Asked and Answered
We regularly get questions from clients or prospective clients which can be commonly answered in brief. To save you some time and effort, we’ve compiled a list of these more common inquiries and shared them here in the hopes that we’ve provided all you need. If not, and you have additional questions not answered here, please feel free to contact us – we’ll be sure to get back to you with a reply.
Our goal is to deliver a financial plan that you believe is one of the best investments you’ve made with your resources. These comprehensive plans can take several weeks to create for you. The cost for this plan varies with the complexity of your financial circumstances. Clients can expect to invest several thousand dollars into their individual plans. We know that cheap work isn’t good and good work isn’t cheap.
We are the money managers for our clients’ assets and our clients pay us an annual percentage of their assets to professionally manage their portfolios. The cost of the investment management depends on the amount invested, the assets under management. If we work together, you will always have complete transparency around what you pay for the management and services provided. To learn more about our services, reach out.
The CFP® certification is the gold standard for the financial planning industry. Christy has been a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional since 2009. It is our opinion that you should only seek financial advice from a CFP® professional.
A CFP® certification mandates education, examination, experience and ethics – the CFP® certification requires that you have earned an accredited Bachelor’s degree, passed a comprehensive, integrated exam, have qualifying professional experience and agree to a Code of Ethics. Additionally, Christy completes a minimum of 30 hours of continuing education every two years to maintain her certification. Christy has been identified by the CFP Board as a Subject Matters Expert (SME) and the CFP Board reaches out to her for help with development of exam questions for future CFPs.
An AIF® is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary® and it means Christy has taken additional steps to deepen her affiliation with the guiding fiduciary standards. While the CFP Board has expanded application of the fiduciary standard, the AIF® designation certifies that Christy maintains the specialized knowledge of fiduciary standards of care as they apply to the investment management process.
The AIF® designation requires a combination of education, relevant industry experience and ethics. The certification mandates the completion of a training program, the successful passing of a comprehensive examination and a written agreement to abide by the Code of Ethics and Conduct Standards. In order to maintain the AIF designation, Christie annually completes 6 hours of fiduciary-specific continuing education and attests, annually, to the Code of Ethics and Conduct Standards.
A fee-only advisor is prohibited only from receiving commissions or offering any kind of investment or insurance product to clients that includes a commission. A commission is an upfront payment contingent on the sale of a product. For example, if you buy a life insurance policy, the agent that recommended and sold you the policy will be paid a commission when you pay your first premium, typically equivalent to the first year’s premium.
A fee-based advisor has the option to offer client’s commission-based insurance or investment products as part of their comprehensive financial plan and can be paid commissions on those products. Azimuth Wealth Management, Inc. is a fee-based advisor. We do not recommend commission-based investment products, and we have found that many of our clients need life insurance, disability insurance or long term care insurance as part of their family’s risk management strategy. If they decide to move forward with a suggestion to improve their risk management strategy their preference is that Azimuth recommends the most appropriate solution, handles the application process and facilitates the overall procurement of the most cost effective and appropriate strategies.
If you work with Azimuth Wealth Management, Inc. you will always have full awareness and transparency as to the costs of services you receive. We maintain full transparency into commissions we receive and what alternatives exist for you.
The term “Independent” means we work for you and no one else. It may seem obvious but many financial advisors represent a company’s (often their employer’s) interest before yours and therefore don’t have your best interest in mind when offering you financial advice.
Azimuth has chosen to hire Commonwealth Financial Network® to serve as its broker/dealer. A broker/dealer is a company that a registered investment professional is required to affiliate with in order to buy and sell investment products on behalf of investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delegates the supervision of financial advisors to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). FINRA, in turn, requires us to choose a broker/dealer to partner with on your behalf.
Azimuth Wealth Management clients are the nicest people we know. We intentionally cultivate a firm and an approach that attracts like minded people and busy families with big dreams. As author and inspirational speaker, Simon Sinek has taught us: “The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. It is to do business with people who believe what you believe.”
