The “F” Word and What It Means for You

The “F” word – Fiduciary – has been flying around in the news lately. Why? Because a new fiduciary rule was established by the Department of Labor to provide more transparency in retirement fees and advice.

Incredible as this sounds, until now the majority of financial advisors have never had a professional or legal obligation to act in their clients’ best interests.

For the sake of clarity, a fiduciary is a person in a position of authority whom the law obligates to act solely on behalf of the person he or she represents and in good faith. Unlike people in typical business relationships, fiduciaries may not seek personal benefit from their transactions with those they represent. Just to be clear, Illumination Wealth is – and has always been – a fiduciary in every sense of the word.

For the first time, all advisors will have to act in clients’ best interests when dealing with their retirement accounts only.

Sounds like a great development for investors, right? Well, not exactly. In the video below Matt Rinkey talks about the fiduciary rule and how it still favors Wall Street over consumers and what you can do to ensure the advice you get is always what’s best for your financial life.

In other important news, mortgage rates continue to make the news as well. Rates are back to multiyear lows at an average of 3.75% for a 30-year fixed mortgage. It is still a good time to refinance and save real money. While we have you thinking about it, e-mail your your mortgage lender or financial advisor to see if refinancing makes financial sense for you.

In this edition of our newsletter:

• 3 Questions You Should Be Asking Your Financial Advisor
• Illumination’s Core Values

3 Questions You Should Be Asking Your Financial Advisor

Matt joins The American Dream Show with Craig Sewing to discuss the importance of a new rule from the Department Of Labor requiring Financial Advisors to be fiduciaries on 401(k) and IRA accounts. Matt explains why this rule leaves a lot to be desired from an investors standpoint and what types of questions you should be asking your advisor to make sure they are always working in your best interest.

Illumination’s Core Values

At Illumination Wealth, we work under a set of core values that drive every decision we make about how we serve our clients. We believe it is important that we share these core values with you, and you will be learning about a core value of ours each month.

Foster Open and Honest Relationships with Communication

We believe that the foundations of any strong, long-term relationship are built through open communication. As part of the financial planning process, we need our clients to be open about their true financial lives.  Where do they stand financially?  What do they want to achieve?  When our clients can be open about their financial situation, we can create a plan that will be achievable and successful for them.

Fostering honest relationships starts with our core value of operating with integrity and transparency. When we are living that value, we can foster relationships with our clients built on honesty. This open and honest relationship is also supported by our fiduciary duty to our clients.  As a fiduciary, we offer advice that is in our clients’ best interest, always in all ways. We want them to know that the recommendations we make are for their greatest benefit only. There are no hidden agendas.

Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do. – Potter Stewart

As always, we hope you have found this edition to be enlightening and look forward to hearing from you soon!

All the best,

The Illumination Wealth Team

The opinions and forecasts expressed are those of Matt Rinkey, President of Illumination Wealth Management (IWM) and may not actually come to pass. Mr. Rinkey’s opinions and viewpoints regarding the future of the markets should not be construed as recommendations of any specific security or Illumination Wealth services. No part of this material is intended as an investment recommendation. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation to purchase or sell securities or any of IWM’s services. Do NOT ever purchase any security without doing sufficient research. There is no guarantee that investment objectives outlined will actually come to pass. Investors should consult an Investment Professional before investing in any investment program. Neither Mr. Rinkey or Illumination Wealth nor any of their employees shall have any liability for any loss sustained by anyone who has relied on the information contained herein. Entities including, but not limited to IWM, its officers, directors, employees, customers and affiliates may have a position, long or short, in the securities referred to herein, and/or other related securities, and may increase or decrease such position or take a contra position. The analysis contained is based on both technical and fundamental research. Although the information contain is derived from sources which are believed to be reliable, they cannot be guaranteed. Past performance is never a guarantee of future results.