A Fee-Only financial advisor will charge the client directly for advice and ongoing management. No other financial reward is provided by any institution – which means that I do not receive commissions, hidden-fees or kick-backs. There are no hidden conflicts of interest. All recommendations are in the client’s best interest.

Federal and state law requires that Registered Investment Advisors (RIA) be held to a Fiduciary Standard. This requires an advisor to act solely in the best interest of the client at all times. RIAs must disclose any conflict, or potential conflict, to the client prior to and throughout a business engagement and must adopt a Code of Ethics and fully disclose how they are compensated. Brokers are not held to a Fiduciary Standard, they are required by law to act in the best interest of their employer, not in the best interest of their clients.

There are more than 100 professional designations in the financial planning industry, but only a few of them truly indicate a professional’s ability to do real broad-based financial planning. The Certified Financial Planner® (CFP®) designation is the recognized standard of excellence for competent and ethical personal financial planning.