| Fiduciary Oath
We will exercise our best efforts to act in
good faith and in the best interests of our clients.
We shall provide written disclosure to the client
prior to the engagement, and thereafter throughout
the term of the engagement, of any conflicts
which will or reasonably may compromise our impartiality
or independence.
We will not accept
any compensation or other remuneration that
is contingent on
any client’s
purchase or sale of a financial product. We will
not accept a fee or other compensation from another
party based on the referral of a client or the
client’s business.
Competency
A professional
designation (Certified Financial Planner®. Chartered Financial Consultant,
Certified Public Accountant) does not by itself
mean that person is a truly competent financial
advisor. You should carefully examine a person’s
background and experience when choosing an advisor;
someone who has been in the industry longer and
provides comprehensive financial planning may
be a better fit for you, especially if you have
a complicated financial situation.
Mr. Regan has been offering comprehensive financial
planning services for over 10 years.
•
Prior to becoming a CFP® practitioner, Mr.
Regan spent 25 years auditing and managing pension
plans, 401ks, IRAs, insurance and annuity contracts
for financial service companies. He is very knowledgeable
in the terms, costs, and tax implications of
these contracts.
•
Mr. Regan has practiced as a Certified Financial
Planner® practitioner since 1996. He has
prepared financial plans for and managed the
investments of hundreds of individuals, trusts
and small companies.
• Mr. Regan is a former practicing CPA and served
on the Board of the Houston Chapter of the Texas
Society of CPAs and was chairman of the Financial
Planning Committee.
•
Currently, Mr. Regan teaches a class in financial
planning at Saint Thomas University in Houston
to graduate students and financial professionals
that are studying to become Certified Financial
Planners®.
Mr. Peterson has been offering tax, business
and estate planning as part of his law practice
for over 10 years.
Comprehensive
Many
financial professionals loosely use the term Comprehensive” in
describing their range of financial planning
services. Financial
planning is much more than simply developing
a plan for primarily short-term objectives and
reviewing the plan when appropriate. Comprehensive
financial planning covers a wide range of both
short- and long-term financial issues and addresses
your personal goals, objectives and significant
life cycle events.
The more services your financial advisor provides,
the greater your odds of receiving truly comprehensive
financial planning. Your financial advisor should be able and willing
to provide you with a comprehensive written analysis
of your current financial situation as well as
appropriate recommendations so you can reach
your life's goals. In turn, this analysis will
serve as the starting point for beginning your
client/advisor relationship.
The recommendations provided by the financial
advisor should provide insight into the specific
investment vehicles the advisor recommends
The development of a comprehensive financial
plan is the initial step to properly assessing
your finances. A plan, however, has little value
until it is implemented. As opposed to 'going
it alone', consider having your financial advisor
implement the plan. Fee-Only advisors can often
reduce your investment costs by investing in
assets with reduced annual expenses and no related
sales commissions.
Regular and periodic reviews and on-going communication
are necessary to ensure you remain on track toward
achieving your financial objectives. The prospective
financial advisor should provide you with this
ongoing support
CEP prepares both comprehensive and segmented
financial plans. CEP begins by gathering, analyzing,
and evaluating data from the client, including
goals and objectives. Comprehensive plans include
a case summary, reports on financial position,
cash flows, tax liabilities, insurance coverage,
client goals and objectives and investment strategies.
Plans are prepared based on client interviews,
questionnaires, and /or documents supplied by
the client. A customized plan is prepared for
each client.
Compensation How a financial advisor is compensated for the
advice and recommendations you will be provided
can tell you a lot about the quality and objectivity
of that advice.
Advisors who accept commissions can tell you
they are not conflicted, but the fact remains
they are in a position to encourage you to invest
in vehicles offering them higher commissions.
Financial advisors who are compensated based
on commissions should be able to identify what
percentage of their income comes from various
investment vehicles. Take a thorough look at
the percentages that will be paid to your advisor;
if the majority of his/her compensation stems
from stock trading, the advisor's role for you
may be no more than that of a broker.
If a financial advisor has close ties to specific
investments (i.e. is compensated by only one
mutual fund company), the advisor should disclose
that relationship before you engage his/her services.
Failure to disclose that potential conflict of
interest should give you reason to seek a relationship
with a different financial professional.
As you work with a financial advisor, other
needs revolving around important financial issues
will become evident. Certain advisors, for example,
recommend attorneys, accountants, insurance agents,
and mortgage brokers from whom they receive a
referral fee. If your prospective financial advisor
indicates that she/he receives compensation for
recommending clients to another professional,
you may consider finding your own professionals.
Advisors who recommend other professionals solely
because they receive compensation from those
referrals are not ethical and do not have your
best interests in mind.
A
financial advisor who receives 12(b)1 fees
or “trailers” is not a Fee-Only
Financial Advisor. A professional who accepts
such fees
may be conflicted in the advice they will provide
you since certain investments carry higher levels
of fees or trailers that will be more beneficial
for the financial advisor, not you.
Commission-based advisors may receive higher
commissions on certain products they sell than
on others. This may influence their decision
to recommend investment products that are not
in your best interest. Fee-Only advisors do not
have this conflict of interest; they are able
to recommend investments based solely upon your
specific needs.
CEP is independently owned by Peter J Regan.
CEP does not accept payments of any kind from
any third party. CEP does not accept commissions,
fees, or payments of any kind from any brokerage
firm, mutual fund company, bank, or insurance
company. Because of this independence CEP is
not limited to any subset of investment alternatives
and is free to use any investment vehicle or
strategy
Client – Centered
Accountability
is important in financial planning. While there
are many people in the financial
services industry who profess to have the client’s
best interests at heart, they may still make
recommendations that are imprudent or conflicted.
NAPFA requires all of its members to sign a Fiduciary
Oath; this helps to ensure that each client’s
best interests, not the advisors', are always
a priority. If a prospective financial advisor
states that she/he will not sign such an oath,
consider retaining another advisor who will agree
to put your interests first and will sign this
simple yet compelling statement.
FIDUCIARY OATH
The advisor shall exercise his/her best efforts
to act in good faith and in the best interests
of the client. The advisor shall provide written
disclosure to the client prior to the engagement
of the advisor, and thereafter throughout the
term of the engagement, of any conflicts of
interest which will or reasonably may compromise
the impartiality or independence of the advisor.
The advisor, or any party in which the advisor
has a financial interest, does not receive
any compensation or other remuneration that
is contingent on any client's purchase or sale
of a financial product. The advisor does not
receive a fee or other compensation from another
party based on the referral of a client or
the client's business. What the Fiduciary Oath means to you - the client
• I shall always act in good faith and with candor.
• I shall be proactive in my disclosure of any
conflicts of interest that may impact you.
• I shall not accept any referral fees or compensation
that is contingent upon the purchase or sale
of a financial product. CEP gives each client a copy of this Oath.
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