Your Questions Answered by St. Louis Financial Planners
We understand that financial planning can come with many questions.
Here, we provide clear and concise answers to help you understand our services and how we can assist you in achieving your financial goals.
What is your relevant experience, education, and other qualifications? What do these qualifications mean?
Our team consists of highly qualified financial professionals with extensive experience in the industry. We hold various licenses and certifications, including CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification. These qualifications mean that we have met rigorous education, examination, and ethical standards, demonstrating our commitment to providing expert financial advice.
Given my financial situation, should I choose an investment advisory service? Why or why not?
Choosing an investment advisory service depends on your specific financial situation and goals. Our investment advisers will meet with you to determine the best advisory service and program for your needs. Together, we will discuss and establish your investment goals and objectives, risk tolerance levels, net worth, and suitability for the services offered by STLFP and STLFPAM. Each investment model has a different risk and return profile, and the portfolio selected for you is customized to your individual risk/return needs through a composite model of models. We also offer active management services under the Full Discretion Advisory Agreement, where we manage your investments in ETFs and individual equities according to your goals and risk levels.
How will you choose investments to recommend to me?
Our investment advisers conduct a thorough assessment of your financial situation to determine the most suitable investments for you. This involves discussing your investment goals, risk tolerance, net worth, and suitability for our services. We use a customized approach to create a portfolio tailored to your specific risk/return profile, and we provide active management services to adjust your investments as needed to meet your predetermined goals.
What fees will I pay and how are they structured?
If you decide to become a valued client, you will pay an asset-based fee at the end of each quarter, based on the value of your account. This fee is calculated in arrears using the average daily balance in your account for the quarter. Our custodian charges a quarterly custody fee that is covered by the adviser, with no commissions, account maintenance fees nor transactional trading costs. For additional information on fees and breakpoints, please see ADV Part 2A Item 5 and our Full Discretion Advisory Agreement.
How will I be able to access my accounts?
Our custodian has their own innovative website with the ability to view all accounts, performance and values in a household format without requiring separate logins. We also have our own investment portal app for both your phone and computer. Our custodian will send you quarterly independent account statements showing performance, holdings and activity within the account.
Are you a fiduciary?
Yes. As a result, we have a legal and ethical obligation to prioritize our clients’ interests above our own.
What are your legal obligations to me when acting as my investment adviser?
When we act as your investment adviser, we are legally obligated to act in your best interest and not put our interests ahead of yours. This fiduciary standard requires us to provide ongoing monitoring of your portfolio, investment strategy, and investments.
Standard of Conduct – Our Obligations to You
We must abide by certain laws and regulations in our interactions with you. Our fiduciary standard covers our entire investment advisory relationship, requiring us to monitor your portfolio, investment strategy, and investments on an ongoing basis.
For further information on our investment advisory services please contact us at (636) 532-3900.
St. Louis Financial Planners – Your trusted partner in financial planning and investment management.