Fee-Only vs. Fee-Based

Fee-Only vs Fee-Based Financial Advisors

Fee-Only financial advisors are compensated for services as a flat-fee, hourly fee, and/or a percentage of assets under management (AUM) paid by the client directly. Period. In other words, they do not make additional income from commissions or kick-backs earned from the sale of any financial products.

Fee-Based financial advisors generally charge clients fees for services, but they are also compensated by commissions they earn through the sale of products their clients’ purchase. Most fee-based advisors hold licenses that allow them to sell investment products or insurance for a commission.

As you can imagine, this often creates a conflict of interest when the best product(s) for your needs and financial future aren’t the same product(s) that pad their bank account with additional commissions.

In addition to fee-only and fee-based fee structures, there are also financial planners who are compensated solely by commission. Unfortunately, these financial planners often present themselves as being more cost-effective because they don’t charge their clients any service fees. Beware! Like fee-based advisors, they are under no obligation to act in your best interest. Commission-Only advisors have an even larger incentive than fee-based advisors to push clients into certain products that pay them commissions – even if the products are not in the clients’ best interests – because that is the only compensation they receive for their services.

Rowling & Associates’ Commitment to YOUR Best Interests

Rowling & Associates is a fee-only fiduciary wealth management firm. Our mission is to provide innovative, and commission-free, wealth management and sustainable investing solutions with maximized tax savings to help you achieve your life goals.

Our commitment to acting in your best interest is foundational to our core philosophy as financial advisors and demonstrated in the following ways:

FEE-ONLY FINANCIAL PLANNING AND WEALTH MANAGEMENT

• A transparent fee-only fee structure so you know exactly how much you’re paying at all times, including hourly and fixed fees for planning, tax preparation, and assets under management (AUM).
• Our fee structure is such that we are incentivized to grow your wealth; when you do better, we do better.

FIDUCIARY ADVICE

• Conflict free advice – we have no incentive to ever recommend a product that isn’t in your best interest because we are never compensated by commissions on products we recommend to you.
• We adhere to the strict guidelines of the fiduciary standard of care as defined by The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard so that your best interests always come first. As fiduciaries we are bound by the following six key fiduciary duties:
• Serve the client’s best interest
• Act in utmost good faith
• Act prudently – with the care, skill and judgment of a professional
• Avoid conflicts of interest
• Disclose all material facts
• Control investment expenses

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERS™

• As part of their certification, CFP^® professionals commit to high ethical standards. Rowling & Associates’ CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP^®) professionals have:
  • met the CFP Board Registered Program’s education requirement for coursework on financial planning,
  • successfully passed the CFP^® exam,
  • accrued at least 6,000 hours of professional experience related to the financial planning process, and
  • agreed to adhere to high ethical and professional standards for the practice of financial planning, and to act as a fiduciary when providing financial advice to your client, always putting clients best interests first.
• Here are profiles for the CFP^® professionals on Rowling & Associates’ team:
  • Steve Doster
  • Lorenzo Sanchez
  • Shalmali Kulkarni
  • Ashley Stroud
• Learn more about the importance of working with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ on the CFP website: https://www.letsmakeaplan.org/how-to-choose-a-planner/why-choose-a-cfp-professional

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PERSONAL FINANCIAL ADVISORS (NAPFA)

• Rowling & Associates is a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), the leading professional organization for fee-only advisors.
• All NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisors must:
  • Be fee-only, fiduciary advisors with high professional and ethical standards,
  • Meet stiff credentialing and educational requirements; including completing 60 hours of continuing education every two years (the most rigorous continuing education requirements in the industry)
  • Be primarily engaged as holistic financial advisors (rather than merely investment or tax advisors)
  • Submit to outside professional review, to ensure that they do not have the conflicts of interest that commissions bring
  • Submit a financial plan for review by peers before they can be admitted
• Here is a link to Rowling & Associates’ NAPFA Profile

THE FEE ONLY NETWORK

• Financial advisors at Rowling & Associates are also members of The Fee Only Network and have been vetted to meet the high standards of NAPFA for strict fee-only compensation and ethical obligation.

REGISTERED INVESTMENT ADVISOR (RIA)

• As a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), we are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which audits firms every six to 10 years on average.
• Here are links to download our registration forms: Form CRS, ADV2A, and ADV2B

The fee-only financial advisors at Rowling & Associates work for you, not commissions. We adhere to the strict guidelines of the fiduciary standard of care so that your best interests always come first. Contact us to discuss the benefits of working with a fee-only financial advisor.