WE GET THESE QUESTIONS A LOT
What services do you offer?
Our primary business is Investment Management. We employ individual stocks and bonds as well as mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in our client accounts. P&A also offers Financial Planning, which we view as an integral piece to our clients reaching their financial goals. We encourage our clients to get as much work out of us as possible. For more on How We Add Value, click on the link.
What type of clients do you work with?
Our ideal client has a lump sum of money and wants to delegate the management of these investments. We manage money for individuals via retirement accounts and after-tax accounts, as well as trust accounts and foundations. To see if we’d be a good fit for you, see our Who Should Hire Us page.
How much do I need to invest with P&A?
Our minimum account size is $100,000 for mutual fund accounts and $250,000 for individual stocks and bonds. If you’re close to these minimums, or will be, we want to help.
How do you get paid?
Our only compensation is the management fee we charge, which is a percentage of the assets we manage for you. For our mutual fund clients, our fee is a maximum of 0.75% per year. Our individual stock and bond accounts have a maximum fee of 1% per year. For example, a $500,000 account would be charged $1250 each quarter for our services, resulting in a 1% fee for the year. We do not sell any products or get paid by commission or transaction charges. P&A is only paid by their clients, not the products we use in our client accounts. Click here to see our Fee Schedule.
Do you always work in my best interests, i.e. are you held to a fiduciary standard of care?
Yes, P&A is held to a fiduciary standard of care. This means we are required to act in your best interests at all times. Our advice to you is free from conflicts of interest. Other advisors are held to a lower standard of care and are not required to act in your best interests at all times.
What are your qualifications and experience?
All five of the principals at P&A hold the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM designation. The CFP® is the highest professional designation in the financial planning field. Collectively, our experience crowds 100 years. Each member of our Investment Committee brings a unique perspective to the table for our clients. To read more about Our Credentials, click on the link.
Has your firm or any of its employees ever been disciplined by the SEC for any wrongdoing?
Neither Pittenger & Anderson as a firm nor any of its employees have been disciplined by the SEC or any other financial regulatory body. To check the disciplinary history of any CFP® you can go the CFP Board of Standards website. To check the disciplinary history of a stockbroker or fee-based advisor, go to the FINRA Broker Check website.
What other costs will I have to pay when I do business with P&A?
Our clients pay their own trading commissions ($8.95 at Charles Schwab if you take electronic statements and confirms, otherwise $19.95) and the mutual funds/ETFs we use in client accounts carry their own management fee. For our mutual fund accounts, we like to keep the expense ratio of these portfolios to less than 0.50%. We accomplish this by using index funds with some managed mutual funds mixed in. We do not charge our investment management clients for financial plans or for any other advice we offer. P&A encourages our clients to get as much work out of us as they can.
Will my assets be held at an independent, third party custodian?
Yes. We recommend Charles Schwab as a custodian for our clients. Schwab holds our clients’ stocks, bonds, and cash. They execute trades, offer margin lending, and send our clients monthly statements. Having an independent third party custodian is a feature that gives our clients an added level of protection for their monies.
Does P&A have a succession plan in place?
Yes we do. We have provided more information about our succession plan via this link.
Can you provide references of clients who are in a similar situation as I am?
Yes we can. Once we have held initial discussions and learned more about you and your financial situation we’ll be able to give you several client references after we have talked to the client and received their approval to do so.
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