cREATING INvESTmENT INcOmE WITh TRANSPARENcYpealing to so many clients. We provide them with the blueprint up front
as to how much they have invested in each category as well as provide
the transparent management costs they will pay for the services they
receive.
keY FoUR: tRAnsPARent CoMMUnICAtIonsThe best fiduciary advisors offer their clients opportunities to learn more
about their investment advisors and allow the clients to offer feedback.
Client advisory boards that are comprised of the firms most influential
clients--we have nine ranging in position from CEO’s of major corpora-
tions to a retired police officer—are a great way to elicit client feedback.
An advisory board offers feedback on how to better-serve clients which
allows an advisor to adjust his business quickly to meet client needs.
Client feedback told us that our clients prefer our smaller, intimate way
of doing business. Consequently, based on our own client recommenda-
tions, we limit our new client base of full-service clients per year. While
we desire not only to be the right fit for the client, we also want the cli-
ent to be the right fit for our firm. If the client has a substantial portfolio
but they want to manage and call all the shots, then they are likely not
the right fit for us. Usually when one sits down with a broker or advisor,
one must trust that their word is law, however, this typically requires a
significant level of trust and confidence. In the interest of transparency,
we not only tell our prospective clients about our firm, we also allow
them to contact our client advisory board if necessary. Therefore, they
get not only our perspective, but also those of the clients who have been
working with us through the years.
Weekly newsletters from our investment management team called
“Thought of the Week” gives our clients a snapshot into the minds of
the people investing their money. By doing so, the client stays current
on both his investments and the firm’s outlook on the markets. Addi-
tionally, trading notes about what traded and why, can assist a client in
better understanding why his retirement portfolio contains certain in-
vestments. We also highly recommend finding a fiduciary advisor who
communicates with clients, as we do, a Monthly Market Update that
features the chief investment officer briefing them about trends in the
markets over the last month. It is our position that these transparent
communications foster a greater comfort level for our clients.