We strive to ensure that our clients completely trust us to objectively discuss the pros and cons of any and all investment or financial planning decisions we recommend. This trust should take two forms. First, that our clients will trust that any advice we render is being provided with no regard for our own interests. But in addition, we strive to ensure another level of trust as well - the client's trust that we have the knowledge needed to support those recommendations. There are few situations in life where anyone needs to be able to count on both types of trust as much as in the field of investment advice. Your money not only represents your financial security, but often your emotional security as well. It represents the dreams you have for not only your own life, but for your children's future. It is not an area where one should have to settle for sub-optimal advice, or a financial product rife with high fees, or otherwise tolerate advice that is a reflection of anything other than what is is the client's sole and best interest.
Our clients, we hope, believe that we at Madrone would not hesitate to give them investment or financial advice that not only would reduce our fees, but would eliminate those fees completely if we thought the client should take that course of action. That is the standard of trust we hold ourselves to. That is one reason we have a flat annual retainer-type fee that is only loosely tied to the size of the assets we are managing, and not an assets-under-management percentage-based fee. While no fee structure can completely eliminate the possibility of a potential conflict of interest, we believe that an annual retainer fee provides less potential for conflicts of interest to arise. But even if they were to arise, we are committed to solely rendering advice in the best interest of the client.
For more information on the factors that would go in to constructing the optimal investment portfolio for you, please contact us.