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Why?History illustrates that unchecked economic power leads to social injustice and environmental destruction. Look no further than slavery, sweat shops, the war industry, and now the climate crisis. We know that monopolies challenge and damage citizen-friendly democracies. We have seen many examples of economies run by market dominating minorities that are unstable and eventually succumb to devastating revolution and even wars. The sustainable and responsible investment community through its intrinsic strategies provides some of the most detailed monitoring of economic powers and presses them for improvements that can benefit all stakeholders, including shareholders, employees, and other citizens. See this short article written by University of Alaska professor, Richard Steiner. What is Sustainable Investing?It is the practice and process of sensible investment management that is also in support of and in harmony with our values about making a better world. It integrates environmental, social, and governance performance and strategies in the investment process. For more detail, read about it on our investment services page. By the way, it has also been referred to as ethical investing and socially responsible investing (SRI). Sustainable investing practitioners work closely with corporate social responsibility (CSR) experts and researchers. Some other acronyms you might come across are ESG (for Environment, Social, and Governance factors) and GSEE (for Governance, Social, Ethical, and Environmental factors). Where?Information about our office location is located on the contact page. Information regarding which states we can offer services in is located on the disclosures page. Who needs it?Our services are best suited to you if any of the following apply to your situation:
Why do I need these services--can't I do all this myself and not spend money on these services?If you have had time and interest to develop the requisite expertise and devote the attention necessary to manage all your financial planning decisions and coordinate your investment portfolios, perhaps you don't need our services. On occasion, clients have gone through the process to thoroughly educate themselves and commit to staying current in these areas and come to the conclusion that they no longer need our services. If you find yourself in that place, we are happy to help you make that transition. Occasionally we've accepted clients that came to us after failing at personally managing their ongoing financial and investment responsibilities and now desire professional assistance. Some clients appreciate that our office and our network of professionals are experienced at acting on investment information, research, and opportunities. We can maintain a disciplined and emotionally detached approach to portfolio management. This is sometimes difficult for individuals and organizational committees dealing with their own decision-making processes. Another reason that people choose to work with a professional is that increased information flows and widely expanded media coverage combined with the dominance of institutional trading have caused increased volatility in almost all financial markets. Those markets are now closely interconnected, forcing the investor to adopt a global perspective. Finally, a number of complex investment products and services have been introduced, adding to the difficulty of the decision-making process. These trends show no signs of slowing. These factors can combine to increase investment risk. Investors can become overwhelmed by having to make decisions in this evermore confusing environment, thus increasing the chances for costly investment mistakes and emphasizing the need for competent, professional financial and investment advice. What is your background?Since 1986, full time, I have provided client-based financial planning advice and sustainable investing services. I offer a personal and professional commitment to meeting client financial services needs. I am active with the Social Investment Forum and support other organizations that are working to make the Earth and society a better place. See the about us page for more. What licenses and educational training does your staff maintain?This is fully addressed on the about us page. What is your track record?We offer a number of different types of investment management services. Some clients require short-term strategies while others long-term, some are conservative, others more aggressive and risk tolerant. We believe it could be misleading to advertise a "track record" implying how your account may do. We try to educate each client about concepts dealing with investment and financial risks. We also discuss and review long-term mean returns of relevant asset classes. The following are good indicators of how we are doing:
How much does it cost?Financial planning, counseling dealing with personal and household money and life issues, and other consultations (not including investment management services) may be provided on an hourly fee basis. Investment management services are based on an asset-based fee arrangement for advisory clients or via traditional brokerage-firm commission arrangement. Either way, our underlying goal is for clients to be satisfied with our services. We would be happy to discuss the scope of services being offered and relevant fees when you are weighing the value of our services. Our fees are competitive with similar services out there. Fees are fully disclosed in advance of clients signing any service engagements. Click here to see our current advisory fee overview. Do you receive commissions?For investment consulting advisory arrangements I do not receive transaction commissions but instead bill a fee for services based on a small percentage of portfolio value. This is standard practice for these kinds of services. In the exception-based instances when I act as a broker I may receive transaction commissions and/or other service fees. Any charges are fully disclosed. What kind of clients do you usually serve and what do they wish to accomplish?People like you? For example, citizens that had investments that they didn't like and they wanted their portfolios to be participating in the sustainable investing community. Or, they had a recent inheritance, freed up trust, business sale, or retirement. But don't hesitate to give me a call to discuss whether or not our service is right for your situation. People have life goals and activities they would like to engage in. Part of our service is focused on helping people discover, uncover, and identify their life goals and objectives. We help people match and harmonize their financial decisions with their goals and objectives. Each client's financial decisions are unique, based on their time frames, goals, ages, objectives, and risk tolerance. Generally, our clients want to earn good returns while investing in a way that can change the world. What is your minimum account size and income level?Investment management and consulting services are subject to the minimums as shown on the current Advisory Fee Schedule. I don't like switching around my investments all the time. I have investments that I want to keep, like stock from my grandfather. Why should I pay you a fee for that?We don't advocate switching stocks all the time and neither does our managers.
But circumstances change. Every good company has a problem. Coca-Cola was a good investment. So was IBM and Microsoft. These are large, sound companies with tremendous histories, but each of these companies has gone through corrections in a short period of time of greater than 50%, and that type of loss is something that you do not recover from quickly. Does your firm support sustainable investing practices?Yes. The firm we are affiliated with, KMS Financial Services, Inc., offers a wide array of sustainable investments. The selection includes all of what we believe are the best sustainable and SRI mutual funds and management services. Eric is a First Affirmative Financial Network Member. This enables us to offer our clients state-of-the-art sustainable investment management services. What is your office like?This is a Branch Office of KMS Financial Services, Inc. located in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. See the contact and about us pages for more information. Do you or does any member of your firm act as a general partner, underwriter, or receive undisclosed compensation from investments that may be recommended to me?No What support services are available to clients?Our office is available to you by phone during regular business hours for general inquiries and a wide range of ongoing client services. Office consultations with clients are welcome and of course by appointment only. Many clients choose to access accounts and reports online. Additional administrative services are provided by related entities such as account custodians and investment advisors. How do your investment management services work?Primarily we are long-term investors, not traders or stock pickers. We prefer utilizing state-of-the-art advisory arrangements that include ongoing monitoring of accounts. We develop asset allocation recommendations to reflect client objectives and time frames. Find more details on the investment services page. How many clients do you serve?We maintain a client load that is appropriate to our capability to serve them well. Services are exclusively provided to approximately 30 households, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations. We accept new client engagements when it is a good fit for the client and for us. How do you keep informed?We comb through and study the latest professional-level reports and articles. We also participate in professional meetings, seminars, e-mail lists, and conferences hosted by the field's leading experts. We interact on a regular basis with sustainable and SRI mutual fund managers and our colleagues. We believe it is in our and our clients' best interests to keep informed. What is your process for working with clients?Clients are encouraged to contact us whenever they need to discuss investment or financial matters. Investment management fee-based advisory clients are scheduled to be contacted at least annually. Contact and consultations are by mail, telephone, or in our office by appointment. Generally, the process for new clients includes some or all of the following:
Each client's situation is unique and we strive to be responsive to their needs, objectives, and goals. |
Community Investing Achiever in the Social Investment Forum 1% For Community investment campaign since 2002. Calvert Foundation Advisor of the Year in 2004.
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