To sign up for our investment management service, simply click “Get Started” in the menu above and we will take you through the steps to create your account.

You can also complete our 5-Minute Financial Plan to start planning for a better financial future.

There is no account minimum. We do recommend consistent monthly contributions. You will decide on an appropriate amount per month based on your financial plan.

Chrisilis was launched in 2013; Chronim Investments, the parent company of both Snider Advisors and Chrisilis, has been in business since 2002.

There are a number of different questions that you will need to ask yourself in order to determine if using Chrisilis is right for you, and what portfolio you should choose if it is. These include your time horizon (how long before you will need to begin withdrawing the assets), your risk tolerance, and the assets you will be able to commit to the portfolio.

Prior to starting any Chrisilis account, we have our prospective clients complete a detailed questionnaire with answers to these and other important questions, so that we may determine if Chrisilis is a proper fit for you, and what portfolio will best fit your goals and objectives.

Your dashboard is accessible to you from anywhere and at any time.  You can get a behind the scenes look at our secure client portal here.

You also have online access to your account at Charles Schwab through their Schwab Alliance portal.

Active Management refers to the management style where fund managers will deliberately pick and choose specific investments that will perform better and/or be less risky than others. In Active Management, the fund manager is attempting to outperform a particular industry benchmark (such as the S&P 500).

Passive Management refers to the management style where fund managers choose investments in order to mirror the performance of an industry benchmark. As a general rule of economics, markets and industry benchmarks tend to move in a positive direction over a lengthy time horizon. Therefore, an index fund or exchange traded fund (ETF) that mirrors the performance of the benchmark will also tend to increase in value over the same time frame.

The ETFs offered by Chrisilis are an example of Passive Management; we seek to mirror the performance of the market, rather than outperform it.  Studies have proven Active Management has failed to outperform the benchmark over any long-term time period.  Investor can achieve better RESULTS by simply owning the index.  

All of our Chrisilis accounts are held at Charles Schwab; we have determined that Schwab is the broker best equipped to handle the needs of our trading strategy in Chrisilis.

A multitude of accounts can be opened for Chrisilis; these include individual accounts, traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, Rollover IRAs, and trusts. These can be opened new, with a level of funding of your choice, or a full account transfer from another brokerage can also be executed.

The annual limits for IRA contributions are $5,500 and $6,500 for those 50 or older.

Yes, you can withdraw your money at any time. There are not any fees for making withdrawals. Your money is always accessible to you.

The tax implications for your account will depend on the type of account that you open.

Individual, joint, and trust accounts are taxable accounts. This means that you will be taxed every year for any interest and dividend income or capital gains that you generate from these accounts at the appropriate tax rates (depending on the form of income that has been received).

Any type of retirement account (Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SIMPLE IRA, SEP IRA, 401k) are non-taxable accounts. Any contributions, ordinary income, or capital gains for these accounts will not be taxed until such time that you make withdrawals from the accounts.*

*Income that is contributed to a Roth IRA has already been subjected to tax. Roth IRA withdrawals are therefore also tax free.

When the time arrives for you to begin taking disbursements from your Chrisilis account, simply notify us, and we will begin the procedures to do so. Also, as noted above, we will be sure to rebalance your account after disbursement, based on the amount that you withdraw at any one time.

All Charles Schwab accounts are protect with SIPC insurance.  The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) offers some protection to investors in the event that the broker the investor uses becomes financially troubled.

The SIPC offers up to $500,000 of protection per account, with a limit of $250,000 for cash. SIPC insurance is different from Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance.  Generally, bank accounts made up of cash are protected by FDIC.  Brokerage accounts with securities that increase and decrease in value are protected by SIPC.  Keep in mind, SIPC does not protect against a decline in value of your investments, just in the event the broker failed or committed fraud.

We currently offer five different portfolios through Chrisilis. They are (in declining order of risk):

• Agressive – Admiral
• Progressive –  Morpho
• Balanced – Monarch
• Conservative – Swallowtail
• Cautious – Lacewing

For more information on each of the different portfolios that we offer, please click here.

We don’t believe cash should be part of your investment strategy.  Your funds are automatically invested as soon as they are received. This means your money is always invested and working for you.

Please note, we encourage all clients to have a cash emergency fund to cover unexpected expenses or interruptions in income.

An ETF is a security that functions similar to ordinary common stock, but which represents a diverse basket of securities. It is designed to allow for a degree of diversity in an investment, even when the investor is only holding one position, and to mimic the overall movements of the market.

An investment in an ETF is undertaken with the assumption that the stock market in general always moves in a positive direction over the long-term. As a result, we can expect the value of an ETF (which mimics the market) to appreciate in value over the long-term as well.

One of the services offered to Chrisilis clients is rebalancing, which consists of buying or selling assets in your individual portfolio in order to account for major changes in the account balance, and to restore the target allocation for the account. We track all accounts on a monthly basis to determine if a rebalancing is necessary.

An annualized fee is assessed for assets that are under management with Chrisilis. This fee is equal to .5% (50 basis points) of the assets under management.  More information on the annual fee can be found here.

The ETFs traded by Chrisilis are commission free at Charles Schwab; there are no trading fees associated with the purchasing of the ETFs, either at the inception of the account or in rebalancing of the account following a major contribution.*

A significant advantage to No Trading Cost is that even small contributions can be put to work without fees.  A $50 monthly contribution can be completely invested without sending $5 or $10 just to purchase more shares of an ETF.

* Please note that Charles Schwab will assess their standard low commission rate to any securities that must be liquidated in order to begin a Chrisilis portfolio. 

Chrisilis clients have the option to have the fee deducted automatically from their account or charged to a credit card.

An expense ratio is a statistic measuring the total percentage of assets of a mutual fund or exchange traded fund (ETF) that is used for administrative, management, advertising, and all other expenses. For example, a fund having an expense ratio of 1% means that, in that given fiscal year, 1% of the fund’s total assets were used for expenses.

Expense ratios are re-calculated every year, and do not include either sales loads or any brokerage commissions incurred.

We monitor the expense ratios of all the funds in our portfolio regularly.  We seek to utilize ETFs with the lowest cost while providing us the necessary exposure to the different asset classes in our investment portfolios.

The main benchmark that we use when measuring the performance of Chrisilis (or any ETF, for that matter) is the performance of a major market, such as the S&P 500. Here, we must stress an important distinction regarding ETFs:  An ETF is designed to mimic, not surpass, the performance of the market. Also, please keep in mind that the performance of the different portfolios within Chrisilis will depend on the financial objectives and goals of the individual investor.

Our aggressive portfolio will consist of a larger portion of assets with a higher risk but also higher expected return. The most conservative portfolio will be have a larger percentage in more stable assets, but also have a lower expected return.

For a more detailed explanation of the philosophy and goals of Chrisilis, please click here.

ETF’s are designed to mitigate many of the common risks that are associated with investing. The most prominent risk associated with an ETF is the risk of a general downturn of the stock market, causing the value of the ETF to decline in tandem. However, market downturns typically do not persist for extended periods of time; also, there is a basic assumption within economics that markets are efficient, and tend to move in a positive direction over extended periods of time.

The strategy for Chrisilis includes investing for an extended period of time; by doing so, we are looking to significantly reduce (though not completely eliminate) this risk.

Chrisilis is designed to be a long-term investment; assets that are committed to it should be ones that an investor can afford to have committed for an extended period of time (typically years), and from which the investor will not need to make any withdrawals for an extended period of time either. The long-term nature of the investment is a key tenet, and should be carefully considered by any potential investor.

Snider Advisors and Chrisilis are two distinct companies that are owned by the same corporate parent company, Chronim Investments, Inc.

Investors like to believe there is a one-size fits all investment strategy.  It is important to remember, what is right for YOU likely isn’t the same as your neighbor, sibling, or parents.

Snider Advisors has created an income focused investment strategy that caters more to investors near or in retirement who will be taking distributions from their portfolios.

Chrisilis is designed for growth and investors contributing to their portfolio.

It is also possible for investor to fit into more than one of these categories due to their financial goals and objectives.  We stress the importance to all our client that they find an investment strategy that meets their goals, objectives, and risk tolerance.  We are happy to assist in this process with a personal financial consultation or by completing our 5-Minute Financial Plan.  

Yes! Investing in Chrisilis will not bar you from using other assets to trade the Snider Method (assuming that you have determined that the Snider Method is appropriate for your situation and goals).

It is not necessary for you to use the Snider Investment Method if you wish to use Chrisilis; both the Snider Investment Method and Chrisilis should only be undertaken after a thorough review of your financial objectives and resources. However, as noted earlier, if you determine that both the SIM and Chrisilis fit into your financial goals, it is also possible to invest in both at the same time.