There are two fundamental ways that financial advisors are compensated:

“Fee-Only” and “Commission”

Fee-Only

Fee Only simply means that all of an advisor’s compensation is received from the client, and none from product sale commissions or referrals. This is typically achieved through a combination of hourly fees, financial planning fees, and asset management fees.

Commission-based

Commision -based advisors receive commissions from financial companies for selling investment and insurance products to clients. Note: Some advisors that are “fee-based” receive both commissions from product sales and fees from clients.

All advisors have a fiduciary responsibility to act in their clients’ best interest. Because Nicolette Financial receives no commissions of any kind, it has no incentive to use products that are not in our clients’ best interest and will never recommend a product or service that our clients don’t need.

Nicolette Financial chooses to be Fee-Only because it endeavors to avoid any conflict of interest in reviewing and recommending any product that the client should consider or use.

Nicolette Financial has adopted the CFP Board’s Code of Ethics to establish the highest principles and standards. These Principles are general statements expressing the ethical and professional ideals Nicolette Financial is expected to display in all professional activities.

As such, the Principles are aspirational in character and provide a source of guidance for certificants’ and registrants’. The Principles form the basis of CFP Board’s Rules of Conduct, Practice Standards and Disciplinary Rules, and these documents together reflect CFP Board’s recognition of certificants’ and registrants’ responsibilities to the public, clients, colleagues and employers.

Principle 2 – Objectivity:

Provide professional services objectively.

Objectivity requires intellectual honesty and impartiality. Regardless of the particular service rendered or the capacity in which a certificant functions, certificants should protect the integrity of their work, maintain objectivity and avoid subordination of their judgment.

Principle 4 – Fairness:

Be fair and reasonable in all professional relationships. Disclose conflicts of interest.

Fairness requires impartiality, intellectual honesty and disclosure of material conflicts of interest. It involves a subordination of one’s own feelings, prejudices and desires so as to achieve a proper balance of conflicting interests. Fairness is treating others in the same fashion that you would want to be treated.