Our Licenses

Investment Advisor Representatives are held to the fiduciary standard. A fiduciary advisor has a legal and ethical obligation to put their clients’ needs and interests first. That means helping clients make decisions in their best interests and above the interests of the advisor. We have always kept the fiduciary standard at the core of our firm and our mission to our clients.

Investment advisor representatives who are held to the fiduciary standard must adhere to the following guidelines:

• To act in the interest of the client with the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to the client
• To pursue the necessary education or consult with outside experts should the need arise
• To carry out responsibilities prudently, diversify plan investments, and disclose any and all fees and expenses to the client

If a fiduciary advisor fails to meet any of these standards, they may be personally liable for any damages caused to their client. In contrast, nonfiduciary advisors, or those who are held to the less stringent “suitability standard,” are not required to act in their clients’ best interests. They are not required to disclose the same level of information to their clients and do not necessarily have to recommend products that best fit their clients’ situations.

How Our Fiduciary Standard Helps Protect You:

• As our client, your needs will always be put first. We hold ourselves to the highest professional and personal standards, and this commitment is reflected in our service. Our sole focus is and always has been on your financial needs and goals and how we can best help you pursue them.
• We always act in your best interests. We take all measures to avoid conflicts of interest, but if they arise and are unavoidable, we fully disclose them to you. We work to provide a high level of transparency around fees and expenses associated with your accounts, which means you will always know what you own and what you’re paying for it.
• As an independent and objective resource, we have no vested interest in promoting a particular product or service. Our goal is that your financial objectives are met.

Understanding the Fiduciary Standard

Traditionally, there have been two types of standards in financial services: the suitability standard and the fiduciary standard. The suitability standard is defined as determining whether an investment product or strategy is “suitable” for the investor based on their financial objectives and risk comfort level. Under this rule, an advisor simply determines whether a recommended product or strategy is suitable for the client. The fiduciary standard is a higher level of responsibility for the advisor — it goes beyond suitability and requires that any advice about products and strategies be provided in the best interests of the investor. The fiduciary standard of care requires that the advisor takes into consideration whether the fees are reasonable, whether there are any conflicts of interest, and whether the investments are adequately diversified.

Our Commitment To You

We believe this model of disclosure and transparency is in the best interests of our clients. In our view, you deserve to have your needs put first, and the strategies and investment products we recommend should align according to those needs.

The fiduciary standard mandates that there is no circumstance in which we can place our interests above yours. By adhering to the fiduciary standard, we believe we can provide you with the highest standard of care for all your investment and retirement needs.

The National Producer Number (NPN) is a unique NAIC identifier assigned to individuals and business entities engaged in insurance-related activities regulated by a state insurance department. The NPN is used to track those individuals and business entities on a national basis.

Individuals who hold the LUTCF® (legacy) designation have completed a program of study that included multiple courses focused on ethics, personal life insurance, business life insurance, and other insurance products and professional business practices. Additionally, LUTCF designees must pass examinations at the end of each course that test their understanding of the various insurance topics.

Since 2007, LTC insurance training has been a requirement for anyone who sells, solicits, or negotiates long-term care policies. This training is unique from typical insurance training in that the insurance carriers are responsible for ensuring producers are compliant prior to selling or soliciting LTC insurance products.

A life insurance license means that we have been approved by our state to sell life insurance, including term, whole, and universal policies.

National Ethics Association

Since 2001, the National Ethics Association (NEA) has helped business professionals build their businesses on a foundation of trust, ethics, and best practices. The Association is committed to helping businesses service their customers with knowledge and integrity by providing educational resources and content encouraging and promoting ethics in business and beyond. NEA is also devoted to aiding consumers with the increasingly complex task of conducting due diligence on business professionals. This may result in greater peace of mind for skeptical consumers and rewards those worthy of their trust.

Better Business Bureau

Better Business Bureau helps United States, Canada, and Mexico consumers find businesses and charities they can trust. The BBB rating is based on information BBB is able to obtain about the business, including complaints received from the public. BBB seeks and uses information directly from businesses and from public data sources. BBB assigns ratings from A+ (highest) to F (lowest).

We connect you with tools to help you pursue the retirement you deserve.