Our Philosophy
Florian Financial Group LLC was founded with the goal of helping to create financial stability and security to provide financial independence for our clients. We provide the most personal service available, thus earning a reputation for excellence in our industry.
We believe there are several criteria a reliable advisor should meet. By doing your homework, you can help insure you choose someone who will not only protect the assets you have, but help you achieve your retirement and life goals.
It’s about more than just investment advice.
A top-notch advisor should not only have earned a CFP® credential, but he or she should also have a passion for planning and, therefore, be able to provide both financial planning and asset management advice. Whether you need assistance comparing mortgage options, determining insurance needs, saving for college and/or building for retirement, your advisor should be able to assist you, either personally or by referring you to experts in a particular field.
At Florian Financial Group, we prepare retirement projections for almost every one of our advisory clients. We also assist in assessing insurance coverage, preparing for college expenses, building a plan for paying off debt and more – all because we believe the best investment decisions are made when the client’s big picture is considered.
It’s about a commitment to serve as fiduciary.
A fiduciary manages property for the benefit of another, exercising control over the property and acting in a professional capacity of trust to provide comprehensive and continuous investment advice. Unfortunately, many advisors don’t necessarily act in their clients’ best interests. Under the SEC’s “Merrill Lynch Rule,” fee-based advisors at brokerage firms, banks and insurance companies often aren’t considered fiduciaries; rather, they are held to a lower suitability standard, meaning they are only required to recommend products that are a “reasonable choice” for their clients. Broker/dealer executives don’t want their brokers held to the higher fiduciary standard due to liability issues. To protect yourself, avoid advisors who won’t commit to acting as a fiduciary.
To determine whether your advisor is a fiduciary, ask for a copy of your Investment Policy Statement and your advisor’s Form ADV. If he or she cannot produce those documents, chances are your advisor is not a fiduciary. At Florian Financial Group, our Form ADV is available on request, along with our Investment Policy Statements.
An advisory firm should be independent.
There are qualified advisers working at firms that don’t allow for much independence, but who still think fairly independently. However, the next time you receive an investment statement, check to see how many funds you own with the same name as your investment firm.
At Florian Financial Group, we are truly an independent advisory firm with no ties to a broker/dealer, insurance company or bank. This allows us to make recommendations that are truly in your best interests – and nobody else’s. We’re not influenced by a corporate parent. Our investment decisions are based on the advice of independently-purchased research. Our choice of insurance carriers is based on guidance provided by independent rating agencies, and our financial plans are based on independent research from respected financial journals. Being independent provides us the flexibility to build client-driven solutions. These are your “rewards of independence.”
A formal financial education is a must.
Did you know you don’t have to be certified to call yourself a financial planner? In truth, most advisers have had little formal financial education. For example, very few brokers and insurance agents bother to obtain the basic credential of Certified Financial Planner™ professional. Instead, they call themselves a “wealth manager” or “financial planner.”
At Florian Financial Group, your investment advice and financial plan is built by a Certified Financial Planner™ professional with a business degree concentrated in finance and accounting. Robert Florian possesses a Certified Public Accountancy license from the State of New York.
Investment advice should be based on research with a favorable long-term track record.
Nearly every broker, financial planner and insurance agent believes his or her approach is best to achieve investment success. It is nearly impossible for investors to compare results from different advisors while considering the risk taken to achieve those returns. This difficulty is compounded by most brokers’ inability to provide detailed return data over different time periods. The same companies that pour millions into trying to convince you to buy their products don’t seem too interested in building tools to help you assess your specific portfolio’s performance.
Florian Financial Group uses research with a proven, favorable long-term track record.
We will continue to seek out investment advice with favorable long-term track records by following these steps:
- we purchase investment research from several reliable sources.
- we assess this research by purchasing performance ratings from an independent company that looks at performance over long time periods in up and down markets.
- we compare the research we use to external studies of investment results.
- we consistently compare our track record to the research we use.
No matter whom you choose as the advisor to guide your future, you should never be hesitant about wanting to delve into investment results. At Florian Financial Group, we believe your retirement is too important. So, whether you choose to hire us because of our independence, because we came highly recommended or you are familiar with us, we will continue to do the work necessary to support your decision.