The Difference

Earning your trust is critical to building a long-term relationship and developing a successful plan.  As a fiduciary and an independent, fee-only financial advisory firm, we offer a distinct advantage to build and maintain your trust.

The Responsibility of a Fiduciary

Many types of professionals provide financial advice to individuals and families. These professionals might call themselves stockbrokers, financial advisors, insurance agents, trust company officers, or many other titles.

While each type of financial professional promises to do his or her best for a client, there are substantial differences in how they operate. The most important difference is where an advisor’s fiduciary duty is placed. A fiduciary standard defines where an advisor’s ethical and legal responsibility lies; ultimately, who is he or she responsible for protecting.

Registered Investment Advisors like Bob Stowe have a fiduciary duty to their clients first and foremost; “investment brokers” and “registered reps” have a fiduciary duty to their employers. The difference is immense; Registered Investment Advisors are required, legally and ethically, to place their clients’ interests first. Brokers are required to place their employer’s interests above their clients’. In other words, brokers can give advice to clients that can be more costly and less effective, without violating their legal obligations.

For more information, please visit:  www.focusonfiduciary.com.

The Fee-Only Structure

Stowe Financial Planning is a fee-only advisory firm. Financial advisors are compensated in two fundamental ways:  Fee-Only and Commission.  Fee-Only means that all of our compensation is received from the client and that none of our compensation is received from product sales, commissions, or kickbacks from financial companies.

Commission-based advisors receive commissions from a third-party for selling their financial products to clients, and “fee-based” advisors can receive both commissions from product sales and fees from clients. “Fee-only” advisors accept fees only from their clients.

Many consumers do not know where to look or how to find the total amount of commissions and fees they are actually paying.  Some are surprised to learn how much they have been charged.  We fully disclose our fees.

The benefits of working with a fee-only advisor are many. We provide objective investment advice and independent, professional recommendations; we do not sell any financial products.  We believe this removes a number of potential conflicts of interest and allows us to focus on what is truly best for our clients.

Independence

Working with an independent advisor means your plan won’t be biased by any one company’s products.  This independent advantage means we’ll review myriad offerings to ensure you have the best investments to achieve your goals. 

Bob answers the NAPFA questionaire in the FAQ

Form ADV Part II is in Forms