independent advisory firm in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, helping successful executives, professionals, and multigenerational families solve complex decisions on how to best preserve, sustain, and transfer their wealth. Matt leads the firm’s mission to keep clients at the center of everything they do. With over a decade of experience co-leading The Liebman Marks Group at Merrill Lynch and a background in investment management roles in New York City, Matt brings a wealth of knowledge to his work with high-net-worth families. His proficiency in asset allocation and behavioral finance provides clients with a personalized and strategic approach to pursuing their financial goals.
Matt holds a BBA from Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business, the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor™, CRPC™ certification, and is a CFA® Charterholder and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA®). He is an active member of the CFA Institute, New York Society of Security Analysts, and CAIA Institute. Outside of work, Matt serves on the board of the Anti-Defamation League and the alumni board of the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University. Matt enjoys spending time with his wife, Allison, and their two children, Noah and Lucy, in Haverford, PA. He enjoys reading non-fiction and is an avid sports fan. To learn more about Matt, connect with him on LinkedIn.