Mark W. Petro, AIF® is an experienced portfolio manager, with more than 20 years of investment management, portfolio building and asset allocation experience. Mark has carefully navigated client investments through three economic recessions -- the US economic recession of 2001-2003, the 2008 stock market crash, and the Covid Crisis of 2020. Mark generally approaches investment management by utilizing what he considers an “active” approach to portfolio management. As such, Mark will consider increasing risk assets to client portfolios during more favorable market/economic conditions, and reducing and/or hedging risk assets within portfolios when market turbulence/economic conditions warrant a more cautious investment approach. Lakeland Investor Services, Inc. offers “discretionary” advisory services, and Mark communicates his views and portfolio recommendations directly with his investment clients when making portfolio shifts, encouraging client feedback and open discussion of investment objectives.

 

Fund Selection and Cost Considerations

Mark’s investment management is tailored to each client uniquely and each investment account seperately. Investment portfolios are built using a combination of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs) and cash equivalents. Investment diversification is targeted across asset types (equities, fixed income, cash, commodities, etc.), stock sectors, world regions (domestic, international, emerging markets, etc.), equity styles (growth/value, large/mid/small caps) and fixed income styles (short/mid/long term bonds, high/mid/low quality bond ratings). Portfolios are constructed and benchmarked based on each client’s investment growth needs, tolerance for investment risk, and time horizon for future access to fund investments. Fund selection involves a multi-faceted process of screening funds while giving high consideration to overall portfolio cost structure (fund level expenses), key Modern Portfolio Theory investment performance measures (Sharpe Ratios, Standard Deviations, Alpha, Beta, etc.), reviewing each funds’ Morningstar™ Rating*,  and considering account level custodial transaction costs.   

* The Morningstar Rating™ for funds, often called the star rating, is a purely quantitative, backward-looking measure of a fund's past performance, measured from one to five stars. Star ratings are calculated at the end of every month. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

 

Client Access

Lakeland’s custodial and technology platform has been carefully selected to provide for transparency within the advisor/client relationship. Lakeland partners primarily with Schwab Advisor Services™ which provides custody, trading, and support services through Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. ("Schwab"), member SIPC, to independent investment advisors*. Schwab is a leading discount broker and provides account holders with access to robust and low-cost discounted brokerage services, including access to thousands of mutual funds/ETF’s, stocks, and fixed income investments. Schwab offers highly committed customer support services to Lakeland's clients and access to independent third-party research, educational resources, and planning tools. Clients have the ability to choose how they prefer to receive their account statements, either via direct mail or online through a secure client account access technology. Lakeland additionally utilizes a hand-selected suite of financial planning and financial services technology solutions to provide advanced client advisory engagements, offering secure convenience when collaborating with the advisor on financial planning goals and/or investment performance outcomes. 

* Schwab Advisor Services™ and Lakeland Investor Services, Inc. are independent entities and are not affiliated with one another. The information, products, and services provided by Schwab Advisor Services™ are not endorsed or guaranteed by Lakeland Investor Services, Inc. and vice versa. Each firm operates independently and is solely responsible for its own content, services, and regulatory compliance. This disclosure is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer or solicitation of services by either firm. Clients are encouraged to conduct their own due diligence and consult with their legal, tax or financial advisors regarding their specific situation. 

 

Quarterly Portfolio Performance Reporting

Lakeland now offers the firm's clients quarterly account & household performance reporting. Quarterly performance reports provide a summary of each account's periodic performance and details each portfolio's asset allocation, components of change, cumulative performance, and compares each account's performance against a comparative target risk benchmark index that is appropriate given the investor's tolerance for risk and time frame for investing. Performance against broader market-based indexes are shown as well. Lakeland is committed to driving portfolio performance that is relevant to each client's unique investor risk/reward profile.   

 

Customized Income Strategies: Portfolios Built for Steady Income  

Investors often have need for periodic cash distributions from their investment portfolios -- to enhance monthly income streams for meeting their month-by-month living expenses, or to meet Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from IRA's and other qualified retirement plans. Lakeland assesses each client's need for income streams and builds customized investment portfolios tailored to an investor’s specific distribution planning circumstances, providing steady portfolio income that can be directly deposited into an investor’s bank account on a regular basis -- steady cash flows to help meet your monthly income planning needs. 

 

IRA Rollovers and Other Considerations 

Investors who have accumulated retirement investments through employer-sponsored retirement plans have many questions to consider -- Should I rollover or keep the funds inside my employer plan? How much income can I safely distribute from my retirement account?  How much income tax will I owe after taking account distributions? Should I consider an annuity? Does it make sense for me to complete a Roth Conversion? These are a few of the more pressing questions facing retirees that Lakeland Investor Services, Inc. will help you sort through. Roth conversions, charitable gifting strategies, annuity strategies and beneficiary designation planning are all important factors for retirees to address. Lakeland approaches investment management from a client-centric, wealth advisory and financial planning perspective, whereby each investor’s long-term investment necessities are carefully considered to help determine the need and timing of any advanced wealth management strategies. 

 

Collaboration with CPA’s, Accountants and Estate Attorneys

Investors often have need for their investment advisor to collaborate with CPA’s/tax accountants and estate attorneys to provide information necessary to advance the client’s tax and estate initiatives. Lakeland welcomes such collaboration and helps to provide important account-related documents to the client's tax professional during tax filing time. Lakeland will also prepare documents for estate planning meetings with a client's estate attorney -- beneficiary designations, wealth accumulation projections and gifting/charitable strategies -- and will gladly attend scheduled meetings with a client family’s estate attorney if requested. Professional collaboration is always a welcomed arrangement with Lakeland Investor Services, Inc.   

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