Niehaus Liberty Investing, LLC
2600 Tenth Street
Suite 607
Berkley, CA 94710
Performance
Since Niehaus Liberty opened February 27, 2006, Niehaus Liberty clients have outpaced the S&P 500 by a significant margin. The majority of client portfolios hold diversified stocks in long positions, but there are also significant holdings in bonds, a small percentage of stock options, and some cash equivalents.
The following table measures the performance of all Niehaus Liberty client accounts since February 27, 2006 versus the time-weighted S&P 500 return over the same period (pro bono accounts are not included in the performance data). The Niehaus Liberty Clients' return is adjusted for all fees charged by Niehaus Liberty. The S&P 500 is an index of 500 widely held blue-chip stocks; it is the most common benchmark used to gauge market performance and must be time-weighted whenever it is compared to investments with fluctuating cost bases.
The performance as of December 30, 2011:
- Niehaus Liberty Clients 73.82%
- S&P 500 -2.81%
*Past performance, of course, does not guarantee future success.
Aram S. Durphy, J.D.
Aram Durphy is Niehaus Liberty's portfolio manager and principal. Mr. Durphy earned his BA as a Regents Scholar, graduating with honors from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2000. He received his JD in 2003 from the University of California, Davis School of Law. In law school, he was awarded the prestigious Downey Brand Scholarship in 2002.
Prior to founding Niehaus Liberty, Mr. Durphy practiced complex litigation as a consumer protection attorney for the nationally recognized firm Bramson, Plutzik, Mahler & Birkhaeuser, LLP. In 2006, he left Bramson Plutzik to start his own investment management firm in San Francisco. In 2009, he moved the business to Berkeley.
About Niehaus Liberty Investing
Niehaus Liberty built its investing philosophy on Benjamin Graham's advice in The Intelligent Investor. Mr. Graham was Warren Buffet's professor at Columbia University, and is considered the grandfather of value investing. His philosophy holds that one should buy companies that have excellent management, strong underlying financials, and, for one reason or another, are currently ignored by Wall Street.
Most investors frequently make two key mistakes: they are too active and they react to market events. The top investors identify and buy the best companies within the most attractive sectors and make adjustments to a portfolio only when something fundamental occurs. Fundamental events would include strategic or management changes at the company, or events that impact the entire sector.
Unfortunately, the incentives for most money managers or brokers are not aligned with their customers: there are either incentives to trade actively (commissions), sell proprietary products which have hidden costs and are not efficient (e.g. mutual funds, complicated structured products), or sell stocks of companies with which their bank has a relationship (i.e., they are not neutral).
Niehaus Liberty is an independent Fee-Only investment adviser, eschews mutual funds, and maintains no relationships that conflict with the interests of its clients.
I look forward to talking to you about your financial needs.
Please be aware that Niehaus Liberty Investing, LLC has a portfolio minimum of $250,000 to accept inquiries through this directory.
