Our values based financial planning process starts by learning about you. What are your deepest values based financial planning goals, hopes, and challenges, and even your fears. We don’t believe that money should be separated from the life that it serves. We see money as a means to an end. Do you have a desire to incorporate socially responsible or sustainability investing into your values based financial planning?
Credentials based on serving your interest
While our website and blog should help in that evaluation, our designation as CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional (CFP®) should make it more tangible. Most people think all financial planners are “certified,” but this isn’t true. If you are like many, you use financial advisor, financial planner, stockbroker interchangeably. Others see financial advice as being sold an investment or insurance policy that may or may not work as advertised. All financial professionals licensed to sell stocks and bonds are required to gain an understanding of their clients’ circumstances. However, for some that merely means that it is suitable but not necessarily in your best interests. I haven’t met someone that did not want the advice to be in their best interest. The legal word for that is fiduciary. Our investment fiduciary credentials include:
- CFP® professional
- Accredited Investment Fiduciary®,
- Investment advisor representatives of LPL Financial’s corporate Registered Investment Advisor
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional (CFP®)
To attain the right to use the CFP® professional marks, an individual must satisfactorily fulfill the following requirements:
- Education – Complete an advanced college-level course of study addressing the financial planning subject areas that CFP Board’s studies have determined as necessary for the competent and professional delivery of financial planning services, and attain a Bachelor’s Degree from a regionally accredited United States college or university (or its equivalent from a foreign university). CFP Board’s financial planning subject areas include insurance planning and risk management, employee benefits planning, investment planning, income tax planning, retirement planning, and estate planning;
- Examination – Pass the comprehensive CFP® Certification Examination. The examination, administered in 10 hours over a two-day period, includes case studies and client scenarios designed to test one’s ability to correctly diagnose financial planning issues and apply one’s knowledge of financial planning to real world circumstances;
- Experience – Complete at least three years of full-time financial planning-related experience (or the equivalent, measured as 2,000 hours per year); and
- Ethics – Agree to be bound by CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct, a set of documents outlining the ethical and practice standards for CFP® professionals.
Individuals who become certified must complete the following ongoing education and ethics requirements in order to maintain the right to continue to use the CFP® marks: - Continuing Education – Complete 30 hours of continuing education hours every two years, including two hours on the Code of Ethics and other parts of the Standards of Professional Conduct, to maintain competence and keep up with developments in the financial planning field; and
- Ethics – Renew an agreement to be bound by the Standards of Professional Conduct. The Standards prominently require that CFP® professionals provide financial planning services at a fiduciary standard of care. This means CFP® professionals must provide financial planning services in the best interests of their clients.
CFP® professionals who fail to comply with the above standards and requirements may be subject to CFP Board’s enforcement process, which could result in suspension or permanent revocation of their CFP® certification.
The Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®)
The Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) Designation certifies that the recipient has specialized knowledge of fiduciary standards of care and their application to the investment management process. To receive the AIF Designation, the individual must meet prerequisite criteria based on a combination of education, relevant industry experience, and/or ongoing professional development, complete a training program, successfully pass a comprehensive, closed-book final examination under the supervision of a proctor and agree to abide by the Code of Ethics and Conduct Standards. In order to maintain the AIF Designation, the individual must annually attest to the Code of Ethics and Conduct Standards, and accrue and report a minimum of six hours of continuing education. The Designation is administered by the Center for Fiduciary Studies, the standards-setting body of fi360.
Satisfaction focused on you
We recognize that you may not have experienced an advisor that does not separate advice from purchasing a product or investing your money. After we come back with a financial plan to help you work toward the goals you envision, you can’t see our value we will gladly refund your money. In fairness to us, you can’t walk away with the design or take copious notes to try to capture its essence. That being said, as an investment advisor representative of LPL Financial we are obligated to work in your best interest. This level of customer focus may be different that the typical stock broker offers. While you may have had good results, the stockbroker (registered representative) legally can put his/her interests and the interests of their firm ahead of yours.
Our Mission
Our mission is to serve you. We are constantly looking for better ways to understand and serve you. Helping you pursue your dreams, goals, vision are what drives us. We know that you are unique, complex, and wonderful. We want to take a 360 degree approach to understanding your relationships with money and what it does for you. The following Mission Statements capture the foundation we are driven to help you achieve. We believe that the life you envision should be built on a solid foundation.
Family Household Mission
We are driven to help you create a better life for you and your loved ones. While we want to help you live what you envision, this is what we Envision for you.
You will be able to retire to what you want, when you want, with a high degree of confidence that either party will never outlive their assets or income—that no one’s dignity and independence will be diluted by 3, 4 or more decades of rising living costs.
Even as retirement income rises to offset inflating living costs, your capital will continue to grow over time, endowing meaningful legacies to your children and future generations.
When either of the family’s providers dies, the survivor’s lifestyle will not be fatally compromised: the survivor will stay in their home; retirement life plans will remain financially on track.
Any children and/or grandchildren will be able to afford the very best education for which they can qualify, without still being saddled with student loans when they themselves have children.
If necessary, you will be able to contribute meaningfully to the support of your parents. Moreover, you will never become a financial burden to your children, even if extended long term care is required.
Estate taxation won’t force the sale of important assets (homes, business, etc.). This liability will be funded out of the residual capital, and/or it will be insured.
Single Household Mission
If you become unemployed, your bills will be paid, retirement and other goals will continue to be paid; assets will not have to be liquidated or credit card debt will not have to mount to survive.
If you become disabled your lifestyle will not be fatally compromised; you will stay in your home, retirement and other goals will stay on track; your business, if you own one, won’t have to be sold to cover expenses.
Any children and/or grandchildren will be able to afford the very best education for which they can qualify, without still being saddled with student loans when they themselves have children.
You will be able to retire at your own time and on your own terms, with a high degree of confidence that you will never outlive your income—that your dignity and independence will not be diluted by up to three decades of rising living costs.
You will, if necessary, be able to contribute meaningfully to the support of your parents. Moreover, you will never become a financial burden to your family or friends even if extended long term care is required.
Even as retirement income rises to offset inflating living costs, your capital will continue to grow over time, endowing meaningful legacies for your family, friends and/or charities you want to benefit.
Estate taxation won’t force the sale of your important assets (homes, business, etc.). This liability will be funded out of the residual capital, and/or it will be insured.
Revised from The New Life Advisor, Nick Murray, 2001
