When we act as your investment advisor, we have to act in your best interest and not put our interests ahead of yours. At the same time, the way we make money creates some conflicts with your interests. You should understand and ask us about these conflicts because they can affect the investment advice we provide to you. Here are some examples to help you understand what this means:

Custodians – We receive various benefits, including soft dollars and client referrals, from certain custodians. Receiving benefits has the potential to influence our recommendation to clients to use certain custodians over others.
Margin Accounts – Clients allowing margin in the management of their accounts will be billed on the assets under management, which are not reduced by any indebtedness of the account. This creates a conflict because we have an incentive to recommend that clients allow margin on their accounts rather than selling securities outright for their cash needs.
Solicitors – We have agreements in place with unaffiliated firms and individuals to refer clients to us in exchange for a portion of the advisory fee we collect from such clients or a fee based on the assets we manage for them. This creates a conflict because solicitors have an incentive to make referrals to us.
Industry Conferences – We may receive financial support for conference participation in the form of reduced fees, travel/meals, and related expenses from financial industry sponsors such as mutual fund companies. This creates a conflict because we may have an incentive to select those sponsors’ funds for inclusion in our clients’ portfolios.

For more information about conflicts, and how we address them, please refer to our ADV Part 2A brochure.

Michael E. Kitces

FOCUS PARTNERS WEALTH

RESTON, VA

Michael Ernest Kitces