Fee-Only Compensation

 

As a fee-only advisory firm, our only compensation comes from you, our client, as a fixed percentage of assets under our management. We believe working on commission, as opposed to fee-only, introduces an inherent conflict of interest. This is because recommendations carry relative financial gains for the advisor, and call the ability to provide comprehensive financial advice into question. Our fee-only compensation model helps ensure the right business decisions for us and the appropriate investment decisions for you do not conflict.

“I believe fundamental honesty is the keystone of business.”

– Harvey S. Firestone

The Fiduciary Standard for Financial Advisors

At Ferguson-Johnson Wealth Management, we hold ourselves to a fiduciary standard. In our role as fiduciary, we are legally obligated to act in good faith and put your best interests first. You might expect that every advisor provides the fiduciary standard of care, but this is not the case. For example, brokerage firms are only required to meet the suitability standard.

What Is the Suitability Standard?

The suitability standard calls for making recommendations which are merely consistent with but not necessarily in the best interests of the underlying customer. Furthermore, advisors at brokerage firms are paid by commission rather than by fixed fees. In our view, this creates an inherent conflict of interest because the advisor provides advice about suitable investments that offer the advisor different levels of compensation.

Because we adhere to the fiduciary standard, you can be confident that the investment advice we provide is designed to best serve your needs. For all your wealth management and financial planning needs, you can count on Ferguson-Johnson Wealth Management.

You can be confident that the investment advice we provide is designed to best serve your needs.

The Value of Professional Financial Advice

Even when you find yourself in a financial situation that seems impossible to get out of, you should seek advice from a professional fiduciary advisor. In many cases, your advisor will be able to recommend a course of action that improves your financial situation.

For example, our firm once had a client who came to us after buying annuities that included very high commission charges. Our years of experience navigating difficult financial matters were put to good use, as we were able to get her out of those investments, have all her money refunded, and put her money in investments that had no-loads and lower expense ratios.No matter the situation you find yourself in, you’re never alone when you have the advisors at Ferguson-Johnson Wealth Management on your side.

Fee-Only Financial Advisors in Maryland, Northern Virginia & Washington, D.C.

Choosing a financial advisor or investment manager is no simple task, but we believe the choice between fee-only, fiduciary advisors and those paid by commission is obvious. The fiduciary advisors at Ferguson-Johnson Wealth Management will always help you make financial decisions that are in your best interests—isn’t that the point of working with an advisor in the first place?

Don’t put your financial future in the hands of someone who might have ulterior motives. Get fee-only, fiduciary advice today from the team at Ferguson-Johnson Wealth Management.