Why trust this
You shouldn't have to trust a portfolio score on faith. Here's the research behind ours, the rules we use when naming alternatives, and how we keep financial incentives out of the result.
A question 37 years in the making
Our co-founder Frank spent 37 years running money: from trading desks at Credit Suisse and Bear Stearns to hedge funds managing billions for institutions including Blackstone and Ontario Teachers’.
Along the way, one question kept bothering him: did the world's most celebrated funds actually deliver more than a simple, low-cost portfolio with the same level of risk?
So he ran the numbers to find out.
Over 20 years, the typical fund added about nothing after fees. Even when managers outperformed, fees absorbed much of the advantage. The portfolios that fared best tended to succeed for a less glamorous reason: they kept costs down.
That result changed the question. Instead of trying to identify the next exceptional manager, what could an investor improve with confidence?
The answer was much simpler:
Pay less. Diversify broadly. Keep your cash working.
Those are the advantages investors can control, and they became the foundation of our score.
Frank describes investing like a sport: you should be able to look at the standings and see what is helping, what is hurting, and how much it matters. Am I Ok? is that scoreboard for your portfolio.
We follow a rule, not a fund company
When we name a possible alternative, we look for broad coverage of the relevant market or sector at a low cost.
Broader funds spread your exposure across more companies. Lower fees leave more of the return in your account. Neither guarantees better performance, but both remove avoidable risks and costs.
The tickers we show are examples that meet those criteria, not endorsements or predictions. Several fund families often offer substantially similar products, and another fund following the same principles may work just as well.
No fund company pays to appear. We do not accept commissions, and we do not hold positions in the funds we name.
The score has nothing else to sell you
Am I Ok? does not manage your portfolio, charge a percentage of your assets, sell investment products, or earn commissions from its recommendations.
We also do not sell your personal or financial data.
That matters because our business does not improve when you trade more, choose a particular fund, or move more money under our management. We simply show what we find, even when the answer is that your portfolio is already doing fine.
No commissions. No sponsored funds. No management fee. No data sales. No access to trade.
Curious what the score measures and how each part is calculated? See how scoring works