Why should I work with a NAPFA registered fiduciary?
The White House Economic Advisors recently stated non-fiduciaries costs American families $17 billion a year due to the conflicts of interest posed. This results, on average, in 1 percent lower annual returns on families’ retirement savings.1 At BlueSky, the fiduciary standard is upheld in virtually all elements of our firm’s culture – even in the way we have built our BlueSky Flat Fee℠ compensation structure. In addition, being a proud member of NAPFA.org, we are required to be held accountable to the highest standards of fiduciary requirements.
What is a fiduciary?
A fiduciary is a professional who stands in a relationship of trust and legal responsibility with a client. This means we are required by the law to act in the best interests of our clients.
All advisors say I can trust them; how do I know I can trust you?
It’s true; all advisors say that they are trustworthy, but we go further. Our firm is structured to eliminate conflicts of interest, often creating a lack of trust between advisors and clients. First, we are fiduciaries. This means that we are legally bound to put your interests ahead of our own. Think of the fiduciary standard as the financial advisor’s version of the Hippocratic Oath. Second, we are a fee-only firm. This is a relatively rare model in the industry, and it eliminates the sales commissions that can pit advisors’ interests against their client’s interests. When it comes to trust, concrete features like these separate BlueSky from those who only offer lip service.
Sometimes, advisors have hidden agendas. How do I know you don’t?
We despise hidden agendas and are huge fans of full transparency. The marquee Wall Street firms may provide plenty of polish, but ultimately they are driven to earn commissions by making sales—especially of their in-house products. This is where BlueSky’s fee-only model makes a huge difference for our clients. We cannot and do not earn outside compensation from any other party. We work exclusively for you, the client, earning only the fee that you have agreed upon, regardless of any advice and recommendations we deliver. We don’t believe that anyone should work with an advisor who is not registered with the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA).
Will my relationship with BlueSky be easy and convenient?
We’re committed to delivering an effortless client experience. That includes investing in the most advanced tools and services in the industry. You can choose whether to meet in person or virtually through our Web conferencing tool. Clients also have access to our secure portal with intuitive tools to display performance, up-to-date investment reporting, video reporting, and our live RSS feed.
What should I look for in a financial advisor?
When choosing an advisor, you should consider factors such as experience, qualifications, investment philosophy, service offerings, and compensation structure.
What is Evidence Based Investing?
Evidence Based Investing offers systematic approaches for investment decisions. These decisions are based on data and historical benchmarks.
What does Fee-Only mean?
Fee-Only means that we receive compensation from our clients. We do not receive any commission or payments for the financial products that we recommend to clients.
How much does this cost?
Is the flat-fee negotiable?
No it is not. We believe in our team, our value, and our product and hope that this is precisely why you are entrusting us to provide you with our comprehensive suite of services. To do what we do, well, we must charge accordingly, and we must cover our cost of doing business.
When, how, or will the quarterly fee pay for itself?
We believe and know we can add substantial value to your family’s financial position. With tax strategies, consolidation and simplification of your account structures, low-cost investing, and the creation of passive income through real estate, I have complete faith you will see the return on investment within the first year at BlueSky (if not sooner). We want to shift the family entity from income generating to wealth building and reach financial independence so you can enjoy each other and your lives!
While filling out the PFP, I noticed it asked if I read a book by David Blain, but I didn't capture what it was. Can you tell me where to find the book?
David’s book is “Invest In Your Life, Not Just Your Portfolio.” It’s a super easy read designed to simplify many financial concepts that sometimes hang people up. It has a bunch of neat graphics and flow charts that explain how we like to think about the journey to financial independence and freedom, as well as some awesome background on David’s story and how we all got here! Request a free copy in our Resource Center.
1. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/04/06/fact-sheet-middle-class-economics-strengthening-retirement-security