Strategy Begins with a Number, Not a Questionnaire
Every retirement investor has a number — the specific annual return their portfolio must achieve to sustain their planned withdrawals over their retirement horizon. We call this the Required Return.
Most advisors never calculate it explicitly. They assign a model portfolio based on a risk tolerance questionnaire, project forward with assumed returns, and call it a plan. The Required Return is implied — never tested, never verified.
At Rulicent, the Required Return is the starting point. Every allocation decision, every strategy adjustment, every risk management choice is evaluated against one question: does this give the portfolio a realistic path to delivering the Required Return?
This is not a philosophical difference. It is a structural one — and it changes everything about how a portfolio is managed.
The Required Return Framework
- Calculate your Required Return: Based on your planned withdrawals, time horizon, and current portfolio value.
- Evaluate your current strategy: Can your existing allocation realistically deliver that return over your specific horizon?
- Identify the gap: If there is a gap between what you need and what your strategy can deliver, we quantify it.
- Build a strategy to close it: A rules-driven allocation designed to pursue your Required Return — not a generic risk profile.
Why Rules-Driven Management Outperforms Discretion
Removes Behavioral Bias
Rules eliminate the emotional decision-making that causes most investors to buy high and sell low. When conditions trigger a rule, the portfolio responds — regardless of fear or optimism.
Responds to Observable Conditions
Rules are built on observable, measurable inputs — not forecasts. We do not predict the future. We respond to what is happening now, with predefined responses to predefined conditions.
Consistent and Repeatable
A rules-driven process produces consistent outcomes because the same conditions always produce the same response. There is no committee, no consensus, no opinion drift.
Accountable and Transparent
Every allocation decision can be traced to a specific rule and a specific condition. Clients always know why the portfolio is positioned the way it is.
Adaptive Allocation
A static 60/40 portfolio does not adapt to changing market conditions. It holds its allocation regardless of whether conditions favor equities, bonds, or neither. This is not risk management — it is allocation maintenance.
Rulicent's approach is adaptive. The equity allocation responds to sector-level conditions through SectorPulse™. The fixed income allocation responds to rate and credit conditions through BondPulse™. When conditions support growth, the portfolio pursues it. When they don't, the portfolio steps back.
The goal is not to eliminate volatility — it is to manage the portfolio against the Required Return through changing conditions, not despite them.
SectorPulse™ — Equity Management
Evaluates sector-level conditions and adjusts equity exposure. Fully invested when conditions support growth. Reduced when conditions deteriorate.
BondPulse™ — Fixed Income Management
Deploys fixed income when conditions call for protection and capital preservation. Steps aside when growth is available and rate risk is elevated.
Fiduciary, Fee-Only, Independent
Fiduciary — Legally Obligated to Act in Your Interest
As a registered investment adviser, Rulicent is held to the fiduciary standard — the highest legal standard of care in financial services. The fiduciary label governs conduct, not competence — a distinction most investors have never been shown.
Fee-Only — Compensated Only by Clients
No commissions. No product sales. No referral fees. Our only compensation is the advisory fee paid directly by our clients.
Independent — No Institutional Conflicts
Rulicent is not affiliated with any broker-dealer, insurance company, or product manufacturer. Our only interest is your portfolio's performance.
The System Was Built to Scale Advisors. Not to Serve Clients.
Most advisory platforms are designed to maximize the number of clients an advisor can manage — not to maximize the quality of advice each client receives. The result is a system that scales the business by standardizing the strategy.
Rulicent is structured the opposite way. A smaller client base. A defined investment process. A single objective per portfolio. Strategy over templates.
The Typical System
- Model portfolios built by asset managers, not your advisor
- Static allocations designed to survive all market cycles
- Risk tolerance questionnaire as the primary planning tool
- Advisor's role: monitor and reassure, not manage
The Rulicent System
- Rules-driven allocation governed by written Operating Rules
- Adaptive positioning that responds to changing market conditions
- Required Return as the primary planning metric
- Active management: evaluate, adjust, report
The Portfolio Evaluation Process
The Portfolio Evaluation begins with calculating your Required Return based on your retirement income needs, time horizon, and current assets. Rulicent then reviews your existing portfolio to assess whether its structure is capable of delivering that return. The evaluation typically takes about an hour and concludes with a clear picture of any gap between what your portfolio is designed to deliver and what your retirement actually requires.
Fee-only advisors like Rulicent are compensated exclusively by client fees with no commissions, no product sales, and no revenue-sharing arrangements. Fee-based advisors can earn both fees and commissions, which creates potential conflicts of interest. As a fee-only fiduciary, Rulicent is legally required to act in your best interest at all times.
Rulicent builds every portfolio around your Required Return — the specific annual growth rate your retirement demands. Rules-driven, adaptive wealth management for Oklahoma City retirees and pre-retirees.
Dustin Wigington is the founder and CIO of Rulicent Investments. Former Regional Vice President at Fisher Investments. Author of The Retirement Plan Paradox. Registered Investment Adviser in Oklahoma.