The Informed Investor

The last few years have been full of economic, political, and social turmoil encased in a global pandemic that has put even the most optimistic among us on edge. If you aren’t stressed about the future in general — and your financial future in particular — you are in the minority. With everything going on in the world, the last thing you should have to worry about is the security of your financial future.

Ensure Your Financial Advisor is a Fiduciary

To help bring you peace of mind, the professional staff of the Investment Counsel Company offers the following suggestions:

Make sure your financial advisor is a fiduciary. The fiduciary-client relationship is the highest standard of care attainable in the financial services industry. Do not settle for anything less than a fiduciary when entrusting your financial well-being to an investment advisor. As fiduciary advisors, ICC investment professionals are legally and ethically bound to eliminate or disclose conflicts of interests, as well as always act in the clients’ best interests. Our firm has been committed to this standard since our inception in 1987.

1. Only work with financial advisors who can demonstrate verified credentials.

Certifications and credentials are good indicators of how much you can trust the integrity of your financial advisor. Since investment professionals use many different terms to describe their functions — including financial planner, financial advisor, and investment consultant — it is important to make sure that anyone offering these services can back them up with solid industry respected credentials.

At ICC, our professional team of investment advisors are highly experienced, educated and credentialed. Our professionals hold various designations, including CFP® (Certified Financial Planner®), CFA® (Chartered Financial Analyst®), CPA (Certified Public Accountant), AIFA® (Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analysts®) and CIMA® (Certified Investment Management Analyst®).

2. Verify that your financial advisor has a reputation for impeccable integrity in the financial services community.

While accolades certainly are not a guarantee of results, the reputation your financial advisor enjoys in the financial services community says a lot about their trustworthiness. Look for awards and ranking from reputable business sources and financial industry publications that support your advisory firm’s reputation.

At ICC, founder and CEO Randy Garcia:

• Has been ranked by Dow Jones publications, Barron’s and the Wall Street Journal, as the #1 Financial Advisor in Nevada in its state-by-state rankings on its annual list of “Top 1200 Financial Advisors” for eight consecutive years
• Is one of very few advisors in the nation who have been ranked #1 in their respective states eight or more times
• Is the only financial advisor in the state of Nevada ranked as one of the Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors in the nation in 2020 and 2021 by Dow Jones publications, Barron’s and the Wall Street Journal
• Was recognized in the October 2020 issue of Forbes Magazine as one of America’s Top Wealth Advisors

3. Know how your financial advisor is paid and whether they make commissions on the investments they recommend.

Some financial advisors take commissions on the products they recommend to clients, leaving you to question whether they are, in fact, working in their clients’ best interests or for those commissions. Advisors who have possible conflicts of interest or who may not be completely transparent about the fees or commissions they make, can easily erode a client’s trust. You should know exactly what fees you are paying your financial advisor.

At ICC, we are committed to transparency and maintaining the fiduciary standard of trustworthiness. Our wealth management services are fee based. We do not take commissions on products recommended to our clients and we are completely forthcoming about our competitive fees, which are tier-based according to portfolio size.

4. Only work with a financial advisor who takes the time to form an authentic relationship with you.

When it comes to your financial well-being, relationships are important. You need an advisor who knows how to form the kind of relationship that gives you a high level of confidence. ICC’s advisors genuinely care about our clients’ goals, well-being and financial security, which is why we take the time to get to know you and how your lifestyle, family, goals, and finances relate to one another. We make every effort to meet personally with our clients each quarter to provide an update on their portfolio performance, discuss current economic conditions and learn about any personal or financial changes in their lives.

5. Make sure your financial advisor includes you when creating and refining their recommended investment strategy

Not only should your investment advisor understand your needs and goals, but they should educate you about investment choices, risk management and include you in the process of determining the best strategy for your portfolio. Ongoing dialogue is the best way to ensure that your advisor is tailoring your investment strategies to help you meet your goals.

ICC advisors take all the insights we have about your needs and goals and use them to work with you to build your formal Investment Policy Statement, which will help in the design of your tailored portfolio. We strive to meet personally with each client every quarter to review portfolio performance, discuss the current economic outlook, and learn about any changes in their lives or wishes that could require a pivot in investment strategy.

Learn More About Why ICC Clients Have Confidence In Our Advisors

If you have $1 million or more in investable assets and would like to learn more about how ICC provides clear, personalized, and unbiased guidance for our clients, contact us today at 702-871-8510 or reach out to us online. Our team of trusted advisors is ready to help you with all your wealth management needs during these uncertain times.

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION
The Investment Counsel Company of Nevada (“Company”) is an SEC registered investment adviser located in Las Vegas, Nevada. Company may only transact business in those states in which it is registered or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration requirements. Company’s web site is limited to the dissemination of general information pertaining to its advisory services, together with access to additional investment-related information, publications, and links. Accordingly, the publication of Company’s web site on the Internet should not be construed by any consumer and/or prospective client as Company’s solicitation to effect, or attempt to effect transactions in securities, or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, over the Internet. Any subsequent, direct communication by Company with a prospective client shall be conducted by a representative that is either registered or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration in the state where the prospective client resides. A copy of Company’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing Company’s business operations, services, and fees is available from Company upon written request. Company does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to Company web site or incorporated herein, and takes no responsibility, therefore. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly.

Please remember that different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including those undertaken or recommended by Company), will be profitable or equal any historical performance level(s).

Certain portions of Company’s web site (i.e. newsletters, articles, commentaries, etc.) may contain a discussion of, and/or provide access to, Company (and those of other investment and non-investment professionals) positions and/or recommendations as of a specific prior date. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions, such discussion may no longer be reflective of current position(s) and/or recommendation(s). Moreover, no client or prospective client should assume that any such discussion serves as the receipt of, or a substitute for, personalized advice from Company, or from any other investment professional. Company is neither an attorney nor an accountant, and no portion of the website content should be interpreted as legal, accounting or tax advice.

Please Note: Limitations: Neither rankings and/or recognition by unaffiliated rating services, publications, media, or other organizations, nor the achievement of any professional designation, certification, degree, or license, membership in any professional organization, or any amount of prior experience or success, should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience a certain level of results if Investment Counsel Company is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. Rankings published by magazines, and others, generally base their selections exclusively on information prepared and/or submitted by the recognized adviser. Rankings are generally limited to participating advisers (see below as to participation data/criteria, to the extent applicable). Unless expressly indicated to the contrary, Investment Counsel Company did not pay a fee to be included on any such ranking. No ranking or recognition should be construed as a current or past endorsement of Investment Counsel Company by any of its clients.

ANY QUESTIONS: ICC’s Chief Compliance Officer remains available to address any questions regarding rankings and/or recognitions, including the criteria used for any reflected ranking. Please review Important Disclosure Information set forth in the last section of this website.