Altruist Financial Advisors LLC
Fee-Only Financial Planning and Portfolio Management

"If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters."

           —— Senator Alan Simpson (1931-  ).

"Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless. Knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful."

           —— Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), "Rasselas," 1759.

Ethics are Important to us

We have a fiduciary responsibility to our clients and we are keenly aware of it at all times.  It permeates everything we do.

Integrity is the most basic prerequisite to earning and retaining your trust.  We will uphold the very highest standards of integrity.  We will not compromise our principles for any reason.  Character is at least as important as competence in the financial services profession, possibly more so.

Honesty and openness are the keystones of the adviser-client relationship.  We will be truthful and candid with you.  We will never make a promise that we do not intend to keep.  We will not tell you what you want to hear if we believe it not to be true.  If we are unable to meet a commitment, we will inform you as such as early as possible and attempt to fairly renegotiate the terms of that commitment.

An adviser who has conflicts of interest is likely to give self-serving advice.  The most common such conflicts are the widespread practice of the adviser being compensated by commissions on products they sell to their clients.  In such a situation, one shouldn't be surprised that advisers (who act largely as salespeople) tend to recommend products which maximize their own commissions, rather than those which are in the best interests of the client (which typically are the ones with the lowest fees).

Independence and impartiality, therefore, are fundamental to any adviser who is serious about acting in good faith and in the best interest of the client. 

We will endeavor to avoid conflicts of interest whenever possible.  We accept no soft dollar commissions.  In fact, we accept no commissions of any sort from any entity.  We do not receive fees or compensation from any party based on the referral of a client or the client's business.  We prefer to be paid solely by our clients.  Our fees aren't dependent in any way on any client's purchase or sale of a financial product. 

If we were paid by any external party (or by a client as the result of their purchase or redemption of a financial product), it would represent a potential (or actual) conflict of interest and would endanger our all-important objectivity (or, just as important, your perception of our objectivity).

We will endeavor to constantly increase our professional knowledge.  We continuously brainstorm for improved strategies which might better help you to realize your financial goals.  If we should believe that a strategy we previously recommended to you can be prudently improved, we aren't afraid to tell you so.  We back up our recommendations with detailed rationale in writing — if we can't convince you that a particular course of action is prudent, you shouldn't follow it.  Our advice is based on the best academic research and careful analysis, never a "hunch."

Our uncompromising commitment to ethical behavior allows us to be uniquely confident of the quality of our service and the likelihood of your satisfaction therewith.  We back up this confidence with our exclusive Complete Satisfaction Money-Back Guarantee.

In addition to our own Code of Ethics, we are also committed to complying with the following standards:

Our Mission

To provide Superior Objective Financial Advice to the Public in a Highly Ethical Fashion at the Lowest Feasible Price

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