White Paper Offered for Financial Professionals; "Nine Things" Aims to Help CPAs, Planners Choose Trust Deed Firms Wisely

A leading trust deed investment firm has prepared a new white paper to help financial professionals evaluate trust deed investment providers on behalf of their investor clients. "Nine Things to Consider When Evaluating Trust Deed Investment Resources" provides a list of factors to consider when matching a trust deed investment provider or deal with a specific client or investor group.

Sacramento, CA (PRWEB) February 24, 2009 -- Sterling Pacific Lending, Inc dba Sterling Pacific Financial, a leading trust deed investment firm, has prepared a new guide for financial professionals to help them evaluate trust deed investment providers on behalf of their investor clients.

Offered at no charge to CPAs, financial planners, investment advisors and other financial professionals, "Nine Things to Consider When Evaluating Trust Deed Investment Resources" (see link at the end of this release) provides a list of factors to consider when matching a trust deed investment provider or deal with a specific client.

"With over a decade of success in this category, we're of course ardent advocates of trust deed investments as an alternative option to public securities -- especially in the current economy," said Joshua Fischer, managing director and principal of Sterling. "However, we also know there is significant variety among trust deed investment choices and providers. Helping advisers understand the differences is one way we can help trust deed investors meet their goals."

One recommendation is to understand the risk profile of a trust deed investment provider's approach and match it to the risk preferences of the investor or group of investors -- because even though trust deed investments as a group are relatively low risk, there are gradations that advisers and investors should consider.

For instance, offerings restricted to first deeds of trust and the lowest loan-to-value (LTV) ratios keep risk to an absolute minimum. "Even the most conservative trust deed investments can generate stable income and stay well ahead of inflation, with yields of 9% or more," said Fischer. "It's a reassuring solution for rebuilding portfolios without putting principal at unnecessary risk."

Moreover, further diversification can be achieved by working with trust deed investment companies that offer mortgage pools. "A mortgage pool combines the collective investment advantages of a mutual fund with the inherent stability of trust deed investing," said Fischer, adding that "mortgage pools are especially attractive for retirement investors looking for growth, income and principal preservation." Advisers can look for these kinds of products when evaluating trust deed investing options for their most risk-sensitive clients. On the other end of the spectrum, investors willing to fund riskier developments or take on second position deeds can be rewarded with higher potential returns -- as high as 15% or more currently.

Other recommendations from the white paper include selecting trust deed investment firms that have engaged third party auditors on behalf of their investors, evaluating the management "bench strength" of firms, and considering whether the firm's own management invests their own money in the opportunities they offer to investors. "We believe in the deals we decide to fund -- and prove it by putting our own capital at risk before bringing in investors," said Fischer. "We believe it sends a strong signal to investors and their advisers when fund managers do -- or don't -- invest in the opportunities they're offering to investors."