Should Ask Questions

I have a 14-year track record of happy clients with very high client retention. I let that track record speak for itself. The rare cases that do leave usually have to do with geographic relocation and marriages where the couple decides to use the other spouse’s advisor.

This is a very important topic and should be examined more closely. I believe in due-diligence, and only recommending what makes the most sense for my client no matter what. A fee-only advisor and commission-only advisor are both restricted in what they are able to offer and do for their clients, as it must fall within one of these two areas exclusively. This has never made sense to me –IFG is proud to serve our clients as a “fee-based” practice. That means pulling from a diverse menu of solutions without regard to their compensation model. This is what it means to be a holistic planner – “ALL TOOLS ARE IN PLAY”. When I see an advisor who says they are “xxx-only”, to me that’s saying they’re looking to solve all of their client’s problems using the same tools instead of looking deeper and exploring all avenues to try and find the best fit.

Always seek value, reduce expenses wherever possible, and never take more risk than necessary to achieve the results you want. This approach has worked for me personally my entire life, and I bring that to the table for my cleints.

This is a top concern, and I engineer my financial planning recommendations to be as tax-efficient as possible. I keep your tax bill in mind at every step. I’ve never liked surprises where money is concerned and the last thing we want our clients to deal with are unexpected tax surprises. For years I’ve helped my clients understand capital gains, Social Security taxation, retirement account taxation, and have even directly handled Federal and State tax withholdings at the custodian level for many client account.