+ WHAT IS A FIDUCIARY? ARE YOU FIDUCIARIES? DOES FIDUCIARY MATTER TO ME?

There are two main elements of Fiduciary Responsibility

• Duty of Care (or Standard of Care) - the duty to make reasonable decisions based upon proper due diligence. In plain English, this standard asks the question: “Would a person, of similar responsibility and professionalism, find the recommendations and actions made to be reasonable, given the same available information.” I think it is important to reiterate that this duty requires due diligence. Not asking basic questions about a client’s situation would be a failure of this duty, as would placing clients in strange or concentrated investments without a good reason to do so.
• Duty of Loyalty – the duty to place the client’s interest as primary. If there are conflicts, they must be avoided and/or reduced, and they must be disclosed. If a trustee, or an advisor, recommends something because of their own benefit, that is a conflict. The advisor must attempt to be impartial in their dealings.

Why Does Fiduciary Matter to You?

Working in your best interest is the core principal that guides us in serving others, regardless of the rules and regulatory environment. Fiduciary responsibility notwithstanding, it is our belief that putting your interests ahead of our own and disclosing our conflicts of interest is mutually beneficial as it establishes a firm foundation for our relationship.

+ What are your fees and when/how will I pay you?

All Advisors are compensated for the work that they do, but that does not mean that all compensation methods are equal. At Macco Financial Group, we have chosen to primarily work with our clients in a fee based capacity. The fee that we charge is linked to the assets that we manage. This is an annual fee that is divided into fourths and billed quarterly. Being compensated this way means we often do substantial work for you prior to being compensated.

Being fee-based means that there are no up front fees or penalties for leaving as accounts are billed only one quarter in advance. Lastly, fee based compensation adheres us to a fiducairy standard and allows us to be aligned with your interests as we get paid more when your accounts go up, and paid less when your accounts go down. Our objective is to build relationships that can last a lifetime as your financial planning needs change and evolve over time. We believe fee based compensation best aligns with that mission.*

+ What are Your Conflicts of Interest?

One of our core principals is honesty and transparency. We share with all our clients the conflicts of interest we face as advisors so that we can have a shared understanding of where they come from and how we mitigate their effects.

• Asset Location: We have an incentive to recommend that assets be managed in Raymond James accounts. (This does not include active 401(k)'s, other employer retirement accounts, or real estate).
• Asset Growth: We have an incentive to increase the value of your Raymond James accounts, since our fees are tied to their overall value. This incentive is often aligned with your interest to increase your wealth, but can also be conflicted when considering alternate money uses, such as debt reduction.
• Insurance Commissions: If an insurance product is recommended for your situation, insurance products typically include a commission, which we will openly communicate with you.

+ What does financial planning look like? What does it include or not include?

We believe in holistic financial planning. In reality this means looking at the big picture, taking everything into account, and creating a plan that is a reflection of this process. Often we find prospective client’s that were told they would be receiving financial planning but in the end they were either sold a product or received advice and reviews that only covered investments. Because of this we understand that some are hesitant to take “holistic financial planning” at face value. Below describes what financial planning means to us.

Understand

• Conduct a Discovery Meeting to understand you, your situation, and determine if there is a good fit. We listen to your story, your goals and challenges, your frustrations and dreams.
• Request, Gather, and Organize appropriate information from you, including documents and statements, with details about your resources.

Design

• Create, Analyze, and Discuss Financial Forecasts, using multiple scenarios. Discuss trade-offs among variables such as: Contribution Rates, Spending Rates, Projected Investment Performance, Retirement Age, Career, Social Security Strategies, Other Income Sources, Debts, Potential Loss of Income, Giving, and Planning Lifespan.
• Create, Analyze, and Discuss your overall Investment Strategy. Considerations include time-frame, taxation, asset allocation, diversification, expected volatility and returns, costs, and estate issues.
• Review, Evaluate and Discuss major risks to your financial results. Typical risks include: loss of income through death or disability, and nursing care expenses. Personal liability risks or employment benefit plans may also be reviewed.
• Review Tax Returns, Estate documents, beneficiary designations, and overall estate plan. While we do not provide tax or legal advice, reviewing your tax or estate situation will inform and improve our overall advice to you. We will coordinate with your CPA or attorney, if allowed. Other professionals may bill you separately.

Implement

• Collaboratively Agree upon and implement some or all of the strategies that have been designed. This could include paperwork, signatures, and joint calls to other financial companies.

Manage

• Systematically Review and Manage all items mentioned above.
• As your life evolves, Discuss and Implement updated strategies as appropriate.
• Analyze and Assist your journey through life transitions and special situations, such as changes in employment, divorce, death, inheritance, business sale, etc.

+ How Will We Know if We are a Good Fit for One Another?

Our goal is to work with families and individuals who need and value the services that we provide. This means we are not the best fit for everyone as some may not require the hands on, intensive planning work that we do or are looking to invest their assets in a way we would not find advisable.

What we ask or expect:

• You intend to respond to communications in a timely fashion, provide requested information and documents when needed, and update us with changes to your goals, career, income, and family as soon as possible. If you act without informing or consulting with us, we cannot provide appropriate advice, and your results may suffer.
• You understand that we provide advice and service on investments, portfolios, and insurances within the scope of our expertise and control. Remote assets are inefficient to investigate, more challenging to monitor, may distort planned asset allocations, may negatively affect results, and are not subject to our due diligence process.
• You understand that if you wish to proceed through the financial planning process, we will invest significant time and effort in the personalized analysis, creation, and collaborative discussion of your plan. We expect that you are willing to implement the plan, including placing your available investments under our management and care, whenever recommended.

+ What is your philosophy on Investment Management?

Once we have established goals, we can determine what job our investments need to accomplish. This gives us a backdrop for measuring a given investment’s success based on what we have tasked it to do. Investment management is one of the outcomes of the financial planning process.

+ How do you approach Risk Management & Insurance?

After we have built the initial financial plan, and identified the appropriate investment strategy, it is important to think about unexpected and catastrophic risks to the plan. Our risk management process helps quantify the expense of premature death, disability and nursing home care. From there we determine if insurance is appropriate. Some risks we may choose to cover with an insurance policy. Deciding how much and for how long can only be determined through thoughtful planning.

+ What is Legacy & Legal Planning?

Proper legal planning helps to ensure your affairs are handled the way you want when you pass away or if you become incapacitated. Our goal is to help you think through these issues and ensure your financial plan and investment accounts match the wishes you have articulated on your legal documents. We’ll work with your existing attorney or help you find a new attorney when necessary.

*Raymond James and its advisors do not offer tax or legal advice. You should discuss any tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional.

+ What is the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Designation?

"For more than 30 years, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification has been the standard of excellence for financial planners. CFP® professionals have met extensive training and experience requirements, and commit to CFP Board's ethical standards that require them to put their clients' interests first. That's why partnering with a CFP® professional gives consumers confidence today and a more secure tomorrow." - cfp.net

As more people begin to call themselves financial planners, its hard to tell who is has the compentence to provide sound financial advice as well as place your interests first. The CFP® certification allows us to illustrate these two attributes as obtaining the marks require examination, thousands of hours of experience, and adherance to an additional code of ethics that includes fiduciary responsibility.

+ What is the CERTIFIED INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT ANALYST® Designation?

Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®) is the premier certification for financial advisors and investment consultants and one of the only professional certifications in financial services to meet international accreditation and quality standards. The CIMA Certification requires advisors to meet rigorous standards:

• Experience: At least three years of relevant financial services experience and a clean regulatory record
• Ethics: Comply with the Institute Code of Professional Responsibility or lose the certification
• Education: Complete executive education at a top 25 global business school
• Exam: Pass a stringent five–hour examination
• Continuing Competency: Stay updated on industry trends, laws, and products with 40 hours of continuing education every two years, including two hours of ethics education.

By learning and applying sophisticated technical investment knowledge in their practices, CIMA professionals provide high-quality investment management advice most valued by investors.*

*Investments & Wealth Client Research, Absolute Engagement, 2017

+ Who is Raymond James?

Founded in 1962 by Bob James and headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, Raymond James has grown into one of the largest independent financial firms in the United States. Raymond James embraces long-term planning, values methodical decision-making and remains true to its core tenets of conservatism, independence, integrity and putting clients first.

As a company, we have chosen to associate with Raymond James as their core value and mission statement aligns with ours; putting clients first. We partner with Raymond James as independent contractors, allowing us to utilize the toolbox of one of the largest independent financial firms in the U.S. while still maintaining the autonomy to serve our clients based on our own standards. Our belief is that by partnering with Raymond James in this capacity, we are able to provide our clients the best service possible.