As an RIA, Centricity Wealth Management acts in a fiduciary capacity when engaged for comprehensive financial planning. Under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, any firm that is engaged in the business of providing financial advice for a fee is considered to be an “investment advisor.” These firms are required to be registered with the appropriate federal or state agency. As such, Centricity Wealth Management is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Unlike traditional stockbrokers, this means that we always put the interests of our clients ahead of our own interests serving as your fiduciary.
Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), a fiduciary is any person, company, or association that renders investment advice for a fee or other compensation with respect to the funds or property of a plan, or who has the authority to do so. A fiduciary exercises discretionary authority or control over the management of a plan or the management of the disposition of its assets, or has the discretionary authority or responsibility in administering a plan. Importantly, a fiduciary is bound to always act in the best interests of the client.
Licensed by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, CFPs must complete an advanced college-level course of study addressing financial planning subject areas, including insurance planning and risk management, employee benefits planning, investment planning, income tax planning, retirement planning, and estate planning. In addition, they must pass the comprehensive CFP certification examination and obtain at least three years of full-time financial planning-related experience. To maintain the designation, CFPs must complete 30 hours of continuing education every two years.
Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC) is a designation awarded by the College for Financial Planning to financial planning professionals who specialized in the retirement planning process. CRPC candidates must successfully complete the program, pass a comprehensive final exam, and comply with the Code of Ethics. To maintain the CRPC designation, these professionals must completing 16 hours of continuing education every two years and reaffirm to abide by the Standards of Professional Conduct.
CPAs must have achieved minimum college education requirements, minimum experience levels working in a CPA firm environment, and pass the Uniform CPA examination. CPAs are licensed and regulated by state boards of accountancy. In addition, in order to maintain their license, CPAs in Ohio must complete 120 hours of continuing education every three years.
At Centricity Wealth Management, we have a longstanding business practice of delivering value for a complete range of fairly priced professional services. Our asset management compensation is 100% transparent, so you know exactly what we make and the value we provide. We negotiate a fee based on a percentage of assets under management or an annual flat fee. The maximum annual fee charged for this service if a client chooses to be billed based on assets under management will not exceed 1.25%. In certain circumstances, a financial planning fee may be charged. Additionally, the custodian chosen may charge a small fee on certain transactions or the custody of special assets.
While we do not have a minimum account size, our services are best suited for clients with investable assets in excess of $1,000,000.
For years, it has been the practice of many institutional investors to have assets held separately from both investment advisory and broker-dealer firms. In the wake of numerous scandals, most notably the Madoff scandal, increased oversight and better practices are only now being examined and put in place. As pointed out in How to Spot the Next Bernie Madoff, the first rule is to “make sure there is a third-party custodian.” Centricity Wealth Management has selected Pershing LLC as our independent third-party custodian, and all of our client assets are held in protected Pershing accounts. We provide 24/7 access and visibility to your Pershing accounts via our online client portal. Your funds will never be comingled with any other investments.
We offer wealth management services using a highly consultative approach. Typically, coordinating a client’s investment portfolios and financial planning is the best path to achieving this goal. While the majority of our clients seek both services, when appropriate, we are able to unbundle our services and provide only investment management or financial planning to meet your needs.