There are three primary ways that people get paid in the financial services industry.

1. Commission. An adviser receives compensation in the form of commissions for selling insurance contracts or recommending certain mutual funds or other investment vehicles to their clients.

2. Fee-based. Some of the adviser’s compensation comes directly from clients, and some comes from commissions on financial products sold to their clients.

3. Fee-only. These advisers have a fiduciary responsibility – a legal and moral obligation – to only choose investments that are in their client’s best interest. Fee-only firms accept payment only from their clients and are prohibited from receiving any compensation in the form of commissions, referrals or other hidden charges.

Islamorada Investment Management is a fee-only, independent Registered Investment Adviser. We take being a fiduciary seriously. We get paid solely by our investors as a percent of assets under management.

We are portfolio managers, not financial planners. We support and are an affiliate member of NAPFA, the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. When needed, we will introduce our investors to one of several NAPFA fee-only planners we know and trust to receive unbiased financial planning help on things that we don’t do – like asset allocation and tax planning.

NAPFA is the country’s leading professional association of Fee-Only financial advisors – highly trained professionals who are committed to working in the best interests of those they serve. If you are looking for a financial planner with no conflicts of interest, contact us for some recommendations, or search NAPFA.org here.