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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What’s the key difference between a broker and a registered investment advisor?

Under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940, registered investment advisors are held to a fiduciary standard of care. By law, they must ensure that each investment recommendation they make is based on the client’s best interest. A broker is required to only purchase suitable investments and not necessarily what’s in the client’s best interest.

This is a concern that many people have and are unsure about. If you become a client of Castle Wealth Management you will receive a customized financial plan that determines if you are on track to meet your personalized goals, including a spending plan that we can track annually at your reviews. Having a plan in place gives you the peace of mind with your finances so that you can rest easy at night.

Our client’s assets are held at three custodians: Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, and iShares. You can view all your accounts online through our custodian’s login portals.

Our staff currently consists of: the CFP designations, MBA degrees, CFA designation, CPA designation, and a PFS designation.

CFP - Anyone can call themselves a “financial planner.” Only those who have fulfilled the certification and renewal requirements of the CFP Board can display the CFP® certification marks. CFP® certification is generally recognized as the highest standard in personal financial planning, qualifying financial planning professionals to provide their clients with comprehensive financial advice.

CFA - No credential is as widely regarded in the global financial industry for its rigorous focus on current investment knowledge, analytical skill, and ethical standards as the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. With more than 100,000 CFA charterholders in over 135 countries and territories and an increasing demand worldwide for the CFA Program, the charter has become the global professional investment credential.

CPA - CPAs are many things. They are chief financial officers for Fortune 500 companies and advisors to small neighborhood businesses. They work for public accounting firms, both small and large. They are well-respected strategic business advisors and decision-makers. They act as consultants on many issues, including taxes and accounting.

A CPA, or Certified Public Accountant, is a trusted financial advisor who helps individuals, businesses, and other organizations plan and reach their financial goals. Whatever those goals-saving for a new home, opening a new office, or planning a multi-billion dollar merger-CPAs can help.

PFS - The AICPA has established the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) credential for CPAs who specialize in personal financial planning. This designation can only be acquired by CPAs who are AICPA members, have business experience and lifelong learning within the five-year period preceding the date of application in addition to passing a comprehensive financial planning exam. Personal Financial Specialists strive to demonstrate their knowledge, skill and experience by earning this exclusive credential.

CDFA® - Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFAs) are licensed by the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts. Founded in 1993, the Institute is the premier national organization dedicated to the certification, education and promotion of the use of financial professionals in the divorce arena. CDFAs must have a minimum of three years of professional experience in finance or divorce, take a four-part self-study course and must pass four examinations. Once a financial professional has obtained the CDFA designation, he or she must obtain 15 divorce-related hours of continuing education every two years.

At a minimum, we meet each client personally once a year for a thorough portfolio review and a financial planning update. We have phone conversations with most clients throughout the year and meet clients for additional in person meetings if wanted or needed. We review each client at our Investment Committee meetings between 1 to 4 times per year depending on the size of the client.

The firm’s current new client minimum is $500,000 of investable assets. For younger clients, we accept a new client minimum of $250,000 in investable assets.

We provide quarterly reports either via mail or electronic delivery to all of our clients that include portfolio performance numbers, portfolio rebalancing’s, account statements, fixed income analysis, and a realized gains & loss report. We also provide quarterly comment letters and monthly electronic newsletters.

We charge a percentage of assets under management. Our fee structure is a sliding scale starting at 1% and declining to .30%. All fees are billed monthly in arrears.

Fee-only investment advisors are registered investment advisors with a fiduciary responsibility to act in their client’s best interest. They do not accept any fees or compensation based on product sales. Fee-only investment advisors have fewer conflicts of interest and provide more comprehensive advice. They are paid based on a percentage of the assets that they manage. Fee-only advisors are able make investment selections based upon what’s best for the client and not what pays the biggest commission.


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