Model Portfolios

Portfolio Investments

MSTC Lighthouse Portfolios™ are total return portfolios and may invest in, but not be limited to, stocks, bonds, money market, ETFs, mutual funds, notes, SMAs, indexes, and UITs and REITs with active secondary markets. The base portfolio is primarily made up of equities, primarily of moderate growth potential, providing both income and capital appreciation potential. The portfolio will be diversified globally, employing a variety of asset classes.

Variations

The automatic allocation of the base portfolio has approximately 5% invested in cash. There are 10 variations of this model portfolio for investors based on their short-term liquidity and tax needs, and concern with market volatility. Adjustments will be made to the money market investments to account for the client’s specific liquidity and income needs.

The portfolio variations are as follows: (Percentages are approximate)

• MSTC Lighthouse Portfolios™ Base Model
• MSTC Lighthouse Portfolios™ 10% Fixed Income Taxable
• MSTC Lighthouse Portfolios™ 10% Fixed Income Tax Advantaged
• MSTC Lighthouse Portfolios™ 20% Fixed Income Taxable
• MSTC Lighthouse Portfolios™ 20% Fixed Income Tax Advantaged
• MSTC Lighthouse Portfolios™ 30% Fixed Income Taxable
• MSTC Lighthouse Portfolios™ 30% Fixed Income Tax Advantaged
• MSTC Lighthouse Portfolios™ Income Focus
• MSTC Lighthouse Portfolios™ 50/50 Taxable
• MSTC Lighthouse Portfolios™ 50/50 Tax Advantaged

Distributions

All distributions from these portfolios will be cash, which will allow for a different type of reinvestment. The client will have the opportunity for liquidity and flexibility in order to help identify market opportunities and diversify the portfolios for further value. The client may withdraw available cash distributions or opt to leave them in the account for the Investment Committee to invest, at its discretion, in new positions as opportunities arise.

Fees

In order to have a more transparent pricing structure, there aren’t any commissions, annual maintenance fees or IRA maintenance fees charged to the investor.

Investment Philosophy

These model portfolios are managed by an Investment Committee at Midwestern Securities Trading Company, LLC made up of a team of financial advisors within nearly 100 years of combined experience in the financial services industry. They choose investments for the portfolio and variations based on an investment policy that operates on the tenants that:

• Investors are risk averse. The only acceptable risk is that which is adequately compensated by potential portfolios returns.
• The design of the portfolio as a whole is more important than the selection of any particular security within the portfolio. The appropriate allocation of capital among asset classes (stocks, bonds, cash, etc.) will have far more influence on long term portfolio results than the selection of individual securities. Investing for the long-term (preferably longer than 10 years) becomes critical to investment success because it allows the long-term characteristics of the asset classes to surface.
• For a given risk level, an optimal combination of asset classes will maximize returns. Diversification helps reduce investment volatility. The proportional mix of asset classes determines the long-term risk and return characteristics of the portfolio as a whole.
• Portfolio risk can be decreased by increasing diversification of the portfolio and by lowering the correlation of market behavior among the asset classes selected.

The Investment Committee

The Investment Committee will choose Investment Managers for the funds based on the following criteria:

• Past performance, considered relative to other investments having the same investment objective. Consideration shall be given to both performance rankings over various time frames and consistency of performance.
• Dividend history.
• Costs relative to other funds with like objectives and investment styles.
• The manager’s adherence to investment style and size objectives.
• Size of the proposed mutual fund.
• Length of time the fund has been in existence and length of time it has been under the direction of the current manager(s) and whether or not there have been material changes in the managers organization and personnel.
• The historical volatility and downside risk of  each proposed investment.
• How well each proposed investment complements other assets in the portfolio.
• The current economic environment.
• Long-term economic trends.