FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
JSFA is a fee-only advisor meaning we do not sell financial products that pay commissions. Our clients pay a flat fee for financial planning and investment management. The fee is discussed in detail during our in person visit described under "What is your typical process for working with a new customer?" answer below.
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
The process starts with an in-person visit (about 90 minutes maybe a little longer if we get off track) where we get to know each other. The purpose of this visit is to determine if we are good 'fit' to work together. You need to know if you can trust and work with me, I need to know the same about you. I will ask about what is important to you: what your family values, your hopes, dreams and goals, how you measure financial satisfaction, what financial transitions you are facing and the timing of those transitions. I encourage you to ask me anything. I am happy to answer everything. You should feel comfortable that your advisor is open and honest with you. I will describe for you the valuable work that I do. Although I love what I do and I wish I could do this work for free, I cannot so of course I will explain how the fees work. You will leave with a written document that covers all this – services, fees etc. The only thing I won’t do during our visit is to ask you make a decision about working with me. You may decide on the spot that I’m your advisor and if you do, by all means speak up! Absent your declaration to go forward, I will not put you on the spot to make a decision, that’s just not fair in my opinion. At the conclusion of this visit, I will ask you to schedule a follow up phone call for 3-5 days later. During this phone call: • I will ask you if you have any additional questions that came up after our initial visit; • I will tell you if I feel we are a good fit and that I want to work with you or not; • You will tell me you wish to go forward with planning services or not. If we decide to work together -- then we move on to establishing our business relationship (contract, disclosures all the legal stuff.) Then we gather data about your financial situation (the dollars and cents), much of it can be completed electronically, your family goals, concerns etc. Then I do my analysis and present my findings in the form of a written implementation summary. We review the summary using my financial planning software to illustrate the numbers. We'll cover how all this works during our initial visit. If either of us decides not to work together there shouldn't be any hard feelings -- I have been a practicing financial advisor for over 20 years -- I know I cannot work with everyone and conversely not everyone is willing to work with me.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Tom Duffy earned the Certified Financial Planner® designation in 1994 and has remained a Certified Financial Planner® professional since then. Maintaining certification include adhering to the CFP® Board of Standards rules, ethical standards and continuing education requirements. CFP® Board requires designess to complete 30 hours of continuing education (including a minimum of 2 hours of ethics) every two years.