A blog I recently read in Reuters highlights why I am an independent advisor. The article quotes a former JP Morgan broker who stated that the company urged its financial advisors to sell their own commissioned funds rather than less expensive products from other companies.
As an independent advisor I have no ties to any fund company. For example, Fidelity doesn’t give me a free vacation for using their funds, nor do I get any extra compensation for recommending a T.Rowe Price fund. If funds from either of those two companies are in the best interest of my client than those are the ones I will recommend. If not, I will use other ones.
I have a Pledge hanging on my office wall that I take pride in. It describes the qualities of Independence, Client Focus, Performance, and Reliability that I use in my practice every day.