As an independently owned and operated Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), we are held to the fiduciary standard of care, meaning that we are always serving clients best interest. Additionally, our independence allows us to offer a full menu of investment products and services, including fee-only platforms that align our clients’ objectives with that of our own. Our investment advisory clients include individuals, trusts, charitable organizations, retirement plans, and corporate accounts. Charles Schwab acts as the custodian for our advisory accounts.
Our independence also allows us to affiliate ourselves with several insurance companies and insurance brokerage firms. This enables us to procure insurance products that best meet the needs of our clients, whether it is term life insurance, long-term care insurance, “second-to-die coverage,” etc. Unlike many of the larger brokerage firms, we have no proprietary products.
Lane Hipple provides the answer to the critical question “Who can I trust to create, manage, preserve and distribute my wealth?” We are committed to providing honest, high quality financial planning and wealth management, and are dedicated to faithfully serving our clients.
We Want you to Understand How You Are Charged
How you pay for financial planning services and investment advice can have an effect on your peace of mind and the outcome of your financial life. Because there is no such thing as a “free lunch”, you should clearly understand how you are paying for financial services or financial advice. At Lane Hipple, we believe in complete transparency with regard to how we invoice our clients for the services they receive.
Lane Hipple does not sell any investment products. We do not sell mutual funds, stocks, variable annuities, or other investment “products”. When investment management services are desired, clients give us limited discretionary trading authority. We place trades for the client and are compensated by a percentage of assets under management; not by the number or size of trades. We work with our clients in the role of advisor, counselor, and friend. We are a fee-based financial planning firm, meaning that we do not accept commissions from investment products; however, sometimes we do receive commissions from life insurance and fixed annuity products. When we do, we fully disclose the commission we receive.
All of our investment advice and asset management services are performed on a fee-only basis. Insurance products such as level term insurance or fixed annuities may have associated commissions; however, the commission will not be deducted from your premium. It is paid by the insurance company, out of their own budget. With regard to insurance products, we act as independent agents. In other words, we are not limited to what we can recommend and have access to several insurance products across many different companies.
This blend of fees and commissions results in Lane Hipple being able to maintain objectivity and serve more of the client’s financial needs than if we took a strictly fee-only or commission-only approach. Fee-based financial planners are less likely to be biased by sales commissions. They do not rely on selling products or generating trades to earn their living. Instead, they are paid by you for the effort they expend.
