Mosaic Financial Advisors, as a fee-only financial planner, minimizes inherent conflicts of interest in the planner/client relationship. Fee only means the planner may accept no referral fees, no finder’s fees and no commissions for recommendations and advice. Compensation comes solely from the client so the planner’s interests may be objective and closely aligned with those of the client.

Why does it matter that my financial planner be a Fiduciary?

A financial planner who is willing to take a fiduciary oath to service clients is obligated to provide services and recommend products in your best interests. If your financial advisor does not stand in a fiduciary relationship with you, then he or she is not obligated to take your best interests into consideration. When you work with an advisor, you are disclosing a large amount of personal information, and receiving advice that you may or may not be in the position to assess. You want a planner who is obligated to put your best interests before his or her own, so the advice you receive is not compromised by conflicts of interest. Be sure you know how your advisor is being paid.

What is your Investment Philosophy?

Our investment philosophy is the ideology that drives our investment approach and methodology. We base our investment philosophy on academic research and experience which support the following fundamental beliefs:

• Risk and Return are directly correlated. Risk is an inherent aspect of achieving higher returns. Your risk tolerance is an important consideration in building a portfolio that meets your definition of success.
• Asset allocation is a primary determinant of investment return in a diversified portfolio. Academic research clearly establishes that selection of the appropriate mix of asset classes is far more critical to investment success than individual security selection or any attempt to time the market.
• Diversification optimizes risk and return. Although it may be counterintuitive, combining various risky asset classes actually reduces overall portfolio risk and increases return, as long as the asset classes dont all move in lockstep.
• Factors that drive investment prices are random and unpredictable. Geo-political, economic, technological, and natural forces are random and unpredictable, and impact the markets in ways that are also random and unpredictable. We do not attempt to time the market or make large tactical bets on a given sector of the economy. We believe that a diversified portfolio, rebalanced periodically back to your target asset allocation, is the best way to meet your investment goals.
• Costs matter. Access to securities markets comes at a cost. We focus on keeping those costs low by primarily utilizing no-load mutual funds and low-expense exchange-traded funds.
• Investment is not speculation. Historically, investors have been compensated for providing capital to companies for operations and growth. Investors can expect to be rewarded for putting their capital at risk. Investment is not chasing returns, timing the market, or seeking the next cant miss venture. Those sorts of behavior are considered speculative, and are not consistent with our investment approach.