Shepherd Advisor

Shepherd Advisor provides advisory services to individual clients, including high‑net‑worth individuals and retirement plans, through ongoing portfolio management, financial planning, and newly offered pension/401(k) consulting. The firm’s service set covers a range of investment types—mutual funds, fixed income, equities, ETFs, annuities, private placements and venture capital—and it documents client objectives in an Investment Policy Statement for each engagement.

The firm employs a variety of analytic methods (charting, cyclical, fundamental, quantitative, modern portfolio theory, and technical analysis) and may use long‑ and short‑term trading, options and margin strategies as appropriate. Although Shepherd Advisor seeks discretionary authority from clients, the brochure reports that about 89% of its assets under management ($6.075M of $6.85M) are currently managed on a non‑discretionary basis, and clients are required to custody assets at Schwab Institutional.

Distinctive features noted in the brochure include a material affiliation with the insurance business: the firm’s principal is a licensed insurance agent who may receive compensation for insurance and annuity sales, a conflict the firm discloses and documents. The brochure also highlights that pension consulting was recently added, and discloses the principal’s other non‑advisory business activities (about twenty hours per week), which the firm says are conducted so as not to interfere with advisory responsibilities.