Trust is the foundation of any strong relationship, and your relationship with your financial advisor should not be any different. With so many financial advisors out there, how do you know who to trust? The best way to ensure that your financial advisor is making recommendations that are truly right for you is to work with a Fee-only advisor such as Financial Strategies, Inc.
Fee-only advisors deserve your trust for these three reasons:
1. We always have the best interest of the client in mind.
Fee-only advisors have the fiduciary responsibility to always act in the clients’ best interest without regard to the interests of other parties, including their own. Other advisors are only required to meet a “suitability standard” rather than a fiduciary standard. The suitability standard simply requires the advisor to provide advice that is “suitable” to your needs, even if this advice is not the best solution. Think of Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street. He advised shoppers to go to another department store when he felt it was in their best interest, even though the sale didn’t benefit his employer. That’s how a fiduciary thinks. And it’s how your financial advisor should think for you.
2. We never collect any referral fees, commissions, gifts or special deals. We provide the most solid advice and are beholden to no one.
Fee-only means that our only form of compensation is through fees paid by our clients. That may seem self-explanatory, but people in the industry can be tricky. Many advisors tell you that they are “fee-based” which sounds very similar to fee-only but is in fact, very different. Fee-based advisors charge the client a fee, perhaps even a lower fee than the fee-only planner; but also get other forms of compensation that the client doesn’t see. They are likely to receive commissions on products they sell or get gifts or rewards for making certain recommendations. Fee-only advisors never receive any compensation beyond what the client pays. This means we have no ulterior motives when making recommendations. Our recommendations are based only on your goals, values, and best interest.
3. We partner with our clients, which means we make money together. We only recommend investments that are in our client’s best interests.
Our fee is based on a percentage of client’s portfolios. This means that when you make money, we make money. Tying our compensation to your portfolio growth is an extra guarantee that we are working in your best interest, because your best interest is our best interest.
Choosing a financial advisor is a big decision and it is important to work with someone who makes you feel comfortable and whom you can trust. At Financial Strategies, Inc. we meet with clients and get to know them to make sure everyone is comfortable with the relationship before anyone signs a contract.
If you would like to schedule a free consultation to see if FSI is a good fit for you, and to provide you with a second opinion of your portfolio and investment strategy, contact us at 262-821-1664.