How We Are Different
NS Capital was built from scratch so we did not inherit any of the industry’s legacy issues or conflicts. Everything we offer was developed and paid for using our own resources.
NS Capital was formed to address specific problems that are endemic in financial services:
- Lack of independent and objective research
- Biased portfolio construction
- Conflicts of interest
- Pricing, and the lack of transparency
Fiduciary Advice, No Conflicts & Asset Safety
Fiduciary Advice - A fiduciary is a trustee and must act for the benefit of their client in a financial relationship, not for their own personal gain. What does this mean to you?
When you hire a fiduciary, they are legally obligated to act in your best interests, which means they cannot parlay their position of trust for personal profit. Fiduciaries must demonstrate all compensation is fair and reasonable for the level of services provided.
What is a Registered Investment Advisor? RIAs are Independent fiduciary Advisors who have a legal duty of loyalty and good faith to act solely in the interest of clients. RIAs who are “fee only” receive direct fee compensation from their clients and no one else.
What is a Registered Representative? RRs, although they may use the name advisor are actually employees of a financial services company. RRs and the firms they work for are held to a suitability standard which does not include a legal requirement to disclose whether there are conflicts of interest and/or whether there is a better product available at a lower charge. RRs and the firms they work for most often have no fiduciary duty to clients. RRs generally receive commissions and often undisclosed indirect compensation by acting as an agent selling the products of the firm they work for.
No Conflicts or Hidden Costs - NS Capital’s only compensation is the fully disclosed fees for the services provided to our clients. At NS Capital, we have no affiliations or financial arrangements with third parties that might distort our objectivity or present any conflicts of interest. Our sole commitment is to serve each client’s interest at a fair price.
Asset Safety - Our clients’ assets are held with our independent third-party custodian, TCharles Schwab. The SEC requires that these institutions be audited annually by independent auditors. Charles Schwab, Inc. is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).
NS Capital does not have access to the money in your account. We have a limited power of attorney to do only three things:
-
Supervise and make trades in client portfolios with discretionary authority
-
Request that the independent custodian send a check to a client or to the client’s bank
-
Be paid a mutually-agreed upon quarterly fee from the account (can also be invoiced)
We have no other access or authority.
Key People
Louis Cameron Day
Senior Managing Director
-
Who is NS Capital LLC?NS Capital is a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) currently operating out of Stamford, CT and Sarasota, FL. All professional investment advisory firms are required to register with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and/or the State(s) in which the firm conducts business. RIAs are different from brokerage firms, banks, and insurance companies in that they are governed by the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 which requires a higher level of fiduciary responsibility than these firms which are held only to suitability, not fiduciary, standards.
-
How is NS Capital different?NS Capital is distinguished by its portfolio structure, asset management quality, unbiased manager selection process, transparency and pricing.
-
How does NS Capital make money?NS Capital is a Fee-Only RIA, which aligns our financial interests directly with the interests of our clients. We believe that for our target market, our fees are among the most competitive in the industry. We achieve this by passing on the many cost benefits derived from eliminating middle men and leveraging the scale our organization creates. Furthermore, we accept no commissions or 12b-1 fees, and have no conflicts of interest of any kind, evidenced by the fact that all fees and costs are “fully transparent”.
-
Why are fees so important?Simply stated, every $1 paid in fees is a $1 less in your investment return, and more importantly, $1 less that is compounding over time. During the Bull Market after the financial crisis, everyone benefited from outsized equity returns that were well above the industry averages. If you were receiving 20% returns, paying 2% to 3% in fees didn’t seem too bad. But when things revert to the mean, fees can take a huge bite out of returns. The question every investor has to ask themselves going forward is -- Am I receiving value for the fees I’m paying? Going forward, whether or not you are receiving value for the fees you’re paying could be the most critical component of your investment returns.
-
How do I know my assets are safe?Our client's assets are held by third party custodians. The SEC requires that custodians be audited on a yearly basis by independent auditors. SIPC Protection Charles Schwab, Inc. is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Securities in your account are protected up to $500,000. For details, please see www.sipc.org. To learn more about SIPC coverage, go to www.sipc.org. For more information about FDIC deposit insurance, visit www.fdic.gov. FDIC insurance Certificates of Deposit (CDs) purchased through Charles Schwab are issued by banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). In addition, cash in your account can be held in a Charles Schwab FDIC Insured Deposit Account (IDA). Balances in an IDA are held at Charles Schwab Bank, N.A., where they are insured by the FDIC against bank failure for up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank. Each bank will have separate FDIC coverage of up to $250,000 per depositor for up to $500,000 total per IDA depositor. Additionally, NS Capital carries Errors and Omissions insurance.
-
Does anyone at NS Capital have access to my money?No one at NS Capital has access to the money in your account. We have a limited power of attorney to do only three things: 1) supervise and make trades in client portfolios with discretionary authority, 2) request that Charles Schwab send a check to a client or to the client’s bank and 3) be paid a mutually-agreed upon quarterly fee from the account. We have no other access or authority.
-
Is my personal and financial information secure?You can be confident about the safeguards we employ to protect your personal privacy. We hold all the information you share with us in the strictest confidence, and we run the latest security encryption methods and firewalls to protect computer data.
-
What is your minimum account size?We have no set minimums. We serve a wide range of clients from milennial investors just starting out, to wealthy families and endowments.
-
What are your advisory fees?NS Capital’s fees include advisory services, independent manager research, selection and monitoring, asset management, portfolio accounting and reporting, independent reconciliation and verification of accounts and administration. Our total advisory fees range from 0.15% to 1.00% depending on the NS Capital Portfolio employed.
-
Are there any other costs?Yes, there are trading costs paid directly to TD Ameritrade Institutional who is the institutional broker-dealer that maintains custody of our client accounts. TD Ameritrade Institutional is paid a commission for transactions conducted in the accounts based on the type and frequency of the securities bought and sold. That said, NS Portfolio strategies are generally low turn-over so you can expect these costs to be modest. Neither NS Capital nor any of the money managers we employ receive any compensation from trading commissions. There are no incentives to trade in an account other than to keep a portfolio in line with its investment strategy.
-
What reports do I receive?You will receive a monthly individual account statement from TD Ameritrade Institutional, a year-end summary statement, consolidated 1099 tax forms and Form 5498 IRA contribution information. In addition, NS Capital produces a quarterly Performance Report which is available by email.
-
How can I learn more about NS Capital?Just give us a call, 866-676-6002. One of our Investment Advisers will gladly spend some time to learn more about your unique situation.
-
What would be my first step?For individuals the first step in our process is a Portfolio X-Ray, our proprietary analytical tool which looks at the structure of your portfolio. This analysis will help you to evaluate both the holdings and the structure of your current portfolio. One of the goals is to determine if the fees you’re paying are commensurate to the value you’re receiving by having your assets managed. There is no cost or obligation of any kind to complete the analysis. For 401(k) Sponsors the first step in our process is a 401(k) X-Ray, our independent benchmark analysis of your plan design, fees, investments, and services - intendend to aid in fiduciary decision making. There is no cost or obligation of any kind to complete the analysis.