Our Firm
Financial Strategies Institute (FSI) has over 27 years in business and is a leading wealth management and financial advisory firm in Salt Lake City, Utah, since 1994. We are:
· Independent, Financial Fiduciary Specialist
· Experienced credentialed professionals
· Certified Planning Professionals (CFP®) eMoney Advisory Partner Paraplanners
· Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC®)
· Certified Life Underwriters (CLU®)
· Chartered Financial Consultant (CHFC®)
· National Social Security Advisors (NSSA®)
· Serving Salt Lake City as our home base and all of Utah, including clients across 22 States.
· Solutions customized for each client.
OUR SPECIALTY
Our advisors focus on retirement income planning. We realize that the most important financial asset for most people in retirement is a steady, reliable income for life that grows with inflation. We help our clients by offering PREMIER:
· Strategies for "Accumulating Wealth" for future financial independence
· Strategies for the "Ready-to-Go Phase" (Pre-retirement transition & income strategies)
· Strategies for the "Go-Go Phase" (Golden robust years in retirement distribution)
· Strategies for the "Slow-Go Phase" (Reflective years in retirement)
· Strategies for the "No-Go Phase" (Remaining strong years of retirement)
· Strategies for 401(k)s rollover guidance retirement plans
· Roth IRA conversion
· Estate Organization & Protection Strategies
OUR ADVANTAGE
FSI offers many distinctive benefits, providing a valuable experience for our clients. Some of the many advantages include:
· Education of our investor/clients in live educational, financial workshops, video training, and written materials that help explain the strategies behind our recommendations.
· Strategies designed to minimize losses and to improve the potential for steady, reliable investment growth can make the difference in your retirement.
· Tax Savings as one of the most effective strategies for financial success in retirement
OUR PHILOSOPHY
In our opinion, the single biggest determinant of financial success in retirement is whether you have and follow a realistic financial plan. We focus on your financial success by helping you create and implement your own plan. Our wealth management services include:
· Investment and IRA management
· Guidance for building and monitoring a financial plan
· Rollovers from your IRA, 401(K), 457, 403(b), Stock Options, retirement plans for your lifestyle. We call it, "Lifestyle Investing."
· classes, seminars, webinars, and educational workshops
· Books, seminars, and videos for retirement preparation
OUR MISSION
If you've been in to see us, you know how committed we are to our clients' financial success. Our passion for our calling is strong. Our mission is simple. We want to bring you:
· The highest quality investment and financial planning advice
· Investment structures to help lower risk
· Strategies with opportunities for financial growth
· Service that exceeds expectations.
· Financial solutions designed to help throughout a lifetime and lifestyle.
OUR INVITATION
We invite you to learn about, and experience what we believe are some of the best financial planning strategies available today. Come see us and feel our passion for our clients' success. Know that you are moving in the right direction.
Contact us to set up a confidential initial consultation at no cost or obligation to you.
How We Work - NEW CLIENT CRITERIA
We regret that we cannot accept everyone as clients. But if we do take you on, rest assured that we passionately believe that we can help you. We are convinced that you can build a plan to achieve a comfortable retirement with the right professional guidance. We accept new clients who:
· Understand and agree with our investment philosophies. You can find out our approach to investing from the in-person meetings, live workshops, this website, webinars, Zoom web meeting for a no-obligation introductory meeting.
· Have a minimum of $250,000 of investable assets including 401(K), IRA's and Cash Management accounts, etc.,
· Are committed to following the financial "Roadmap" that leads to your target retirement, as agreed upon between you and us,
· Accept our holistic approach that combines all financial facets of your life into your financial plan. It is challenging for us to fully help customers who just want us to manage a portion of their assets.
Are willing to listen to our advice in all financial areas of their lives.
HOW WE GET PAID
Financial advisors are usually paid by fees, commission, or a combination of each, depending on how they are licensed. Most firms are set up in one of the following three ways (we are the last way on the list):
• Commission-based – an upfront payment to the rep each time the rep does a transaction for you. This is the traditional way that life insurance salespeople and stockbrokers have been paid in the past. Requires securities license, series 6 or series 7.
• Fee-Only – an hourly or annual fee charged to the client, payable either by check or as a percent of the client's money under management. Products and strategies that are usually only accessible through commissions are not available in fee-only (non-traded REITs, bank CDs, private offerings, etc.) require a securities license series 65.
• Advisory-Based – (that's what we are) will go, either way, commissions or fees, depending on what is in the client's best interests or preference. Requires all the licenses listed above. Since we are advisory-based, you can choose which way you want to go, and we are confident we can find you the most reasonable way to help you accomplish your objectives.
COSTS
• First Meeting – Your initial meeting(s) are at no charge or obligation since both sides are still figuring out if we are a good fit for each other. We will discuss fees before you become a client.
• Retirement and/or Holistic Planning – Our normal charge for a complete retirement plan is $1,550 and up to $7,550 for complex business succession and tax planning. Many times, this fee is waived depending on the amount of investments we manage for you. We also offer less complex modules depending on your situation, such as a retirement projection, a Social security timing optimization analysis, and a time-segmented allocation breakdown.
• Management fee – A percent of the amount of your fee-based accounts – often around 1.% that comes off the top of your investments annually. This fee is based on a sliding scale, depending on balances, number of accounts, and complexity.
• Commissions – We try to avoid commissions where possible because we think they are not always in clients' best interests. Exceptions include your preference or products that are not available any other way.
• Additional costs – FSI has a "no surprises" policy. We disclose all costs that you will be expected to pay before they are charged. Any extra fees are disclosed and billed.
How We Work
NEW CLIENT CRITERIA
We regret that we cannot accept everyone as clients. But when we do take you on, rest assured that it is because we firmly believe that we can help you. We are convinced that with the right professional guidance, you can build a plan to achieve a comfortable retirement. We accept new clients who:
-
Understand and agree with our investment philosophies. You can find out our approach to investing from the live workshops, this website, Ernest’s book, or by coming in for a no-obligation introductory meeting.
-
Have a minimum of $250,000 of investable assets including 401k, retirement accounts, etc.,
-
Are committed to following the financial roadmap that leads to your target retirement, as agreed upon between you and us,
-
Accept our holistic approach that combines all financial facets of your life into your financial plan. It is very difficult for us to fully help customers who just want us to manage a portion of their assets,
-
Are willing to listen to our advice in all financial areas of their lives.
HOW WE GET PAID
Financial advisors are usually paid by commission, fees, or a combination of each, depending on how they are licensed. Most firms are set up in one of the following three ways (we are the last way on the list):
Commission-based – an upfront payment to the rep each time the rep does a transaction for you. This is the traditional way that life insurance salespeople and stockbrokers have been paid in the past. Requires securities license, series 6 or series 7.
Fee-Only – an hourly or annual fee charged to the client, payable either by check or as a percent of the client’s money under management. Products and strategies that usually only are accessible through commissions are not available (non-traded REITs, bank CDs, private offerings, etc.) Requires securities license series 65.
Advisory-Based – (that’s what we are) will go, either way, commissions or fees, depending on what is in the best interests or preference of the client. Requires all the licenses listed above.
Since we are advisory-based, you can choose which way you want to go, and we are confident we can find you the most reasonable way to help you accomplish your objectives.
OTHER COSTS
First Meeting – Your initial meeting(s) are at no charge or obligation since both sides are still figuring out if we are a good fit for each other. We will discuss fees and charges before you become a client.
Retirement Planning – Our normal charge for a complete retirement plan is $2500. We also offer less complex modules depending on your situation, such as a retirement projection, a Social Security timing analysis, and a time-segmented allocation breakdown (“NextPhase”). Fees are often reduced for managed money clients or potential clients.
Management fee – A percent of the amount of your fee-based accounts – often around 1.25% – that comes off the top of your investments annually. This fee is based on a sliding scale, depending on balances, number of accounts, and complexity.
Commissions – We try to avoid commissions where possible because we think they are not always in clients’ best interests. Exceptions include your preference or products that are not available any other way.
Additional costs – FSI has a “no surprises” policy. We disclose all costs that you will be expected to pay before they are charged. Any extra fees are disclosed, billed, and payable in advance.