Should I Change Financial Advisors Over Poor Performance?
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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.

Fee-Only Is the Most Important Quality in Your Financial Planner
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The reason can be explained through a simple analogy about an interior decorator.

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

Zero Steps To Take Before Contacting a Financial Advisor
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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.

Do I Want To Give My Financial Advisor Discretion on My Account?
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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.

Q&A: Should I Be My Brother’s Power of Attorney?
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Interestingly, being a fiduciary though is not a job description as much as it is descriptive of the kind of job that you do.

Marotta Family Saying: Parental Reminder Number 42
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“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.

You Deserve More Than Investment Management and a Retirement Plan
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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.

Radio: Celebrating The 50th Anniversary Of Financial Planning As A Profession
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To celebrate, David John Marotta and Courtney Fraser made guest appearances on a three different radio stations.

Lessons from Medicine: “Doing Something” Is Often Worse
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Even if all four of these sentimental or pragmatic justifications are true, doing the wrong thing is still worse than doing nothing.

Financial Planning as a Profession Turns 50 Years Old Today
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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 Not Sufficient To Fulfill The Fiduciary Duty
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Disclosures are always necessary but rarely sufficient to fulfill fiduciary obligations.

If You Are Tempted to Stay Out of the Markets, Read This First
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Gil Weinriech, Senior Editor for Seeking Alpha, wrote recently about investors whose personalities tempt them to stay on the sidelines of investing at times.

Financial Planning for the Young and Non-Affluent
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“We have simply not been able to serve those who really need us the most.”

Who Serves Low And Middle Income Consumers? We Do!
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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.

What Is Shareholder Primacy?
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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.

Customer Service Lessons from Toddler Parenting
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We believe that lessons like these are part of the fiduciary standard.

Everyone Deserves a Fiduciary Standard of Care (or Why We Have a Service Level with No Minimums Now)
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Thank you, Robert, for your email and your readership. I hope that everyone enjoys our new “Do-It-Yourself” service level.

Review of CFP Board’s Ten Questions For Your Advisor
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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.

Is Financial Advice Fundamental or Incidental With Your Advisor?
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Who would ever want unplanned and unintentional financial advice?

NAPFA Challenges the Securities and Exchange Commission
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I couldn’t be prouder to be a NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor.

Q&A: Does a Power of Attorney Agent Have a Fiduciary Duty?
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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?”

Information Asymmetry or Why You Need a Fee-Only Advisor
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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.

The Fiduciary Standard is Disagreeable
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Sometimes, you should do what is right even though it is not what others want.

Radio: Responsibility of Retirement Plan Sponsors
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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.

What Is Financial Planning?
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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.

What Is Integrated Financial Planning?
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Wise decisions cannot be made in isolation from their impact on other areas of your financial life.

Retirement Plan Sponsors Have A Responsibility To Review Their Plans
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Failure to perform such periodic reviews is a litigatable fiduciary breach.

What Is A Personalized Financial Plan?
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You should work with a personalized financial planner, not an impersonal investment manager.

Bringing Value with Client Billing
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One obscure way we earn our fee is in how we bill you.

How To Find A NAPFA-Registered Advisor In Your Area
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If you want to find a NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor in your area, here is a simple form you can use to search.

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

Employers Who Offer A Retirement Plan Have A Fiduciary Responsibility
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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.

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

Q&A: Can You Be My Executor?
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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.

Finding Someone You Can Trust
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Those who believe that more regulation is the answer don’t understand how human nature works.

How to Monitor Your Financial Advisor
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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.

Billing Client Accounts to the Client’s Greatest Benefit
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Investment managers can bring clients greater savings by carefully considering how they bill different types of accounts.

Best Practices for Trusts, Foundations, and Endowments
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Even if a committee has contracted with “prudent experts,” the Committee never delegates its fiduciary responsibility.

Fulfilling Your Fiduciary Duty as a Trustee or Board Member
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Despite the fact that millions serve in a fiduciary role, many are wholly unaware of their legal responsibilities.

Language Matters: Fee-Based vs. Fee-And-Commission Based
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The term “fee-based” was created specifically to confuse consumers.

You Want An Advisor Who Keeps You From “The Big Mistake”
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Real financial advisors stand between you and the Big Mistake.

Five Good Reasons to Hire a Financial Advisor and Two Bad Ones
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The job of a financial advisor is to do what you would do if you had the time and expertise.

There Are No Such Things As “Fiduciary Rules”
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The principles of a fiduciary cannot be condensed into a set of rules.

What Does It Mean To Be A Fee-Only Fiduciary?
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Most investors are not aware of an important separation in the professionals of the financial services industry.

Fiduciary Fight Part 5: Lobbyists Won’t Help
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“We’d be fools to underestimate their tenacity and creativity when it comes to protecting their executive bonus pools.”

Fiduciary Fight Part 4: Fiduciary Oath
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“Take a version of this fiduciary oath to the brokers down the street and ask them to sign it. If they refuse, ask why.”

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