Fiduciary Relationship
We are required to put your interests above our own.
Dopkins Wealth Management, LLC (DWM) is a Registered Investment Advisory (RIA) firm—not a broker/dealer. As an RIA firm, by law, we must act and serve our clients’ best interests with the intent to eliminate, or at least to expose, all potential conflicts of interest which might incline us, as your investment advisor, either consciously or unconsciously, to render advice which was not in your best interests.
As an independent wealth management firm, we make every recommendation based solely on how it best serves your near- and long-term interests.
It’s not just a promise. It’s our business model.
COMPLIMENTARY PORTFOLIO REVIEW
RIA vs. Broker/Dealer: Why it Matters
It’s as true in life as it is with investing. When you work with an advisor, you have the right to expect that individual to be fully devoted to doing what’s best for you – not what’s best for those with more to gain from pushing products than helping clients.
The term “Registered Investment Advisor” or RIA, has been popularized due to its use within the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 and its association to the term “Investment Advisor”. But what exactly is a Registered Investment Advisor? The SEC defines an Investment Advisor as an individual or a firm that is in the business of giving advice about securities. An Investment Advisor must adhere to a fiduciary standard. It’s a complex sounding term, but it delivers great peace of mind. As a fiduciary, we must act in your best interests at all times. No exceptions.
You see, the money we earn for our investment advice comes only from our clients. This is the key to our independence. This is what enables us to recommend the financial vehicles and instruments best suited to help you reach your goals. Adherence to this fiduciary standard is not optional: it is mandated by the Investment Advisors Act of 1940, and is what sets Investment Advisors, like Dopkins Wealth Management, apart from Broker/Dealers.
So what does all this mean to you? Common sense tells you that a person’s primary loyalty will be to the hand that feeds them. If you choose an investment advisor that is paid directly by fees from you, your advisor will have an incentive to provide advice and service that is in line with your goals. If your advisor is paid by commissions, or fees that are filtered through a broker-dealer, then they are first and foremost bound to the products the broker dealer prefers them to use. When deciding who you want managing your investments, one decision you must make is if you want an advisor who is duty bound to work for your best interests, or an advisor who might also be working to advance his own best interests.
We believe you deserve better. We believe that by putting our clients’ interests first, we achieve more together.
* Dopkins Wealth Management, LLC is a registered investment advisor owned by the partners of Dopkins & Company, LLP.
