Why We’re Different
Our Fee-Only Fiduciary approach goes beyond managing your investments. We are a financial planning centered firm that is focused on the big picture and obsessed with helping our clients make sound financial decisions at every point in their lives.
We help our clients make intentional and informed financial decisions by analyzing every aspect of their financial lives. This includes their investments, taxes, retirement, businesses, estate planning, life insurance, gifting, and more.
We help simplify the complex nature that naturally comes with building wealth.
FAQs
- Are you Fiduciaries?
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Yes! We have a legal duty to always act in our client's best interest.
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Are you Fiduciaries?
DecisionPoint Financial, LLC is a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) with a fiduciary duty of loyalty to our clients.
RIA’s have a fiduciary duty to their clients. This means that we are legally obligated to always act in your best financial interest. Non-RIA financial advisors, such as broker-dealers, may only have to offer advice that is suitable to their clients. This means they can offer financial advice that meets a client’s needs, but which may earn them sales commissions or higher fees.
RIA’s register with either the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or state securities regulators. DecisionPoint Financial, LLC is registered with the SEC. SEC regulation and oversight ensures that all representatives of DecisionPoint are serving your interests as fiduciaries. The regulators provide websites where you can research any complaints against your financial advisor. For RIA’s you can check the background of an advisor or their firm utilizing the Investment Advisor Public Disclosure site; and for Brokers governed by FINRA, you can go to BrokerCheck.
RIA’s must clearly disclose any conflicts of interest. DecisionPoint must be fully transparent when disclosing all fees and potential conflicts of interests to our clients.
- Are you CFP® Professionals?
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DecisionPoint Financial has many CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals on staff. To learn more about what that means, and why it’s important, click below.
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Are you CFP® Professionals?
DecisionPoint Financial has many CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals on staff.
Most people think that all financial planners are “certified”, but this isn’t true. 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. When selecting a financial planner, you need to feel confident that the person you choose to help you plan for your future is competent and ethical. The CFP® certification provides that sense of security by allowing only those who meet the following requirements the right to use the CFP® certification marks:
EDUCATION: CFP® professionals must develop their theoretical and practical financial planning knowledge by completing a comprehensive course of study at a college or university offering a financial planning curriculum approved by the CFP Board.
EXAMINATION: CFP® practitioners must pass a comprehensive CFP® Certification Examination that tests their ability to apply financial planning knowledge in an integrated format. Based on regular research of what planners do, the exam covers the financial planning process, tax planning, employee benefits and retirement planning, estate planning, investment management and insurance.
EXPERIENCE: CFP® professionals must have two years minimum experience in the financial planning process prior to earning the right to use the CFP® certification marks. As a result, CFP® practitioners possess financial counseling skills in addition to financial planning knowledge.
ETHICS: As a final step to certification, CFP® practitioners agree to abide by a strict code of professional conduct, known as the CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility, that sets forth their ethical responsibilities to the public, clients and employers. Through the Code of Ethics, CFP® practitioners agree to act fairly and diligently when providing you with financial planning advice and services, putting your interests first. The Code of Ethics states that CFP® practitioners are to act with integrity, offering you professional services that are objective and based on your needs. They are required to provide you with information about their sources of compensation and conflicts of interest in writing.
ONGOING CERTIFICATION: Once certified, CFP® practitioners are required to maintain technical competence and fulfill ethical obligations. Every two years, they must complete a minimum 30 hours of continuing education to stay current with developments in the financial planning profession and better serve their clients.
- Are you Fee-Only & how do you get paid?
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Yes! DecisionPoint’s revenue is solely derived from the fees that clients pay them directly. This direct compensation is paid via an asset management fee, or a planning and consulting fee. Asset management fees are debited from the managed accounts on a quarterly basis. Planning and consulting fees are generally invoiced directly to the client.
If a financial advisor is not fee-only, it can be challenging for them to act as true fiduciaries to their clients because they may be incentivized to sell you one financial product over another.
- Do you work virtually?
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Yes! Accessibility to us and to our team of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals is our highest priority. Our offices are located in Mesa, AZ and Gig Harbor, WA. The majority of the financial planning that we offer is done ideally in person, but we are well equipped to meet with clients virtually through applications like Zoom. When scheduling time with us to review your retirement account, or go through the financial planning process, we try very hard to accommodate your schedule and your preference for meeting virtually or in person.
- What is your investment approach?
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We take a very disciplined and strategic approach to money management. View the “Investment Management” tab within the services dropdown to learn more.
- How accessible is the DecisionPoint team?
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We believe that accessibility to us is the minimum standard of a high quality client experience. We work as a team to ensure that each client’s needs are met in an expeditious manner. Our clients have the ability to call, text, and email their dedicated advisors and client services support staff to request transactions, ask questions, and schedule appointments. We take pride in our ability to respond to those requests in a timely manner.
- Who is Charles Schwab?
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Charles Schwab is one of the largest financial services companies in the Untied States providing custodial and trading services to thousands of independent Registered Investment Advisory firms around the Country. Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade acquired TDA in 2019 and it is anticipated that the acquisition will be complete in the 4th quarter of 2023.
DecisionPoint primarily utilizes Charles Schwab to custody all of our clients’ account assets. This is an important security feature for our clients because it means that DecisionPoint can never take physical custody of your money and your investments.
- Where do I access my account(s)?
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DecisionPoint clients have two ways to access their account information. The first is by logging in directly to your account held at Charles Schwab. The second is by logging in to your DecisionPoint portal. Both of these sites can be a reached through the “Client Login” link in the top right corner of our website.
Your DecisionPoint Client Portal is specifically designed to provide you with historical performance data for all of your accounts. This is also where you will find all of your current and historical performance reports and our quarterly client letters
By logging in directly to your Charles Schwab account you will be able to find transactional data, monthly statements, and tax documents.