Kurt Hoefer, CFA

Q & A

• What are your favorite pursuits outside of work?

  My favorite activity, hands down, is skiing. I had the good fortune of learning when I was young, so skiing is as natural as walking for me, and while I’ve slowed down a bit as I crossed 50, I find more joy on the slopes than almost anywhere I can imagine. In the off-season, I enjoy working in the garden, walking my dog at Crissy Field, playing the piano and traveling.

• Discuss a solution you provided for a client that you’re extremely proud of.

  I led the design and implementation of an investment strategy, which we call “Sustainable Income,” that has become popular for clients who draw funds regularly from their accounts. These might be fiduciaries of private foundations who have the legal requirement to distribute funds to beneficiaries, clients who pull required minimum distributions from their retirement accounts, and others who need cash flow on a regular basis. Our Sustainable Income strategy is designed to produce generous income that increases over time at a rate faster than inflation, thereby maintaining the purchasing power of the distributions from the account. Because this income is produced largely from equities, investors in this strategy stand to also achieve growth through capital gains over time as a by-product of owning assets with growing income streams.

• Three words to describe the Bay Area.

  The place: scenic, temperate, vibrant. The culture: creative, driven, progressive