For more than 20 years, ACP advisors have built their practices on the fiduciary standard. Ours is a member-driven organization that is fully committed to transparency and honesty in client service. Given that, we committed to using the retainer model way back in the 1990s, to establish trust and minimize real and perceived conflicts of interest between a client’s assets and an advisor’s guidance.
That the Department of Labor has now established that practice as a rule, will mean ‘business as usual’ for ACP advisors.
As ACP Board Member Jacob Kuebler said, “The Alliance of Comprehensive Planners believes strongly in elevating the practice of financial planning as a profession. One important step in making this happen is to reduce potential for conflicts of interest between advisor and client. We believe this can happen by selecting a method of advisor compensation that is not dependent on the outcome of the advisor’s recommendation.”
ACP’s adherence to this practice has drawn a community of advisors with integrity and genuine concern for their clients. A relationship built on trust can only emerge when conflicts of interest, sky-high commissions and questionable revenue-sharing arrangements are taken off the table.
While many firms and organizations now proudly claim their commitment to a retainer model for fees, only ACP was founded on this practice more than 20 years ago.
For more information about ACPs commitment to client transparency and the value of ACP membership, visit us at Booth 417 at the NAPFA Conference.