Full disclosure and fee-only compensation

We ardently believe that customers deserve to know exactly how their financial professional is compensated. We are committed to fee-only financial planning to ensure all conflicts of interest regarding compensation are removed from any financial advice.

The highest level of service and communication

Our clients entrust us with a very important aspect of their lives – their financial futures. We would be remiss in our duties if we did not provide our clients with adequate communication regarding their finances. Plus, the differentiator between small, family owned firms and the large brokerages is service. Our clients aren’t just numbers to us.

Two-way communication with our clients

To fully meet our clients’ goals, we need current, complete information. We need our clients to inform us any time they plan to make a major financial decision (buying a car, selling a house, etc.) or if their goals change for any reason (health situation, unemployment, etc.).

Financial advisor as fiduciary, not salesperson

A conflict of interest exists whenever a financial advisor stands to gain from recommending a specific product. The only way to avoid this conflict of interest is to act as a fiduciary and provide advice that serves the best interests of the client. This is why we don’t receive any compensation or other remuneration that is contingent on the sale of a financial product.

Wealth Planning Services

Most financial advisors and brokers focus solely on investment management and portfolio allocation. But this is only one part of the planning process. We believe that our wealth planning analysis is foremost in identifying a client’s current situation, portfolio allocation, historic performance, risk level and internal investment costs.

Every person has unique goals and ideas about money so every person should have a plan tailored to his needs. We don’t believe that clients are well served with cookie-cutter plans or rules of thumb, which are commonplace in the financial services industry.

With every plan we create, we sit down as a team to find the best solution for our client. We believe that the group dynamic ensures that all factors are considered and results in the best possible recommendations.

And clients can be sure that we are on top of changes that affect the industry. As NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisors™, we maintain double the continuing education credits as required by the CFP Board of Standards.

Diversification among asset classes and long term investing

No one can predict which asset class will perform best in any one year. This is why we believe in building downside protection into every portfolio we manage. In addition, we believe success is more probable if the client takes a long-term focus. Market timing does not work. By long term we mean developing a portfolio based on goals, risk, time horizon, and loss threshold and sticking with that portfolio until one of the above factors changes. The keys to investing are faith, patience and discipline.

Basing portfolios on an annual loss threshold

Most financial advisors and brokers will develop a portfolio to maximize gains. While every client should expect competitive returns, focusing solely on the upside produces a portfolio loaded with undue risk. This extra risk wreaks havoc on your returns and your peace of mind in these volatile markets. The goal of our risk-reduced investment strategies is to provide market returns with lower risk than the S&P 500 index. Most clients aren’t risk averse, but loss averse. This means that clients aren’t afraid to take chances; they are afraid to lose money. This is why we develop portfolios that adequately consider the downside as well as the upside.

Avoiding annuities except in rare circumstances

We don’t recommend annuities as a valuable investment vehicle. Many in the financial industry like annuities because they pay a large upfront commission. We have found that clients are better served with tax efficient index funds and fixed income vehicles because the total accumulation will be higher after factoring in fees and taxes. Plus, annuities don’t receive a “stepped-up” cost basis upon death of the annuitant, which is a significant estate planning advantage.