Investor Benefits

A CEFEX-certified advisory firm places your interests first and will realize investment objectives sooner, better align investment services to expenses, and be accountable for actions taken.

Institutional and individual investors expect these benefits from an advisory firm, as they would from any other professional organization. CEFEX certification demonstrates that the firm places a high importance on realizing these benefits. Otherwise, investment outcomes can be seriously impaired.

This is how inadequate performance or high expenses will affect results:

A $100,000 investment portfolio with a 4% annual return over 20 years will forego $30,000 in return by paying 1.0% instead of 0.25%. So a 0.75% higher fee will cause a 14% drop in investment value after 20 years.

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Source: Securities and Exchange Commission Office of Investor Education and Advocacy.

Conflicts of Interest

High fees or inadequate performance could be a result of conflicts of interest. The CEFEX Analyst is trained to watch for conflicts of interest, such as:

Conflict of Interest definition
“A scenario where a person or firm has an incentive to serve one interest at the expense of another interest or obligation.”

Compensation-Related Conflicts and Incentives:

Portfolio Management-Related Conflicts:

Affiliations between investment advisers and broker-dealers: