Frequently Asked Questions
What is an RIA?
R.I.A. stands for Registered Investment Advisor. As a registered financial advisor with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), we have a fiduciary obligation to put our clients' interests above our own. A financial advisor who is not an R.I.A. is more like a stock broker and is considered a registered representative of a larger firm that does not have a fiduciary obligation to put the clients' interests first.
*How do I know my money is safe?
Your investments are held with a third party custodian. We use Schwab Institutional. We never hold any of your investments. Whenever you hear of investors losing their money to a corrupt advisor, such as Bernie Madoff, it's because they gave their money directly to the advisor or a brokerage firm owned by the advisor.
When our clients' money is invested with Schwab, we can only receive copies of your statements and make trades in your account. We do not have the ability to withdraw any of your investments. The benefit of having a third party custodian is that you receive statements directly from them, you can check your account directly on their website, or walk into any Schwab branch office to check your balance at any time.
R.I.A. stands for Registered Investment Advisor. As a registered financial advisor with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), we have a fiduciary obligation to put our clients' interests above our own. A financial advisor who is not an R.I.A. is more like a stock broker and is considered a registered representative of a larger firm that does not have a fiduciary obligation to put the clients' interests first.
*How do I know my money is safe?
Your investments are held with a third party custodian. We use Schwab Institutional. We never hold any of your investments. Whenever you hear of investors losing their money to a corrupt advisor, such as Bernie Madoff, it's because they gave their money directly to the advisor or a brokerage firm owned by the advisor.
When our clients' money is invested with Schwab, we can only receive copies of your statements and make trades in your account. We do not have the ability to withdraw any of your investments. The benefit of having a third party custodian is that you receive statements directly from them, you can check your account directly on their website, or walk into any Schwab branch office to check your balance at any time.
Schwab Institutional offers protections under the Security Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which provides protection of up to $500,000, including a $250,000 limit for cash on accounts held at SIPC member firms. The protection is provided in the event a SIPC member firm becomes insolvent and covers most types of securities such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. SIPC does not protect you against losses caused by a decline in the market value of your securities and it does not provide protection for investment contracts not registered with the SEC.