For Advisors Only
There was a time when the lower compensation and higher pressure of the large Wall Street firms could be justified by their name recognition and vast resources. However, after the financial crisis, the name recognition of many large firms is not necessarily a positive factor. And now, thanks to technological advances, it is possible for an independent advisor to replicate and in many cases surpass the resources available at large firms.
Wealth Management Associates, Inc. (WMA) is a group of highly experienced advisors who work in a low-pressure environment. They enjoy being able to provide their clients with a high level of personal service, completely objective advice, state-of-the-art resources and low cost, while earning higher incomes for themselves. Our advisors benefit from:
A Large, Established Office – Wealth Management Associates, Inc. began operations in 1999 and since that time has grown to 15 advisors. It is a dynamic environment with an active exchange of information and ideas. Our size gives us strength during difficult times. We also enjoy great economies of scale that allow each advisor and his or her clients to benefit from low overhead costs.
Complete Independence – Each of our advisors is an independent contractor. He or she makes the recommendations that are in the client’s best interest. We do not offer any “proprietary” products and do not exert any influence over the investment products that our advisors recommend other than our policy that they be appropriate for the client’s circumstances.
Vast Resources – Thanks to our affiliation with Securities America, Inc., one of the largest independent broker-dealers, and National Financial Services LLC, a Fidelity Investments Company, our clearing firm, our clients have access to the state-of-the art resources that are comparable to those of any major financial services firm. We subscribe to numerous highly respected, independent research services that help us analyze client portfolios and make unbiased recommendations. Our clients who buy bonds have access to two extensive online bond inventories, ensuring a wide selection and competitive prices. We can offer many fee-based platforms depending on clients’ needs. Virtually any large firm business model can be replicated in our independent office, most likely at a lower cost, with better service and less pressure than at a large firm.
Superior Advisor Directed Fee-Based Platform – Our alliance with Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services has allowed us to build a fee-based advisory platform that has some very distinct advantages over most large firm platforms. Fidelity gives our advisors access to the full spectrum of low-cost investment vehicles and state of the art technology with very low trading costs. The Wealth Management Advisory Account** does not charge clients a platform fee, allowing our advisors to charge lower fees than what they would be able to at larger firms, while earning more income for themselves because of the higher payout. (see below for more details)
Marketing Flexibility – At large firms, an advisor who wants to invest in his or her business by conducting new and existing client marketing must generate more than double his or her marketing investment in incremental revenue just to break even. At Wealth Management Associates, Inc., most of our advisors’ expenses are fixed. Advisors retain a high percentage of their incremental revenue, making it easier to break even on marketing expenditures and providing a strong incentive to invest in and build their business.
Business Continuation/Succession – WMA advisors have the ability to maximize the value of the assets built over the course of their careers. Our office has many experienced advisors with whom new advisors might partner. Advisors also may hire their own junior advisor or partner to make sure clients are properly cared for in the event of an advisor’s disability or retirement. Because WMA advisors are independent, they control their own destiny. Their future plans are limited only by their own creativity.
Transition Financing – If you are an advisor interested in joining WMA, it is possible that the firm can arrange transition financing to assist you with the start-up expenses and loss of income associated with establishing an independent practice. The higher payout you will enjoy over the remainder of your career, and the clear ownership of your business at the end of your career, make being an independent advisor a highly advantageous long-term financial decision. Add to that equation the ability to create a far superior experience for your clients and all the marketing opportunities that exist to build your business, and the financial benefits of becoming an independent advisor over the remainder of your career are compelling.
Wealth Management Advisory Account** – As an independent RIA, Wealth Management has been able to establish a fee-based, advisor directed advisory platform utilizing Fidelity IWS as custodian.
This platform has many advantages over most advisor directed platforms in the industry.
The first and foremost advantage is that there is no platform level fee. The only costs to the client other than your advisor fee are very nominal trading costs charged by Fidelity for certain exchange traded securities and mutual funds that are not part of Fidelity’s extensive no transaction fee program.
Your clients will receive monthly performance reports delivered through an online web portal. Comprehensive analytical reports can be generated utilizing Morningstar Office on demand by the advisor.
The advisors participating in this program meet weekly to discuss markets and have constructed model portfolios that are managed at the firm level for those advisors who want their clients handled in a systematic way. Accounts can be managed individually or advisor created models can be used as long as the fiduciary standard for handling client accounts is maintained.
Our advisors can utilize individual stocks, bonds, funds, CD’s and ETF’s to construct low cost portfolios for clients using all the tools in the tool box. This is a significant advantage in the cost and quality over most platforms which are subjected to multiple layers of fees and expenses and are often limited to the scope of investment vehicles available.
This platform has proven to be a significant competitive advantage for our advisors and we have seen widespread adoption since it was introduced in 2012. It is ideal for those advisors who have been hesitant to move to the fee-based model because of the relatively higher cost to their clients.
The industry is heading in the direction of advisors acting as a fiduciary for their clients and the WMAA allows advisors to move their practices in this direction while keeping the costs to their clients at a reasonable level.
Contact Us
For more information about the advantages WMA can provide for you and for your clients, please feel free to contact us in complete confidence.
Wealth Management Associates, Inc. Managing Directors:
Jim Johnston – jjohnston@wealthmanage.net
Dave Hess – dhess@wealthmanage.net
Securities America Recruiting:
Steve Dripchak – sdripchak@saionline.com