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Four Actively Managed SMAs for High-Growth Public Equities
Our actively managed portfolios are built to outperform traditional benchmarks by investing in leading publicly traded equities. Each strategy is offered as a Separately Managed Account — delivering direct ownership, personalized implementation, and precise tax management.
Four Strategies. One Unified Approach.
Each strategy targets a specific return profile by investing in companies at a different stage of the growth curve — from aggressive innovation to steady, defensive equity. Your portfolio blends these strategies based on your risk tolerance, creating a personalized allocation that adapts as your life evolves.
How We Think About Investing
Our philosophy is rooted in fundamental analysis, revenue growth, and long-term compounding. We don't chase momentum, trade on headlines, or time the market. We identify exceptional businesses and own them through full market cycles.
Your Portfolio, Personalized to Your Risk Profile
After completing our risk tolerance assessment, you're assigned one of five profiles. Each maps to a specific blend of our four SMA strategies — balancing growth potential with downside protection.
Low Vol 25%
Core 25%
Low Vol 30%
Core 50%
Core 40%
Growth 30%
Growth 30%
Innovation 30%
Innovation 50%
Growth of $100,000 — BRIM vs the S&P 500
See how $100,000 would have grown across each BRIM strategy — compared against the S&P 500. The "Blend" represents an equal-weight allocation of 25% to each of our four proprietary strategies. Select any individual strategy to view its performance from inception, or toggle "Backtested + Live" for the full history dating back to January 2008.
| Year | Blend | Innovation | Growth | Core | Low Vol | S&P 500 | Alpha |
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Bull Run Investment Management, LLC ("BRIM") is a fee-only Registered Investment Adviser headquartered in McLean, Virginia (CRD #306763). Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal.
What is the "Blend"? The BRIM Blend represents a hypothetical equal-weight portfolio allocating 25% to each of our four proprietary SMA strategies: Equity Innovation, Equity Growth, Equity Core, and Equity Low Volatility. The blend is rebalanced daily for illustrative purposes only and is not a separately offered product or strategy.
Net vs Gross Returns: "Net" returns reflect the deduction of a 1.50% annual model advisory fee applied using a quarterly average-daily-balance methodology. "Gross" returns are shown before the deduction of advisory fees. Actual client returns will differ based on the timing of capital flows, specific fee arrangements, and individual account circumstances. Charles Schwab charges $0 commissions with no additional expense ratios.
Live Performance: Each strategy's "Live" period begins on the date the strategy commenced trading with actual client capital on the Charles Schwab institutional platform. Innovation: March 24, 2020. Core: March 23, 2021. Low Volatility: April 16, 2021. Growth: April 14, 2022. The Blend "Live" period begins April 14, 2022 — when all four strategies were active simultaneously.
Backtested Performance: Performance prior to each strategy's live inception date is backtested, hypothetical, and was not actually achieved. Backtested results have inherent limitations including the benefit of hindsight, and do not represent actual trading. They may not reflect the impact of material economic and market factors.
Calendar Year Returns: Annual returns in the table are calculated from the first to last available data point within each calendar year. The first year shown may represent a partial year depending on the selected strategy and time period.
S&P 500 returns are shown for comparison purposes only and are not fee-adjusted. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index and cannot be invested in directly. This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a solicitation, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. For additional information, refer to our Form ADV.
Why Direct Ownership Changes Everything
A Separately Managed Account means you own the individual stocks — not shares of a fund that owns stocks. This distinction unlocks tax-loss harvesting, asset location optimization, and complete transparency that pooled vehicles simply can't deliver.
When individual positions decline, we sell at a loss to offset realized gains elsewhere in your portfolio — reducing your tax bill while maintaining market exposure through replacement securities.
- ◆ Individual lot-level control — impossible inside fund wrappers
- ◆ Losses offset gains across all accounts, including capital events
- ◆ Excess losses carry forward indefinitely to offset future income
- ◆ Coordinated with Brian Wendroff, CPA for optimal timing
Where you hold an investment matters as much as what you hold. We place high-growth, high-turnover strategies in tax-advantaged accounts and tax-efficient positions in taxable accounts.
- ◆ Innovation & Growth SMA → Roth IRA for tax-free compounding
- ◆ Core & Low Vol → taxable accounts for tax-efficient dividends
- ◆ Traditional IRA → Growth strategies for tax-deferred compounding
- ◆ Integrated with Roth conversion timing and bracket management
Portfolio
Why Most "Investment Management" Isn't
Most advisors outsource your money to third-party fund managers, wrap it in a model portfolio, and call it investment management. You end up owning layers of funds, paying layers of fees, and holding positions you can't see, can't control, and can't tax-manage.
- ✕ Portfolio built from third-party ETFs — advisor doesn't select the stocks
- ✕ Layered fees: advisory + fund expense ratios + trading costs
- ✕ No individual tax-lot control — you inherit embedded gains
- ✕ Generic model portfolio — same for every client at the same risk level
- ✕ Investment decisions disconnected from tax and estate strategy
- ✓ Every stock selected and managed in-house — four proprietary strategies
- ✓ One fee: 1.50% advisory. Schwab charges $0. No hidden costs
- ✓ Individual tax-lot management — harvest losses, manage gains
- ✓ Allocation personalized to your risk profile, adjusted as life changes
- ✓ Every trade coordinated with your CPA, estate attorney, and plan
See Everything in Black Diamond
Every account, every holding, and your full performance history — updated daily in your BRIM-branded Black Diamond portal. The same institutional-grade platform used by firms managing billions.
Ready to See What Real Investment Management Looks Like?
Schedule a complimentary consultation to discuss your portfolio, explore our four proprietary strategies, and see how in-house management with direct equity ownership can deliver better performance, lower costs, and full tax integration.
No obligations, no pressure — just a straightforward conversation about your goals and how our strategies can help you get there.