SARASOTA, FL – Forza Wealth Management, a Sarasota-based Registered Investment Advisor, proudly announces that it has joined the Fee-Only Network of financial advisors. A Fee-Only financial advisor is defined by three specific characteristics: they are only compensated by the client, without earning commission of any kind for product sales or referrals; they are legally sworn and obligated to always place the interest of the client ahead of their own; and they are not affiliated with any brokerage firm, bank, or insurance company.
The Fee-Only Network was created to ensure advisors adhere to the highest standards of ethical obligation and engender trust in the practice of financial management. The strict fee-only compensation model was defined by the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA).
Out of the roughly 285,000 financial professionals in the U.S., fewer than 2% of financial professionals meet the Fee-Only qualifications, according to a March 2018 Wall Street Journal article. The other 98% are brokers or dual-registered broker-advisory firms; these may take commissions from mutual funds and insurers for products they sell to their clients, which can cost them big money over time if they are steered toward investments with high fees.
“Seeing as we have operated in this fashion from day one, it was natural for us to join the Fee-Only Network,” says Michael DeMassa, CFA, CFP®, founder and principal of Forza Wealth Management. “Having an open and transparent service and compensation model helps to build trust early in the relationship, which benefits clients in the long run.”
The terms Fee-Only and Fee-Based sound similar; however, they are anything but.
“Unfortunately, this industry is masterful at blurring the lines between advice and sales,” says Timothy Videnka, CFA, CFP®, principal and chief investment officer of Forza Wealth Management. “Fee-Based advisors do not need to disclose to clients the commissions they get, the sales quotas imposed on them, or corporate revenue targets. It begs the question: How is the client to discern if that product is really the best for them, or was the commission driving the sale?”
All prospective clients of financial advisory services should do their own due diligence to understand how an advisor is compensated and ask all the questions they need to feel secure in the selection process. Furthermore, they should also ask for documentation for answers to their questions, like Form ADV Part II, or have the advisor fill out a fiduciary checklist, like this one found here: forzawealth.com/napfa/.
For more about Forza Wealth Management, call 941-203-3748 or visit forzawealth.com.
About Forza Wealth Management
Forza, founded in 2015 and located in South Sarasota, is an independent, fee-only advisor, focusing on clients with over $1 million in investable assets. Forza works together with the client’s attorney, CPA and other professionals for an integrated wealth management approach. Call 941-203-3748 or visit forzawealth.com.