• toomeyinvest
  • Finance
  • February 4, 2015

I Am a Fiduciary

So I looked up the definition of “fiduciary” online. Even though the interpretations of a fiduciary can vary amongst different professional engagements, it is fair to state that a fiduciary must legally put your interests before their own. The “fiduciary standard” is extremely important in the world of financial and legal activities, not the least of which includes those with investment brokers, financial planners or similar titles.

You may be surprised to learn that your own financial representative MAY NOT BE a fiduciary….Not kidding!
So you may be working with a person or firm that has no legal requirement to put your needs and objectives first. Let’s compare that to a different relationship. What if you went to buy a new, big-screen television. And let’s say that one store only employed fiduciary salespeople who were legally required to provide disclosures and all the pro’s and con’s to help you make the best decisions. Contrarily, the other competing store didn’t require a fiduciary duty…which store are you going to? Now I understand that a financial relationship is not identical to buying a TV, but I do stress the expectation of absolute trust and objectivity one must have in financial engagements…that person who always acts as if they were doing things for themselves. And over the past decade or so, many industry lobbying firms have rigorously fought to prevent the imposition of a uniform fiduciary standard….I’ll let you ponder over that one.

So, maybe a good question to ask a current or potential financial adviser is “are YOU a fiduciary?”

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Employers: Are You Managing the Company Pension ?

If you are the proprietor of your own business, you may have established a profit sharing or money purchase plan, or perhaps a hybrid plan. And for convenience and cost savings you may have elected to bear the difficult responsibility and risk of enlisting yourself as the investment manager.

Well, as time has gone on you may have realized that this task is another “job” and maybe you’ve become concerned that you just can’t spend the proper amount of time to provide the best possible results for yourself and your employees. Additionally, you are uncomfortable with accepting the risks associated with managing the assets. I have spoken with many employers who have expressed these concerns, and more.

You should be thrilled to know that the management platform we have operated for years is a superior alternative to managing the assets in your retirement plans. Our daily oversight platform is designed to provide diversification, control risk and costs. Typical investment commissions are a thing of the past in our portfolio models and all aspects of allocation and oversight become our responsibility. As well, since the plan is tax-qualified, the current plan assets can be converted to the model system without tax consequences.

Any employer who can identify with these concerns should take a look at our system. We’re absolutely confident you’ll share my enthusiasm. This platform is also available to IRA’s, old 401(k) plans, SIMPLE and SEP plans !!

Toomey Investment Management a boutique private wealth advisory company partnering with mid to high net worth individuals, families and businesses.

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