Experienced. Credentialed. Independent.
Many “advisors” follow models rife with conflicts of interest. They measure success by how much they sell, not by how much true value they provide. They are product or commission-driven and their sales skills usually far exceed their investment or financial planning knowledge. As fee-only advisors who act as true fiduciaries, the qualified advice we give puts your interests before our own.
Not All Experience is Created Equal
When we speak of experience, we’re talking about experience helping individuals, families, and non-profit organizations with the intricacies of managing their finances. This includes the difficult behavioral side where emotions can derail the best laid plans.
Our advisors have many decades of real experience helping people with financial planning and investments. This is vastly different than the industry norm of hiring employees who are good at selling products. Where we place great value on our staff having deep experience improving the financial situation of those we work with, most firms are looking for sales experience and a charismatic personality. We don’t apologize that we score lower on the charismatic scale because we are confident that we make up for it with what matters.
Our Credentials
We don’t view wealth management as a job, but rather a profession and an essential part of who we are. We believe we owe it to our clients to be life-long learners and continue to read, study and question. We haven’t earned designations for the sake of designations but rather our constant pursuit of education. In pursuing this education, we have earned the following credentials:
- CFA® charterholders For more information - why-hire-cfa-charterholder.pdf
- CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™
- Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®)
- Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®)
- Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor (CTFA)
- Advanced degrees
Please view Meet Your Team for our degrees, advanced designations, and vast experience.
What is Means to be Independent
Being independent means that we are not driven by corporate profits or management mandates to push products (sales goals). We have the freedom to do what is right for our clients without regard to how it impacts our bottom line. Unfortunately, most advisors, especially those who work for large firms, are not granted this luxury.
We are Fiduciaries, all of the time, with everything we do
“Fiduciary” has become the most abused word in financial services. It is now difficult to find someone who doesn’t claim to be a fiduciary. The key is to find advisors and firms who are always fiduciaries. A study done not long ago stated that less than 2% of financial advisors are true fiduciaries 100% of the time. Grand Capital Advisors and its employees are true fiduciaries, 100% of the time.
Our Investment Philosophy
As an evidence-based advisory firm, we believe…
- Broad global diversification reduces risk and enhances return.
- Minimizing expenses and taxes is a sure way to keep and compound more investment earnings for the investor.
- Capturing asset class returns is the most efficient way to grow assets.
- Discipline is essential to long-term success.
- Successful investing is about time spent in the markets, not timing the markets.
- Some (not all) risks, when managed intelligently, can lead to higher expected returns. Risk and return are related.
- Overwhelming evidence has shown that active management does not serve investors well.
- Markets are efficient. They may not always be rational in the short run, but they are still very efficient.
- Most everyone does better with a coach – the right coach. Don't confuse a salesperson with a coach.
In order to best implement our investment philosophy, we select low-cost funds whose characteristics are best aligned with our beliefs.
- The primary fund family we use is Dimensional Fund Advisors. Dimensional was founded in 1981 and has a long history of applying rigorous academic research to practical investing.
- We also use low-cost exchange traded funds (ETFs) from companies such as Vanguard, State Street (SPRDs) and Blackrock (iShares).
- For a comparison of investing the Grand Capital way versus active management, please see our infographic below.
