FAQ

Matson Money FAQs

If you’ve landed here, you probably have some questions about us.

What is Matson Money? How do independent financial advisors work with Matson Money? Is Matson Money legitimate? How can Matson Money help me achieve my True Purpose for Money®?

 

You’ve come to the right place! Below you’ll find answers to some of the most common questions we receive about Matson Money. If you have a question about something else, please feel free to reach out to connect@matsonmoney.com

What is Matson Money?

Matson Money is a multi-generational Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) founded in 1991 by Mark Matson. Matson Money provides these services through its relationships with independent financial advisors. Matson Money manages funds of funds, adhering to a disciplined, structured investing methodology which integrates Nobel Prize-winning academic investing principles, leading behavioral science, and financial coaching to help investors achieve peace of mind around their financial lives.

Who is Mark Matson?

Mark Matson is the founder and CEO of Matson Money. He is an American entrepreneur, author, and innovator in the fields of investing science and financial education. At Matson Money, he delivers educational experiences that make Nobel Prize-winning investing research accessible to investors, enabling them to transform their relationship with money. He created the firm’s premier investor education event, The American Dream Experience®, and Matson Money’s investing methodology, the Matson Method. To learn more about Mark, you can read his full bio here.

What is the Matson Method?

The Matson Method brings powerful academic investing principles together into a disciplined approach to asset allocation and long-term wealth creation. Engineered to capture market returns, the Matson Method eliminates stock-picking, market-timing, and track-record investing from portfolio management. Matson Money believes that these investment approaches are forms of gambling and are not prudent long-term investing strategies.

Instead, Matson Money advises investors to capture market returns by utilizing asset class or structured funds and broad diversification. Applying Modern Portfolio Theory, the Three Factor Model, and the Efficient Market Hypothesis, Matson Money’s funds invest in thousands of stocks across multiple countries and allocate investments across three broad asset categories: domestic equity, international equity, and fixed income. Matson-advised funds seek to allocate across these broad asset categories by investing in various mutual funds or ETFs. The specific target allocation of each client’s Matson-advised portfolio depends on the individual investor’s risk tolerance and investment horizon and is selected by the client at account opening.

Advisors receive weekly training and support from Matson Money to help them coach their clients in disciplined, prudent investing principles. Both advisors and end investors can benefit from the American Dream Experience, a powerful two-day event that invites participants to consider potentially life-altering truths about the empirical and behavioral dimensions of wealth creation.

How does Matson Money work with advisors?

Many financial advisors prefer to focus their energies on client relationship management, financial planning, and practice growth, and decide to outsource their investment management to Matson Money to improve efficiency and client experiences. All US-based financial advisors work with Matson Money under a master co-advisory agreement, which states that Matson Money oversees the advisement of the assets specifically invested in and allocated among the Matson Funds. Canada-based financial advisors work as portfolio managers with Matson Money being the discretionary money manager.

What is investor coaching?

Investor coaching, or financial coaching, is an indispensable approach used to powerfully develop investors to be disciplined and prudent over a lifetime. A financial coach is more than a traditional financial advisor. Investor coaches dedicate themselves to applying an empirically-tested investing methodology and providing educational opportunities for investors to learn techniques for long-term wealth creation. Learn more about our financial coaching.

Is Matson Money a fiduciary?

Yes, Matson Money is a federally registered investment advisor with the Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and in Canada, Matson is registered as a portfolio manager in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. In both instances, Matson Money has a fiduciary responsibility to client assets invested with us.

Is Matson Money a fiduciary over client assets not invested in Matson Money funds?

Matson Money is a fiduciary for and oversees the advisement of the assets invested in and allocated among the Matson Funds or portfolios. Matson Money does not advise on, is not responsible for, and does not have control of a client’s outside investments or monies.

Can advisors allocate client assets to non-Matson investments?

Yes, financial advisors who work with Matson Money can offer to invest client assets elsewhere. Matson Money is not responsible for any assets held outside of Matson accounts.

Where is my money held?

All investor assets are held in a third-party custodian account. Matson Money does not hold investor assets. Every client receives separate monthly or quarterly account statements from both Matson Money and the independent custodian.

What is a TAMP?

TAMP is short for “turnkey asset management platform.” As a TAMP delivering outsourced investment management, Matson Money offers individual fund offerings to advisors and manages investor money in these funds on a discretionary basis. Advisors who work with Matson Money are outsourcing their investment management to our team, but as a TAMP, we do not have responsibility for the client’s investments outside of our funds.

Is Matson Money legitimate?

Founded over 30 years ago, Matson Money is an investment advisor whose investment philosophy is based on research-based financial and behavioral science. The investing models employed by Matson Money are rooted in economic theory originating from the University of Chicago, especially the Nobel Prize-winning research of Harry Markowitz (who served on Matson Money’s academic board), Eugene Fama, and other leading economists. With thousands of investors and hundreds of advisor coaches, Matson Money has pioneered the investor coaching industry, and is committed to transforming the investing experience.

What is the American Dream Experience?

Matson Money’s American Dream Experience is a two-day educational event for investors and advisors, where attendees encounter clear, potentially life-altering truths about economics and investing while engaging in a profound exploration of their family’s financial future. At the American Dream Experience, both longstanding investors and financial novices can discover the academic science of investing and learn how to apply Nobel Prize-winning investment strategies to their portfolios. These seminars instruct advisors and investors on how to lay the groundwork for long-term wealth creation and help cultivate a lifetime of peace of mind around money. Learn more about the American Dream Experience here.

What does Matson Money mean when it says it helps investors find their “True Purpose for Money?”

Matson Money believes that discovering your True Purpose for Money can transform both your investment experience and your entire life. At the core of our business—including all of the financial education, coaching, and strategies we offer—is an exploration of your purpose. This exploration alone can influence your investment choices and could alter your family’s financial future in ways that go beyond what you imagine possible.

How does Matson Money pick stocks?

Matson Money believes that stock-picking is a form of gambling and not a prudent long-term investing strategy. Instead, Matson Money advises investors to capture market returns by utilizing asset class or structured funds and broad diversification. Matson Money’s funds invest in thousands of stocks across multiple countries and allocate investments across three broad asset categories: domestic equity, international equity, and fixed income. Matson-advised funds seek to allocate across these broad asset categories by investing in various mutual funds or Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). The specific target allocation of each client’s Matson-advised portfolio depends on the individual investor’s risk tolerance and investment horizon and is selected by the client at account opening.

Is it helpful to try to time the market?

In a word, no. Market-timing rests on the assumption that you can predict the future and how the market will react to various events – which no investor or advisor can successfully do. Instead, Matson Money has created an investing approach based on extensive scholarship and Nobel Prize-winning investing science that eliminates stock picking and market-timing from portfolio management. The Matson Method brings powerful academic investing principles together into a disciplined approach to asset allocation and long-term wealth creation. In particular, we integrate Modern Portfolio Theory, the Three Factor Model, and the Efficient Market Hypothesis into client portfolios designed and engineered to capture market returns.

What are the risks of investing with Matson Money?

All investing involves risks and costs. Your advisor can provide you with more information about the risks and costs associated with specific programs. No investing strategy, including asset allocation and diversification strategies, can ensure peace of mind, guarantee profit, or protect against loss.

Matson Money manages client investments utilizing a fund-of-funds strategy. Client accounts are invested in a mix of a proprietary series of mutual funds advised by Matson Money, which allocate investments across three broad asset categories: domestic equity, international equity, and fixed income. Matson-advised funds seek to allocate across these broad asset categories by investing in various mutual funds or ETFs. The specific target allocation of each client’s Matson-advised strategy depends on the individual investor’s risk tolerance and investment horizon and is selected by the client at account opening.

Who does Matson Money clear through?

Matson Money offers investors several choices of custodians, which provide an additional layer of security for their assets. The use of third-party custodians that provide additional reporting on an investor’s investments is an important point of confidence and validation for any investor. The independent custodians have been chosen to provide Matson Money’s clients with essential services at a reasonable cost. Accounts, which are held by the custodians, are covered by Federal (FDIC and SIPC) insurance as well as errors and omissions and fraud insurance coverage.

Who is on Matson Money’s Academic Advisory Board?

Our Academic Advisory Board is made up of individuals who support and exemplify the core values of Matson Money. Each of them is exceptional in their field and brings a new dimension of expertise to our organization. Their areas of study and skill address many different aspects of what it means to be an investor and how to leverage the power of free markets.

Academic Advisory Board members generally receive compensation from Matson Money for their services which include, but are not limited to, independent leadership consulting; co-authoring white papers; and speaking at Matson Money conferences. Advisory Board members may also provide insight to Matson Money on portfolio construction, asset allocation, quantitative analysis, investor behavior and other areas of expertise, as needed. Certain Advisory Board members are employed by or otherwise affiliated with third party advisory firms that offer funds in which Client accounts are invested.

Board members include:

Harry M. Markowitz, Ph.D., (Legacy Member 2018-2023) 1990 The Nobel Prize in Economics, Modern Portfolio Theory
Arthur B. Laffer, PhD., Member of President Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board (both terms), 1981-1989
Terrance Odean, Ph.D., Rudd Family Foundation Professor of Finance Haas School of Business, University of California
R. Lyman Ott, Ph.D. Bachelors of Mathematics and Education, Bucknell University
Savina Rizova, Ph.D., Dimensional Fund Advisor’s Co-Chief Investment Officer and Global Head of Research
David Eagleman, Ph.D., Neuroscientist at Stanford University

 

You can find bios for each of our Academic Advisory Board members here.

Who is on the Matson Money Executive Team?

You can find bios for every member of our executive team here.

Where is Matson Money located?

Matson Money’s main office is in Scottsdale, Arizona. The firm is headquartered in Mason, Ohio.

How do I find a financial advisor near me?

To find an advisor that utilizes the Matson Method and provides ongoing coaching, connect with an advisor here.

Interested in attending the American Dream Experience?

Register now
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