IndependentFinancialAdvisor

At Schwab, we firmly believe that investment advice must meet the needs of the investor – and only the investor. That’s why, for 20 years, we’ve backed Independent Financial Advisors with the service and support they need to serve the individual investor.

An Independent Financial Advisor won’t just work with you, but for you as well. Because these advisors are independent, you can be more confident that your advisor will put your needs first. Independence means they’re free to make recommendations from a much broader range of potential investments—whatever best suits your financial objectives—now and in the future.

Investment advisory practices typically fall into three groups: Money Managers, Financial Planners and Wealth Managers. However, most advisors offer combinations of these practices in order to personalize their services to meet the varied and unique needs of their clients.

Money management focuses on the investment portfolio. Money managers typically:

• Design portfolios that
    comprise of individual
    securities, bonds, real
    estate or other financial

assets

• Manage the portfolio
on a discretionary basis

• May hold the Chartered
    Financial Analyst or CFA
    designation. This means
    they have met the rigorous
    experience, education,
    examination and ethics
    requirements of the CFA
    Institute, a nonprofit
    organization that monitors
    professional standards
   for investment

management.

Financial planners look at investments within the context of a client’s total financial picture. Financial planners typically:

• Help you look to the
    future and do long-term
    planning in the areas of
    retirement, college funding,
    wealth transfer, tax
    planning, and insurance.

• May hold the Certified
Financial Planner, or

other designation, which
means they have met

   specific education,
   examination, and
   experience requirements

and have agreed to adhere
to high standards of

ethical conduct.

Want to learn more? Download your free copy of: Investing in More Objective Advice:

A Guide to Working with an Independent Registered Investment Advisor

Read our report:
Investing in More Objective Advice: A Guide to Working with an Independent Registered Investment Advisor.

For 20 years, Schwab Institutional has been providing independent financial advisors with the support they need. With Schwab Institutional behind them, advisors are free to be independent while reassuring clients that their assets are protected by a financially strong and secure company. To learn more about the services that Schwab Institutional provides to independent advisors, click here.

Investments in securities and other investment products contain certain risks, including loss of principal. Investors should consider any investment decision carefully.

Wealth managers provide a broad range of services geared to high-net-worth individuals and families. Firms that provide holistic wealth management services have specialist teams that can provide service areas such as:

• Investment management

• Financial planning

• Cash flow optimization

• Retirement planning

• Liquidity/restricted stock

• Risk/liability management

• Insurance

• Personal and business
lending

• Trust and estates

• Wealth transfers

• Philanthropy/charitable
giving

• Business succession
planning

• Tax guidance