Fiduciary

The fact that markets are down isn’t a good reason by itself to fire your advisor, but there are reasons to switch financial advisors related to performance.

The reason can be explained through a simple analogy about an interior decorator.

We advocate for billing traditional IRAs to themselves but billing Roth IRAs to a taxable brokerage account. Here is the math of why.

Safeguard #9 is simply a good reminder.

Don’t delay getting your finances in order until you get your finances in order. Ask for help today and see what wisdom a financial advisor has to share.

Having a financial advisor who has discretion over your accounts is only a good idea if your financial advisor is covered under the fiduciary duty and is fee-only.

Interestingly, being a fiduciary though is not a job description as much as it is descriptive of the kind of job that you do.

“Parental Reminder #42” reminds us that goodness is something bigger than we can articulate but, even though we cannot express it fully, it is very important.

We strive to provide the necessary resources for anyone to prepare their own investment plan and meet their financial objectives for free on our blog, but we offer more services than that to our clients.

To celebrate, David John Marotta and Courtney Fraser made guest appearances on a three different radio stations.

In all fields, the best methodologies are boring.

Even if all four of these sentimental or pragmatic justifications are true, doing the wrong thing is still worse than doing nothing.

Most professions do not know the exact day they were conceived. However, on December 12, 1969, financial planning was created and today in 2019, the profession turns 50 years old.

Disclosures are always necessary but rarely sufficient to fulfill fiduciary obligations.

Gil Weinriech, Senior Editor for Seeking Alpha, wrote recently about investors whose personalities tempt them to stay on the sidelines of investing at times.

“We have simply not been able to serve those who really need us the most.”

The dark side argues that without commission-based sales people, low and middle income consumers will not have access to a financial advisor. They are wrong.

Since only a small portion of stock is traded each day, a large majority of shareholders prioritize the long term appreciation of the value of the company.

We believe that lessons like these are part of the fiduciary standard.

Thank you, Robert, for your email and your readership. I hope that everyone enjoys our new “Do-It-Yourself” service level.

Although these questions may help some people discern which professional to sign up with, I like our ten questions better as they cut to the heart of the matter. That being said, the more you know about an advisor the better.

Who would ever want unplanned and unintentional financial advice?

I couldn’t be prouder to be a NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor.

A reader asks, “As her descendant and agent following the rules as written, it is my understanding that I could gift myself $14,000 each year. But can I really?”

Incentives matter. If you are going to get a financial advisor, you need to select a fee-only advisor because you need to find an advisor you can trust.

Sometimes, you should do what is right even though it is not what others want.

If you run a retirement plan at your company, you are responsible for performing periodic reviews to ensure that the plan is the best it can be for participants.

Given how few financial advisors have been through the education, certification, and experience require to obtain the CFP® mark, it is no wonder that so few so-called financial planners are actually providing comprehensive financial planning advice.

Wise decisions cannot be made in isolation from their impact on other areas of your financial life.

Failure to perform such periodic reviews is a litigatable fiduciary breach.

You should work with a personalized financial planner, not an impersonal investment manager.

One obscure way we earn our fee is in how we bill you.

If you want to find a NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor in your area, here is a simple form you can use to search.

Don’t let someone else live the life you’re saving for, but also don’t rely on Investor.Gov to protect your money.

Every business owner or director of a non-profit should realize that if they don’t take their fiduciary responsibility seriously they are legally liable for their neglect and inaction.

InvestmentNews advocates lying to clients, but I think if your advisor doesn’t have integrity, you can stop there and find a new advisor.

Sadly, we have to say no. Even though we won’t be your executor, we are still here to help your executor, trustee, and loved ones through the estate maintenance and settlement process.

We do not believe that investing should be expensive.

Those who believe that more regulation is the answer don’t understand how human nature works.

When seeking a financial advisor, you should find out if they are willing to sign a fiduciary oath putting your interests above those of their employer.

Investment managers can bring clients greater savings by carefully considering how they bill different types of accounts.

Even if a committee has contracted with “prudent experts,” the Committee never delegates its fiduciary responsibility.

Despite the fact that millions serve in a fiduciary role, many are wholly unaware of their legal responsibilities.

The term “fee-based” was created specifically to confuse consumers.

Real financial advisors stand between you and the Big Mistake.

The job of a financial advisor is to do what you would do if you had the time and expertise.

The principles of a fiduciary cannot be condensed into a set of rules.

Most investors are not aware of an important separation in the professionals of the financial services industry.

“We’d be fools to underestimate their tenacity and creativity when it comes to protecting their executive bonus pools.”

“Take a version of this fiduciary oath to the brokers down the street and ask them to sign it. If they refuse, ask why.”