Fees & Transparency
Our interests are completely aligned with our clients’ interests. Stone Creek is a fee only firm and acts as a fiduciary. What is fee only and why is it important? Fee only means no product commissions. Zero. We do not accept commissions, kickbacks, or any other kind of payments. Fee based means the financial advisory team receives product commissions to invest in a particular product or receives part of the fee you pay. The only way to eliminate this conflict of interest is to work with a fee only advisor, who is not incentivized by transactional fees. As part of our mission, Stone Creek makes recommendations solely based on our client’s best interests. By not accepting payment from any products we invest in, we are acting as a fiduciary and ensuring our clients best interests are aligned with all decisions we make on their behalf. We have every motivation to grow our clients’ portfolios to ensure that we make more money in the long run.
Advisory Services & Fees
It is our belief that our clients should only pay for the advice they receive and everything else is included in the management of your assets. Aside from investment advice, we believe that service is one of the most important jobs of any advisor and one that many people do not think about nearly as much as we do. We maintain the same service level for not only new, but also the longest standing clients at the firm. When we make recommendations, our only motivation—and, quite literally, fiduciary responsibility—is to provide the very best investment guidance. This is important for us as well: it defines our mission of providing excellent client service. The cornerstone of that mission is to provide our clients with the most professional—and ethical—management in the industry.
We know that at some firms, financial advisors are incentivized to sell certain products because they make extra money from them. The only revenue that we make as an RIA is from charging you, the client, for our advisory services. Integrity drives Stone Creek’s culture influencing every decision we make to achieve our clients’ investment goals. Our client-centric approach promotes a culture of transparency and confirms our commitment to client service. The only person we truly owe any care of duty to is you – the customer. Bottom line: your success is our success.
Fees & Our Fiduciary Role
Fees: How we get paid
As mentioned in the fee section about conflicts of interest, we do not receive compensation from funds Stone Creek Group invests in. We find the best managers to ensure our client’s assets are diversified, safe, and most importantly – independent. We receive compensation from the individuals, families, and private entities we manage money for. Our fees are based on a percentage of assets under management; our fees are not based on the number of purchase or sales transactions in a client’s portfolio. Stone Creek makes long term investment decisions. We do not chase current trends, market time events, or make assumptions about current political environments. By earning our compensation directly from the client, we are on a mission with two goals: 1) Keep clients happy 2) Grow client portfolios.
What is a Fiduciary?
A fiduciary is a person who acts on behalf of another person, or persons to manage assets. Essentially, a fiduciary is a person or organization that owes to another the duties of good faith and trust. The highest legal duty of one party to another also involves being bound ethically to act in the other’s best interests. A fiduciary might be responsible for general well-being, but often it involves finances — managing the assets of another person, or of a group of people, for example. Money managers, financial advisers, bankers, accountants, executors, board members, and corporate officers can all be considered fiduciaries.
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We have a fundamental obligation to act in the best interests of our clients providing investment advice. We owe our clients a duty of undivided loyalty and utmost good faith. We do not engage in any activity in conflict with the interest of any client. We take steps necessary to fulfill our obligations. We employ care to avoid misleading clients, provide full and fair disclosure of all material facts to clients and prospective clients. Facts are “material” if a reasonable investor would consider them to be important. We must eliminate, or at least disclose, all conflicts of interest that might incline us, consciously or unconsciously, to render advice that is not disinterested. If we do not avoid a conflict of interest that could impact the impartiality of our advice, we must make full and frank disclosure of the conflict. Learn more: SEC.gov | Registered Investment Advisors |
No Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of interest in the financial world arise when financial professionals are rewarded monetarily or internally for selling certain products to their clients. This happens when advisors receive money from product managers for investing their clients’ money in certain stocks, mutual funds, or other funds. It also happens when firms manage their own mutual funds or ETFs. At Stone Creek Group, we are not allowed to accept money from the funds we invest in, and we do not have any internal funds. All of our investments are made with an independent focus, so we are able to keep our client’s best interests as our primary decision maker. Please review the below disclosures carefully as they provide important information about the services provided, fees, conflicts of interest and other topics relevant to investors.
The Stone Creek Group ADV can be found here: Form ADV.
Check the background of investment professionals associated with Stone Creek on the Investment Advisor Public Disclosure website.
Clients/Industries We Serve
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Financial Expertise
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No “One Fits All” Solutions
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