Financial Prosperity

We formulate cost-effective investment models to match your individual scenario.

Investment costs, lost opportunity costs, management fees and sales charges are all key components in determining the total return on an investment. The long-term compounding effect of these costs have a considerable influence upon whether you’ll reach your financial goals.

In recent years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken steps to provide greater transparency and clarify these complex (and often hidden) expenses for investors. Subsequently, minimizing costs has led to an industry trend called “Fee Compression” -- a downward pressure on the aforementioned costs and fees.

Transparency in the Financial Industry

One of the primary reasons transparency in the financial industry is so scarce is due to the number of government regulatory entities a financial advisor is accountable to.

The “Fiduciary Rule” was first proposed by President Obama’s administration in 2010 with its principal goal of protecting retirement savers from conflicted advice. Summarily, it says a financial advisor should have a legal obligation to make investment decisions in the best interest of the client (aka: “BICE”).

After a series of legal challenges, executive orders and nearly 10 years of delays, the Fiduciary Rule has still not been legislatively implemented.

The formal implementation of the Fiduciary Rule is important because most retail investors assume a financial advisor should and would be accountable to the spirit of the rule itself.

Most compliance departments have implemented new procedures and disclosure forms to increase transparency. Nonetheless, it’s another aspect which makes choosing a financial advisor so important.

How do I choose a Financial Advisor?

Choosing a financial advisor is an added cost which can provide intangible value so long as the advisor furnishes cost-effective investment models, ongoing communication and fee transparency. However, most people don’t know what a financial advisor does, hence, more than two-thirds of Americans manage their own finances with no help from a financial professional and only one-third use a financial advisor at all.

Source: “75% of Americans are winging it when it comes to their financial future” CNBC – April 2, 2019

The cause of this disconnect is likely one of the reasons you landed on our webpage.

Generically defined, a financial advisor is anyone you pay to help manage money. Choosing the right one for you depends on a series of answers to both objective and subjective questions: