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1. Is my information secure and confidential?
a. Yes. Your personal information does not
leave our office. Our partners are bound by a
fiduciary duty to maintain client
confidentiality. Moreover, we are a legal
fiduciary, and violation of client privacy
carries a stiff penalty. We don’t discuss your
personal information with anyone you haven’t
authorized. We take the same approach with data
protection. Your data is protected via a secure
network, is under lock and key and we follow
specific procedures for data protection. We take
seriously the trust you place in us and we will
not violate that trust.
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2.
What’s your minimum account size?
a. $500,000. We’ve referred prospective
clients whose assets exceeded our threshold to
other advisors and accepted clients with less
than our threshold. We do manage smaller amounts
if we ascertain that the relationship can reach
our threshold in 5 years. Our time is very
valuable to each of our clients; thus we can
only service a limited number of clients, which
places some limits on the account size.
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3. Who is the custodian of my assets?
a. We prefer large independent custody firms
because it is the safest form of custody.
Accordingly, we have our clients use an
independent custodian and brokerage firm to
custody their assets. The custodian not only
executes transactions, but also provides
safekeeping of assets, accounting of
transactions, collection of interest and
dividends, issuance of statements and required
tax reporting.
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4.
Do you sell investment products?
a. No. We do not sell investment or
insurance products. Ensuring that our clients
receive impartial advice is our priority.
Impartial advice is predicated upon avoiding
conflicts of interest. We prevent potential
conflicts of interest by not affiliating with
mutual fund companies, brokerage firms or
insurance companies. Seasoned investment
advisors recognize that most investment products
are shortcuts and usually end up costing clients
more in the long-run.
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5. How do you work with other professionals?
a. Wealth planning spans accounting,
investments, insurance, law, pensions, and tax
planning; we encourage open communication among
all providers so that opportunities are not
unnoticed and decisions are made timely,
thoughtfully and with all the facts. Typically
our clients have long-standing relationships
with different professionals; and, we strive to
complement, enhance and support those
relationships. Sometimes our clients ask us to
help them select a new accountant, attorney, or
insurance agent, which is a service we are glad
to assist them with. In all cases, we seek the
best resources available.
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6. How are
you compensated?
a. As we detail on our Fees page, our only
form of compensation is fees paid directly to us
by our clients. We receive no commissions and
are not paid any compensation by mutual fund
companies, brokerage firms, or insurance
companies. Our compensation is transparent,
ensuring objectivity and alignment with our
clients.
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7. What is a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA)?
a. A firm or entity that for compensation,
advises others about securities, their value,
and/or their purchase and/or sale. Most notably,
RIA’s are fiduciaries and as such, are legally
obligated to put the client’s interest ahead of
its own. This is a much higher standard than
most in the industry adhere to.
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8. Are you an RIA?
a. Yes.
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9.
Who meets the fiduciary standard?
a. Registered Investment Advisers (RIA) do.
And, so do Attorneys, CPA’s and even Physicians.
On the other hand, most financial advisors,
financial planners and stockbrokers are not
fiduciaries – They work under a “suitability”
standard, which means their recommendations need
only be “appropriate.”
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10. Who
regulates your firm?
a. As a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA), we
are regulated by the Arkansas Securities
Department.
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11. Is there a charge for the first meeting?
a. No. We believe that a prospective client
should not have to write a check to find out if
we can help them. A casual 30 minute meeting is
generally a good starting point for you to learn
about our approach and fees, as well as for us
to determine if our services can meet your
needs.
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12. Do
you charge hourly fees?
a. No. Fees for our services are included in
the investment management fees. Although
frequently asked, we discourage one-off
consulting projects for non-prospective clients
because it reduces the time we spend on existing
clients' needs and their portfolios.
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13. How frequently do you send out client
statements?
Quarterly. However, each month you will
receive a report from your custodian. Our
proprietary quarterly report does not replace or
repeat these monthly statements, but provides
clear and useful information to help our
client’s understand and evaluate their
portfolios and our services.
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14. Why types of investments do you use?
a. We have access to essentially the same
products and services available at large
brokerages and asset managers. However, the most
effective investments for managing risk,
minimizing taxes, achieving flexibility for
estate & philanthropic purposes are individual
equity and fixed income securities. Though our
portfolios are proprietary, they provide the
client with the highest level of transparency.
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15. What rate of return can I expect on my
investments?
a. We strive for returns that will enable
our clients to achieve their financial goals,
without taking on undue risk ─ we try to balance
maximum return with minimum anxiety.
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16. Is your firm affiliated with any
organization(s), such as a brokerage firm?
a. No. Boston Mountain Money Management is
not affiliated with any other organization or
brokerage firm, which helps ensure our
objectivity in the advice we provide.
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17. What is the ownership structure of your
firm?
a. Our firm is a corporation equally owned
by Scott Alaniz and Joe Chumbler. We recognize
the importance to our clients of being served by
individuals with an equity stake in the
organization and structured the firm
accordingly.
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18.
Do you prepare tax returns?
No. Although we have strong accounting
backgrounds, we focus on managing investment
portfolios in the most tax-efficient manner
possible, and work closely with your tax advisor
to create and implement effective
tax-minimization strategies.
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