By Tom Bradley

In the Globe column we posted on Saturday, I referred to building an investment firm on three pillars – investment philosophy, people and business practices. If you have a consistent investment approach and a stable, high-quality team, you have something clients can latch on to. If they come to the firm for those three reasons, and they receive good long-term returns, the firm will be successful.

The one pillar I didn’t elaborate on was ‘business philosophy’. While it wasn’t relevant to the piece, it is very important.

In the column, I referenced my time as an institutional portfolio manager at PH&N. We became one of the largest pension fund managers because of our investment approach and people, but we also won a ton of business, and retained it, because of how we ran our business. Clients appreciated the way we worked with them and were attracted by the fact that the firm was employee-owned.

At Steadyhand, our business practices are also at the core of what we’re all about. The way we operate is significantly different from what our clients can get elsewhere.

In a nutshell, it all comes down to a few self-centered questions. Is this the way we want our money managed? Is this who we want doing it? Is this the way we want to be serviced, charged and communicated to?

Call us selfish, but the answers to those questions shape how we run our business.

• A significant percentage of our wealth (80%) is invested in the funds and the firm.
  
• We offer a simple, streamlined line-up of funds.
  
• We charge low fees, which we reduce based on loyalty and portfolio size.
  
• We report clearly on performance and fees, and communicate candidly about all aspects of our business.
• And the most important thing we do is offer our clients a steady hand by way of our advice, fund management and communications.

Our business practices are a little old school, and yet surprisingly, they’re unique in the wealth management industry. That’s because we’re independent, empathetic and most importantly, we’re investors.