FAQ
Federal and state law requires that Registered Investment Advisors (RIA) be held to a Fiduciary Standard. This requires an advisor to act solely in the best interest of the client at all times. RIAs must disclose any conflict, or potential conflict, to the client prior to and throughout a business engagement and must adopt a Code of Ethics and fully disclose how they are compensated.
Because broker-dealers are not necessarily acting in your best interest, the SEC requires them to add the following disclosure to your client agreement. Read this disclosure, and decide if this is the type of relationship you want to dictate your financial security: “Your account is a brokerage account and not an advisory account. Our interests may not always be the same as yours. Please ask us questions to make sure you understand your rights and our obligations to you, including the extent of our obligations to disclose conflicts of interest and to act in your best interest. We are paid both by you and, sometimes, by people who compensate us based on what you buy. Therefore, our profits, and our salespersons’ compensation, may vary by product and over time.”
If this disclaimer appears in agreements you are signing, you are not working with a Fiduciary advisor. If you wish to work with the broker, you should ask additional questions about how he or she is compensated, and where his or her loyalties lie. Then decide if the relationship is in your best interest.
Be sure to read the fine print!
We accept no commissions, no 12-b1 fees, or payments from third parties. We bill either hourly, for assets under management, or a flat fee. Our fees are completely transparent. For a complete schedule, please review our ADV located on this website.
Your accounts are held in your name and your name alone and are custodied at Fidelity Investments. You’ll receive an independent statement of your accounts directly from Fidelity. Your accounts are insured by the SIPC, up to the value of their holdings. You can view your portfolio anytime at Fidelity.com. Our funds are never commingled with yours at any time.
Since nothing is bought or sold, the process is not a taxable event. This is simply a transfer from one firm to another.
Standard processing is roughly one to three weeks, and if you need to handle a transaction or get access to funds in the meantime, we can facilitate that for you.
A fresh set of eyes is always a good idea. We provide an unbiased report to you for your existing investment program to expose potential risks and opportunities. If you are looking for ongoing oversight services for your existing investment management program, we can provide that as well. These services needn’t require input or notification from your existing investment managers. You control the interaction at all times, and it’s handled discretely.