Buckingham Strategic Partners

Buckingham Strategic Partners proudly serves and supports independent wealth management firms and financial advisors in their work of helping clients and their families meet their most important life and financial goals. It’s our highest calling. That’s why Buckingham Strategic Partners delivers academically rooted and evidence-based investment solutions, because we believe this approach gives you the best odds of achieving financial peace of mind. We provide holistic financial planning tools, because we believe true wealth management should be comprehensive. We’ve developed a long bench of thought leaders and specialists, because we believe in breadth plus depth. By partnering with Buckingham Strategic Partners, members of this nationwide community bring its collective wisdom and resources to bear on designing, building and protecting each client’s financial plan.

Dopkins & Company, LLP

Dopkins & Company is one of the largest independent accounting firms in the Buffalo-Niagara region, having served Western New York companies since 1955. With over 100 people, our composition provides us with the necessary flexibility to meet our clients’ needs virtually any time during the year. A regional accounting and consulting firm dedicated to providing the highest quality professional services, we have grown by focusing on services not typically found outside the Big 4 accounting firms. Through our in-depth expertise and unsurpassed dedication to client service, we have emerged as a premier provider of services to individuals, not-for profit organizations, and both publicly traded and privately held companies.

Dimensional Fund Advisors

Our passive asset class investment approach is translated by Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) into an array of mutual funds, each of which is rigorously designed to capture a particular “dimension” or asset class within a globally diversified portfolio. (DFA is our primary but not exclusive source for implementing our recommended investment approach, Dopkins Wealth Management receives no compensation from DFA for using its funds nor are we under any obligation to use them if they do not best meet your particular investment needs.)

Working years ahead of the industry, Dimensional has forged a new way to invest. The firm inaugurated its strategies in 1981 with early research into the stronger performance of small cap stocks. Later, a comprehensive analysis of stock prices worldwide deepened the strategy repertoire and set a new standard for portfolio design. This evolution reflects an abiding belief in financial science and the efficacy of capital markets.

Dimensional views markets as an ally, not an adversary. Rather than trying to take advantage of the ways markets are mistaken, they take advantage of the ways markets are right—the ways they compensate investors. The firm designs asset class funds to help investors capture what the market offers in all its dimensions.

Account Custodians

While Dopkins Wealth Management provides investment advice, we do not have direct access to your account assets. As a client you choose either Charles Schwab or Fidelity Investments to custody your account. With your permission, Dopkins receives Limited Power of Attorney to submit trade requests on your behalf and provide you with regular reports that summarize your portfolio’s performance. However, you remain in control of your assets by having them held in accounts in your name. Both of our custodians provide us with the platform, products, programs and resources to serve our clients and grow our businesses efficiently and effectively.

Company Retirement Plan Providers

Recognizing that recordkeeping and administration of a retirement plan is a key component to implementing a successful program, we have completed due diligence on numerous companies across the country to identify the providers that can implement our investment approach with an eye toward client service and cost-effective delivery. Based on your company’s needs, we will recommend the recordkeeper/administrator who we think would be the best fit for your plan.

Annuity Management

Dopkins Wealth Management does not typically recommend annuities as a cost-effective investment vehicle, but if you already hold an annuity that is restricted from or cost-prohibitive to surrender, you may be able to transfer it to an alternative annuity. Dopkins has access to Dimensional Fund Advisor sub-accounts within a no-load, relatively low-cost variable annuity. Their annuity solution is consistent with Dopkins’ guiding principles by providing low-cost, passive asset class investing. The annuities will appear as separate accounts on your quarterly reports. With this information, we can manage these DFA funds as part of the overall portfolio.

Compliance Management

Confluence Technologies, Inc. (Confluence) is a leader in compliance and registration consulting services for Investment Advisors. Confluence works closely with Dopkins Wealth Management providing ongoing compliance consulting, guidance and training. More specifically, they help us prepare for registration, perform regulatory risk management and infrastructure analysis, and offer due diligence services and compliance training. By ensuring that our firm understands compliance control arrangements, Confluence aims to ensure that good compliance becomes an integral part of the way we conduct business. Confluence helps our firm create a culture of compliance and makes compliance a source of strength.