As of April 1st, Master’s has become Master’s Wealth Management, a fully independent Registered Investment Advisory (RIA) firm! This means we will no longer be using the back-office services provided by Securities America & NFS. The relationship we have had with them for the past 22 years has served us well, however, the time has come for us to amicably part ways and become an independent RIA-only firm. Thankfully, Master’s now has the size & scale to eliminate the need for a Broker-Dealer relationship & directly hire the account Custodian and back-office providers of our choice. We will be using RCS as our account Custodian, a specialized arm of Raymond James Financial Inc., that caters to independent RIA firms.
Becoming an RIA-only firm has been a goal of Master’s over the past several years. We are excited to see that vision becoming a reality. There are numerous reasons to celebrate this all-important growth step in the life of our firm. Here are just a few of them:
- We will now be doing business at the highest level of Fiduciary Responsibility, by industry standards. While that has always been our goal, this obligates us to the following standard: A fiduciary is someone who acts on behalf of another person, putting their clients’ interest ahead of their own. Therefore, being a fiduciary means the advisor is bound both legally & ethically to act in the other’s best interests. This Fiduciary Rule pairs well with the very highest standard we pursue to follow: a Biblical world-view of honesty, integrity, and following The Golden Rule.
- Fee transparency has become one of the markers of the top-tier financial planning firms. By becoming a fee-only RIA firm, we have voluntarily stepped away from the behind-the-scenes revenues of the broker-dealer world & we will no longer offer any products that would pay us a commission. Simply put, our only revenues are the fees that you see (and have agreed to).
- Master’s Wealth Management will now enjoy complete independence & business autonomy. This change allows us to “chart the course” for the future of Master’s, all the while recognizing that our very name (Master’s) reminds us who truly owns this business. We are blessed to simply be in “a stewardship role” of leading this great company & serving all of you.
Friends, here is what will not change! Our incredible team has remained the same, as has our ownership/partner group. We are still located at the same office location. Our vision for providing excellent financial planning & investment advice remains unchanged.
