Five Star award winner Brian T. Gongaware, CFP®

The Big Breakup; It's not you, it's me.

For decades wealthy and mass affluent families have worked with major bank and brokerage institutions. With changes in the financial industry, such families would be better served exploring a superior relationship model.

Banks over recent years have quietly raised your fees and increased their minimum client size while cutting services and staff. Bank and brokerage clients should ask themselves:

Am I still a valued client?
Would they seek me as a client today?
Am I getting their best resources (advisors, tools, investment thinking)?
Are my personal financial plan and wealth management needs receiving the attention they, or I, deserve?

If you suspect the answer to even one of the above questions is “No”, likely the answer to all four questions is “No”.

Having started my career within the two largest Pittsburgh financial institutions, I’ve seen the service model from the inside. Since then and over the past 22 years, we have designed and refined a fiduciary service model for our clients.

This week reach out to your individual advisor and pose the following questions. If you don’t have an individual advisor but now have an (800) number, there are many other solutions to pursue right away.

Ask what their minimum client size is. Many organizations will keep “small clients” because they just keep paying.
Ask what their entire fee schedule is. The fee schedule is helpful to understand where you fit in their business model. With a tiered-fee structure, are you paying at the highest rate?
Ask if they are regulated under a Fiduciary Standard. Not all firms/advisors/brokers want to be subject to fiduciary standards (clients’ best interests). Many prefer to render guidance with a much lower Suitability Standard.

“So, I need to find a new financial advisor, what should I look for?” Let’s start with the basics: Experience, Credentials, Accomplishments in working with investors like you.

This may seem obvious as first-level requirements. Just as important are the human characteristics that should define your financial advisor.

Your advisors must be approachable. Your advisor should not talk “over you” or “down to you”.
You want them to see and explore all your potential. Have honest conversations about your financial goals and dreams to assess what may be truly possible.
Seek a firm that is client centric and dedicated to action. Simply talking about objectives and priorities is incomplete. “Words may inspire but only action creates change.” – Simon Sinek

While this may be critical of banks and brokerage firms, it is because every week we see their changing business model and the negative consequences for you the asset owners. We want to highlight some of the known issues and encourage you to take control. Most of our new clients come to us from bank institutions or brokerage firms.

Who to seek for help with understanding your options?

Myself (Brian Gongaware) or a member of our MCWS advisory team
letsmakeaplan.org : Search for a CFP® professional
brokercheck.finra.org : Search the background of an individual or firm

It’s your money and your future. Take back control of your financial situation.

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This award was issued on 6/1/24 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 9/12/23 through 3/29/24. Fee paid for use of marketing materials. Self-completed questionnaire was used for rating. This rating is not related to the quality of the investment advice and based solely on the disclosed criteria. 1854 Pittsburgh-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 231 (13% of candidates) were named 2024 Five Star Wealth Managers. The following prior year statistics use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2023: 1,818, 233, 12.8%, 6/1/23, 9/12/22 - 3/31/23; 2022: 1779, 252, 14%, 6/1/22, 9/27/21 - 3/25/22; 2021: 1814, 234, 13%, 6/1/21, 9/7/20 - 4/23/21; 2020: 1886, 224, 12%, 6/1/20, 9/16/19 - 4/10/20; 2019: 1667, 251, 15%, 6/1/19, 9/17/18 - 4/12/19; 2018: 1653, 227, 14%, 6/1/18, 9/28/17 - 4/17/18; 2017: 1133, 277, 24%, 6/1/17, 9/27/16 - 4/11/17; 2016: 1064, 423, 40%, 5/1/16, 10/7/15 - 4/19/16; 2015: 1494, 442, 30%, 6/1/15, 10/7/14 - 4/19/15; 2014: 1721, 458, 27%, 6/1/14, 10/7/13 - 4/19/14; 2013: 1777, 545, 31%, 6/1/13, 10/7/12 - 4/19/13; 2012: 1863, 493, 26%, 6/1/12, 10/7/11 - 4/19/12.

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Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers. The award is based on 10 objective criteria. Eligibility criteria - required: 1. Credentialed as a registered investment adviser (RIA) or a registered investment adviser representative; 2. Actively licensed as a RIA or as a principal of a registered investment adviser firm for a minimum of 5 years; 3. Favorable regulatory and complaint history review (As defined by FSP, the wealth manager has not; A. Been subject to a regulatory action that resulted in a license being suspended or revoked, or payment of a fine; B. Had more than a total of three settled or pending complaints filed against them and/or a total of five settled, pending, dismissed or denied complaints with any regulatory authority or FSP's consumer complaint process. Unfavorable feedback may have been discovered through a check of complaints registered with a regulatory authority or complaints registered through FSP's consumer complaint process; feedback may not be representative of any one client's experience; C. Individually contributed to a financial settlement of a customer complaint; D. Filed for personal bankruptcy within the past 11 years; E. Been terminated from a financial services firm within the past 11 years; F. Been convicted of a felony); 4. Fulfilled their firm review based on internal standards; 5. Accepting new clients. Evaluation criteria - considered: 6. One-year client retention rate; 7. Five-year client retention rate; 8. Non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered; 9. Number of client households served; 10. Education and professional designations. FSP does not evaluate quality of services provided to clients. The award is not indicative of the wealth manager's future performance. Wealth managers may or may not use discretion in their practice and therefore may not manage their clients' assets. The inclusion of a wealth manager on the Five Star Wealth Manager list should not be construed as an endorsement of the wealth manager by FSP or this publication. Working with a Five Star Wealth Manager or any wealth manager is no guarantee as to future investment success, nor is there any guarantee that the selected wealth managers will be awarded this accomplishment by FSP in the future. Visit www.fivestarprofessional.com.