Frequently Asked Questions
General FAQs
Artemis Financial Advisors offers a different value proposition than is typically available through financial brokerage firms. Some of these differences include:
Our Fiduciary Responsibility
Independent, registered investment advisors (RIAs) have a fiduciary obligation to always put their clients’ needs first. Advisors who are employed at brokerage firms are held to a lower “suitability standard” (which is not a legal standard) under which a broker is supposed to recommend suitable investments. However, he/she does not necessarily have to put a client’s needs ahead of their firm’s needs.
Our Fee Structure
Artemis Financial Advisors relies exclusively on a fee-only model. The firm does not receive commissions or fees from any source other than its clients. In contrast, many brokers are paid via commissions. They have a strong incentive to invest you in products that carry high commissions or loads, which may or may not be attractive investments.
Our Obligation to Disclose
Unlike brokers, registered investment advisors are also subject to strict disclosure rules requiring that they provide to their clients their Form ADV listing potential conflicts of interest and their compensation practices.
Our Independence
We do not have any financial relationships with any brokerage firms or money managers and so we are not obligated to favor, nor are we compensated to push, any firm’s proprietary investment products.
Our Integrated and Personalized Service
Few brokers are trained to provide comprehensive financial planning support, nor are their firms set up to provide personalized support. It is not uncommon for a single broker at a large institution to manage 100-200 accounts. In contrast, we limit our services to a select group of clients in order to provide comprehensive advice in the context of close, long-term relationships.
A copy of our current written disclosure statement which describes in more detail our business operations, services, and our fees is available from us upon written request.
In addition to the monthly account statements our clients receive directly from our custodian, Fidelity Investments, each quarter we provide a customized investment performance report, which analyzes the sources and context of performance results aggregated across the accounts we manage on our clients’ behalf. We also have occasional special mailings and email alerts on topics of interest. Clients are encouraged to contact us by e-mail, fax, or telephone at any time to discuss their investments, ask any question, or discuss any financial planning matter. Finally, we strongly encourage all clients to meet in person with us at least annually to conduct a thorough financial planning and investment performance review.
And, very importantly, we do not sell our clients’ personal information to anyone. For more information on our privacy policy, please review our Privacy Statement.
Divorce FAQs
A Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA™) is someone who has received specialized training to fully examine the various aspects of the divorce process from a financial perspective.
The firm’s principal, Leigh Bivings, has been a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst since 2012.