In the News


News Release
October 2007

A winning formula at first anniversary of Archstone Portfolio Solutions: $1 billion, a new book, and conflict-free, senior-level investment consulting services for endowments, foundations, retirement plans, affluent families

Twelve months ago, in October 2006, senior investment professionals Alex. Fisher and Glenn Ross pooled their talents and 30 years of experience to introduce a combination of capabilities with a high probability of success for investment programs, launched as "Archstone Portfolio Solutions":  A fresh business model that melds savvy and science in portfolio surveillance, investment strategy design, manager search, and fiduciary education, demands a commitment to objectivity, and delivers with entrepreneurial energy. 
 
Flanked by strategic alliances with industry leaders such as Summit Strategies Group and a National Advisory Council of industry heavyweights, Fisher’s and Ross’s formula has attracted $1 billion under advisement and a client roster that includes the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, The Walters Art Museum, The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, and The Wilderness Society. 
 
Fisher and Ross have captured the attention of nationally prominent investment professionals, now mobilized as the "National Advisory Council", Archstone Portfolio’s board of advisors.  Members of the Council include Hewson Baltzell, president and co-founder of Innovest, an internationally recognized investment research and advisory firm, which was the subject of a January 29, 2007 cover story in Business Week. Baltzell is regarded as a leader in corporate sustainability research, or "socially responsible investing".   
 
Alex. Fisher explains the need met by Archstone Portfolio Solutions:

"We carefully developed the business model over a half-dozen years to respond to the groundswell of need in the middle market for in-depth analysis of investment policy, portfolio structure, performance, and manager selection, as investors are challenged to diversify across a broader range of asset classes -- all the while working feverishly to manage costs and increase yields in a climate of deepening funding challenges and muted returns."

 
Glenn Ross is co-author of newly published, How to Select Investment Managers & Evaluate Performance: A Guide for Pension Funds, Endowments, Foundations, and Trusts (Wiley & Sons, October 2007), a guide to assist trustees with managing their fiduciary responsibilities.  The book is part of bestseller, The Frank J. Fabozzi Series, a key resource for finance professionals, academics, strategists, students, and investors, comprising over 100 titles.  Frank J. Fabozzi, PhD, CFA, CPA, is Professor in the Practice of Finance at Yale University’s School of Management and is Editor of the Journal of Portfolio Management.
 
Wiley & Sons presents Ross’s new book as:

"… one of the very few of its kind … an invaluable aid to trustees of pension plans, endowments, and trusts who seek to chart and navigate courses for governing and overseeing the investment of the trillions of dollars under their care.  It covers many aspects of this essential endeavor, including return measures, fixed income and duration, manager searches, committee meetings, and much more."  (Wiley & Sons 2007).