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<strong>FIDUCIARY STANDARD</strong>

FIDUCIARY STANDARD

Our firm follows seven Global Fiduciary Precepts in order to maintain a level of fiduciary responsibility toward out advisory clients. We feel that these requirements are the common guideposts found throughout legal frameworks describing the fiduciary obligation owned by investment advisor representatives to their clients.

What is the "fiduciary standard of care?" The fiduciary standard of care requires that a financial advisor act solely in the client's best interest when offering personalized financial advice. The fiduciary rule, also known as the conflict of interest rule, states advisers have to give conflict-free advice on retirement accounts, putting their clients' needs ahead of their own potential compensation.

Our commitment to our clients and the rules that govern portfolio construction and monitoring.

  1. Know the rules governing the portfolio. This involves knowing the requirements of applicable laws and reviewing client information and documents pertaining to the establishment and management of the investor’s portfolio. These reviews should include trust documents and statutes, the investment policy statement, and contracts with current service providers.

  2. Maintain prudent diversification within the investment portfolio to meet specific risk and return objectives. This would entail the development of the portfolio’s asset allocation strategies in adherence with the risk and return profile setup in the investment policy statement.

  3. Prepare and maintain the investment policy statement. We view this as one of the most critical functions a fiduciary performs. The investment policy statement should be viewed as the business plan that guides the activities of those managing the portfolio. The investment policy statement is a formal, long-range strategic plan that defines the management of the investment program in a logical and consistent framework.

  4. Employ prudent professionals to implement the investment strategy. The investment adviser representative should be able to demonstrate that a due diligence process was followed in selecting each investment option. It will also serve the dual purpose of applying to searches to select, as well as to monitor, each investment option.

  5. Control and account for all investment-related expenses. The investment adviser representative has a responsibility to know each party that has been compensated from portfolio assets and to ensure that no service vendor is unduly compensated. This requires an accounting of all dollars spent for services, whether those dollars are paid directly from the account or through other fee-sharing arrangements, such as 12b-1 fees, sub-TA fees or soft dollars.

  6. Monitor the portfolio and supervise the activities of the investments managers and service vendors. Portfolio management involves a number of periodic reviews of the numerous parties involved in the investment process.

  7. Avoid prohibited transactions and conflicts of interest. A fundamental duty of every fiduciary is to manage investment decisions for the exclusive benefit of the end investor.

The aforementioned precepts represent high level principles founded in law. They provide a framework for prudent management.

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