My Three Tenets

Once again, I am calling it a holiday week. Yeah, yesterday was the holiday but I think it is still legit. 

Because of this I am going to keep this week’s article short and sweet too. I know SEO guidelines tell me I should write like 1,500 words, but who wants to read that. Let’s get to it.

 When I launched my firm back in 2016 I established it under three tenets. These are all still in place and one was recently tested, which is what cause me to get to this point. I bet you want to get to the tenets.

The first is to be a Full-time fiduciary. Again, the F word gets thrown around a lot in my world and is basically treated as a marketing theme anymore. However, it is still important. It simply means your advisor puts your interests ahead of theirs. Now, I mention full-time because there are many firms out there where they can put their interests first at times. They can take the fiduciary hat on and off to fit their needs. However, for me I am a fiduciary always putting my clients first. I feel this is the time to break out the old 24/7 expression. 

Next, I charge a flat fee based on my knowledge and experience. My fees are not based on my ability to sell or on what the markets do. Nope, I simply charge what I think is a fair fee that takes into consideration my knowledge and experience. I know I am different in my world as there are not many true flat fee advisors out there, however, my clients and I tend to think this is a slightly better way. 

My final tenet is working with clients where I think we will get along and like one another. Let’s be honest. When you first start you have the tendency to take on clients you may not like because you need the revenue. Heck, I will admit I took on some clients who I thought would be a good fit and a year down the road I realized it just wasn’t the case. Fortunately, I have become much more skilled at determining fit. And this was tenet was tested recently. 

The short version is someone called me and said he just sold his company for nine figures and was looking for a flat fee advisor. Now, a traditional AUM (advisor who charges a fee for market performance based on assets under management) would kill for this type of opportunity. For me, I kept asking my questions to determine fit. Ultimately, I determined it would not make sense for the two of us to work together and wished him the best in his search. 

Now, I cannot reveal my trade secrets in how I determine fit. I do have to keep some things to myself. However, I heard a silly guideline about Facebook friends years ago that still runs through my head. If you saw someone out in public and you wouldn’t cross the street to say hello, why would you be friends on Facebook? 

Anyways, just wanted to share the tenets that drive my firm. Until I launched my firm I never had anything like this. All I know is they have helped keep me happy at work since they were instituted.