In today’s complex world, most people need help allocating, protecting and passing on their resources, or managing their financial risks and investments being tagged for retirement. Professional financial advisors play an essential role in helping people do that. Access to competent, specialized knowledge and ethical advice is to the well-being of clients and society at large. The Webster’s dictionary defines ethics as “the discipline dealing with what is good and bad, and with moral duty and obligation”. Ethics is more than people having the desire to be “a good person”. Ethics involves making decisions reflecting ones deep personal moral values. I have always been interested in ethics theory and moral perception; the ability to perceive the morally correct choice. How do we decide the right thing to do? What guides our moral compass? Why do people chose to do things that are not in their best interest? Why are some blind to the wrong around them? It is my core beliefs and principles that dictate my business; guides my relationships, steers my daily operations and determines all counsel given. There is a potential inherent conflict of interest anytime money changes hands and even more so, in types of employment or agent arrangements promoting a line of commissioned products. Though I have let go of prospective clients and unbelievable amounts of revenue by choosing what I believe to be the higher road; I have done so while watching other advisory firms grow much faster in both revenue and size over the same tenure. I know I have made the right choice; the road marked by personal integrity. Just as one can hear much rationalization over unethical personal-relational decisions; just as much rationalization can be heard about unethical business practices. However, acting as a Fiduciary means that I have to be willing to close the door to many opportunities of business revenue: such as advising someone to pay off their mortgage rather than investing the same dollars, or encouraging one towards a lifetime pension payout over a lump sum option because the later could lead to revenues for me where the former would not. As for my fee structure for comprehensive Financial Planning services: my fees are determined so that the common person, regular folks, have access to competent, reliable financial advice at an affordable price for the value received. This attitude reflects both the purpose and mission of Navigational Wealth Planning, Inc. Lastly, I believe that a beneficial relationship between a person seeking financial advice and an Advisor should exhibit the following standards:
◘ The client’s best interest is preeminent
◘ Advisor acting with fiduciary due care
◘ Advisor never misleading a client
◘ Full/fair disclosure of all details is given
◘ Conflicts of interest are revealed when making recommendations
