Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

We have a fiduciary duty to put our clients’ interests first.

A registered investment advisor* is an individual or company registered with a regulatory body (e.g., U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Texas State Securities Board, etc.) to provide various financial services such as investment advice and management.

The Goff Financial Group is an SEC registered investment advisor.

Not all registered investment advisors are truly independent advisors. Some advisors may be owned or controlled by third parties such as banks, brokerage firms, and insurance companies with financial interests that conflict with what is in your best interest. For example, a brokerage firm is in the business of brokering transactions and its best interest is to see that customers generate such transactions.

When an advisor is owned or controlled by a third party such as a bank or brokerage firm, you should expect these companies to have financial interests that conflict with your best interests. Regardless of any claimed fiduciary duties to put your financial interests first, when an advisor is owned or controlled by a third party such as a bank or brokerage firm, they are not truly independent as they are beholden to the financial interests of that company. As a result, an expectation of objective financial advice and management is not, in our opinion, realistic given the potential conflicts of interest. In short, “Who does the advisor work for?” In our view, that is where the advisor’s loyalty truly lies.

We are a truly independent registered investment advisor. This means we are not owned or controlled by a third party that may have financial interests counter to your interests. Our independent structure helps eliminate potential conflicts of interest seen with advisors that are not truly independent (e.g., owned by banks, brokerage firms, insurance companies, or other third parties).

Because we are a truly independent fee-only advisor, our clients pay us a fee directly to manage their investments as well as other services (e.g., financial planning). In sharp contrast to a fee-based advisor, we do not receive any fees or commissions from any of the financial products that may be held in our clients’ accounts. Because we are only paid by our clients, we do not receive any fees or commissions from any other third parties (e.g., bank, brokerage firm, mutual fund company, insurance company).

We specialize in helping clients who prefer to delegate their investment decisions to an advisor instead of self-directed investors who prefer to make their own investment decisions. While a new client may prefer to collaborate with us initially about any initial investment decisions, a typical client goal is to delegate future decisions to our firm over time.

As part of an ongoing and comprehensive relationship, our clients may also want our help when making major financial decisions beyond their investment portfolios. For their tax and estate planning matters, our clients may rely on us to introduce them to fully independent CPAs and estate attorneys we work with on their behalf.

When investing in developed economies such as the United States and Western Europe, we prefer to invest in individual stocks but may also use other equity-related investments as deemed appropriate. Depending upon the client’s investment objectives, risk tolerance, and market conditions, portfolios under our management may include any of the following securities:

• Securities Traded Over the Counter
• Exchange Listed Stocks and Funds
• Mutual Fund Shares
• Corporate Bonds
• U.S. Government Bonds
• Commercial Paper
• Certificates of Deposit
• Options on Securities

We do not disclose any confidential personal information about our prospective, current, or former clients to anyone, except as permitted by law. We restrict access to confidential personal information about you to only key members of our staff who need this information to provide our services to you. In addition, we maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to comply with federal standards to guard your confidential personal information.