The Fiduciary Standard

PTI is a Fiduciary without any of the Conflicts of Interests that continue to be a problem in the brokerage, insurance, and financial planning industries. All Registered Investment Advisors (RIA’s) are regulated as Fiduciaries and are required by law to always act in the Best Interest of their clients and provide Full Disclosure, in writing, of their experience, investment strategy and their fees. Firms offering investment advice that are not fiduciaries do not currently have to provide these disclosures and are only required to recommend investments that are Suitable.

An investment that Locks In the investor by charging a commission when they invest or has high annual advisor fees and operating expenses might be considered Suitable but an investment that has No Upfront Commission, Lower Advisor Fees, Lower Fund Expenses and has had Better Performance for Investors over many different time periods would truly be in the Best Interest of the investor.

Brokers and other salespeople who give investment advice can have significant pressure from their firms to reach increasing Sales Quotas for commissions and fees every year. This pressure can lead to serious Conflicts of Interest because of the way they are paid on different products or rewarded with trips, bonuses, and titles. The goal of the Fiduciary Standard is to eliminate these Conflicts of Interest between the investor and their advisor.

Charles Schwab Advisor Service (CSAS) does not offer PTI any Incentives to recommend specific investments or achieve Commission or Sales Quotas. PTI does not receive any Up-Front or Trail Commissions, Prizes, Trips, Bonuses, Awards, or any other incentive from a third party or individual fund family to recommend specific investments. Since PTI is an Independent Practice there is never any type of pressure from senior management.