FAQ

FAQ2021-07-27T19:28:36+00:00

People come to us for guidance, for advice, and for the wisdom of our experience. And when they come, they bring questions, such as…

  • Will I have enough money to make sure my family continues to live in the lifestyle we’ve become accustomed to?
  • How do I make sure taxes don’t whittle down my wealth?
  • How can I be sure my family is taken care of if something happens to me?
  • What can I do to make sure that my children are financially successful?
  • How can I be assured of my philanthropic and family legacy?

The solutions can be financial, legal or philosophical. We are skillful problem solvers and get to the root of our clients’ most important life questions.

In addition, you might have some other questions which we try and answer below.

How is LionsBridge different from other advisors and financial firms?2021-07-27T19:28:38+00:00

We have many differentiating factors, including:

  • Independence and private ownership
  • A team with a unique background gained while working at some of the top financial institutions in the nation
  • Decades of experience working specifically with affluent individuals
  • Experts in the construction of customized portfolios using traditional and alternative investments, trust, estate and financial planning
  • Low client-to-advisor ratio, which allows for personalized service and better investment oversight
  • Direct clients access to the firm’s owners
  • No conflicts of interest. We provide services on a fee-only basis. We do not accept any other compensation, either directly or indirectly from other sources
  • We believe that minimizing  taxes and keeping fees low are key factors to your success
  • Registered Investment Advisor with a fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interest of our clients
  • Holistic wealth management
Why work with a Registered Investment Advisor Firm (RIA)?2021-07-27T19:28:38+00:00

There are essentially two ways to participate in our financial markets. You can form a relationship with a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) firm who has a legal obligation to put your interests first, or you can work with a financial advisor or broker who serves as a liaison between you and the firm who execute your trades.

Read all the financial news, and you’ll get dizzy sorting out who is doing what to whom. Let’s make it easier. As an RIA firm, we provide highly individualized planning and advice to help you cut through the complexities and most efficiently pursue your financial goals.

In contrast, a broker’s overarching role (and income source) is to execute trades or sell you products.  There’s nothing wrong with that, but make no mistake about what that means to you and your money. It boils down to an important differentiator: accountability.

As an RIA firm, we are accountable to our clients, and only to our clients. In legal terms, RIA firms are subject to a fiduciary standard, which means we must first and foremost champion our clients’ highest financial interests. We are held to this level of accountability by government regulators, by ourselves and, most importantly, by our clients.

Brokers may tell you they can assume the dual role of offering planning and investment advice, as well as executing trades. But there’s a catch. Because the industry considers trading to be a broker’s primary role, their advice is deemed incidental, subject to the less-accountable suitability standard. This allows brokers to place your highest interests secondary to their trading goals.

In our opinion, the advice you receive in planning and managing your wealth according to your highest interests should never be incidental or secondary. By selecting an RIA as your advisor, you are selecting the highest fiduciary standard of care.

What happens to my current holdings if I become a client?2015-07-24T15:20:30+00:00

Every new relationship starts with a careful examination of all your current holdings. We then meet with you to discuss our recommendations, and we will take no actions without this discussion. Our goal is to make sure that your portfolio makes sense for your overall objectives. We understand that taxes and fees are an important consideration, so we strive to be very cost effective if we need to make changes. Ways we achieve this goal are to capture your unique willingness and need to take on market risk via appropriate diversification. We look to minimize the expenses involved in investing; to manage for appropriate asset location between taxable and tax-sheltered accounts; and to eliminate any unnecessary complexity within the collection of accounts within your portfolio. If existing holdings lend themselves to these objectives, we leave them in place. If changes are warranted, we work with you to ensure any transitions occur as smoothly and cost-effectively as possible.

Who has custody of my account and is my money protected?2021-07-27T19:28:39+00:00

LionsBridge does not hold any client assets. We utilize Charles Schwab & Co. as our primary custodian and they provide monthly statements and handle all customary administrative, tax reporting and gain/loss recording. We only have trading authority over your accounts and cannot move any money or effect transfers, without your prior consent.

All of your accounts, and the cash and securities within those accounts, are segregated assets; which mean that they belong to you. All the securities and cash in the accounts fall under SIPC rules and protection. In the unlikely event that LionsBridge, or our custodian Charles Schwab, ceased operating, you could transfer the accounts to any other custodian.

LionsBridge is celebrating its 7th year anniversary and continues to grow every year, but if we were to stop operating, you would contact Schwab and move the accounts anywhere you like. In addition, Charles Schwab provides an umbrella policy on all client assets. We would be happy to provide additional information upon request.

What does it mean to be a Registered Investment Advisor?2021-07-27T19:28:39+00:00

LionsBridge Wealth Management is a regulated entity, by both Federal (FINRA) and Florida State Office of Financial Regulations. Our company conforms and adheres to all regulatory, financial and customary accounting practices.

As an RIA firm, we are accountable to our clients, and only to our clients. In legal terms, RIA firms are subject to a fiduciary standard, which means we must first and foremost champion our clients’ highest financial interests. We are held to this level of accountability by government regulators, by ourselves and, most importantly, by our clients.

What are some of the things you could help me with?2021-07-27T19:28:39+00:00

Our job is to listen and understand your concerns and help develop solutions. For many clients, the following are some starting points:

  • Assess your existing investments and let you know of any concerns, such as hidden costs or inefficient activities. Suggest and explain appropriate, more cost-effective alternatives
  • Refine how and where your assets are allocated to create a risk/reward profile that makes sense for you. Maintain or update your allocations as the market and your goals evolve
  • Intelligently divide your investments between your taxable and tax-sheltered accounts, to minimize the damaging impact of taxes across your portfolio.
  • Coordinate your investment activities within the context of your overall wealth management needs, including insurance, estate planning, charitable intents and other related concerns
  • Prove clearly understood reports on your progress and be transparent about the fees you are paying
  • We can aggregate and report on all your accounts – even those held away from LionsBridge
  • Provide ongoing counsel and education as new opportunities or new challenges arise

In short, most investors aren’t investing for fun; they’re investing for their life. In that context, investment selection is merely part of a much greater whole that warrants objective, advisory oversight. It warrants LionsBridge Wealth Management.

What do I need you for; can’t I do this on my own?2021-07-27T19:28:39+00:00

Yes you could, sort of. Good, basic investing isn’t rocket science, but even so, most people don’t do it nearly as well on their own.

To cite the hard evidence, since 1994, financial market research firm DALBAR has released an annual update on its Qualitative Analysis of Investor Behavior (QAIB), indicating that investors significantly underperform the very investments they hold. According to the most recent QAIB, covering 20 years of data through 2010, investors earned just under 4 percent compared to S&P 500 returns of just over 9 percent. That’s a lot of wealth left on the table.

DALBAR and many other studies demonstrate that investors’ inability to capture available returns is a self-inflicted wound that results from over-active trading. In the absence of careful planning and disciplined, long-term strategy, our natural tendencies are to react to emotions rather than adhere to strategy, which results in buying and selling at the wrong times, for the wrong reasons.

Our primary role is to ensure that you stick to your well-built plan over time and across volatile markets. If circumstances change then the plan must change. This may sound like no big deal; but there is clear evidence that individual investors lack the resolve to go it alone.

How is LionsBridge Compensated?2021-07-27T19:28:39+00:00

LionsBridge is an RIA (Registered Investment Advisor) which means that we have an obligation to put your best interest before our own. As a Fiduciary, we are legally responsible to act in your best interest. We are held accountable to this by government regulators, ourselves and by our clients

We charge one fee for all our services; the fee is calculated as a percentage of the assets we manage. Our fees are normally lower than most advisors or a basket of mutual funds. The fees are paid monthly in arrears, so we get paid after we do our job. There is no binding agreement; if you are unhappy you can move your accounts at anytime.

I already work with a financial advisor. Why should I consider LionsBridge Wealth Management?2021-07-27T19:28:39+00:00

We are not necessarily an “either-or” money manager. Our flexible, unbiased approach means we can develop a relationship with you that can enhance and add to your current investment strategies. We often work with a client’s professional advisors in finding solutions that are right for them. In addition, some people seek out a “second opinion” from another advisor, just to ease their mind that their portfolio is working for them as effectively as possible.

In addition, we follow a low-cost, tax-sensitive approach to managing taxable assets. In the long run it is exceptionally difficult, but not impossible, to beat the market averages. If you have high fees and are not tax efficient in your investment program you make it almost impossible. If your current advisor is not managing your taxable accounts in a different manner than your tax-deferred or retirement accounts, you are going to have a very difficult time beating the market.

How is your investment program different?2021-07-27T19:28:39+00:00

We do not adhere to a one-size-fits-all asset allocation policy and because we are fiduciaries, we are not looking to sell investment products. Instead, we create customized asset allocations for you based solely on the prospect of achieving success relative to your specific objectives and constraints.

There is no “best” investment strategy. All disciplines have strengths and weaknesses, and can have significant differences in short-term performance. Consistently beating a market index utilizing only one particular investment style, or strategy, is difficult for even the best money managers.

We offer a wide range of investment programs, from a multitude of private managers to proprietary models which can accommodate any investor’s vision.

Our Proprietary Programs range from ETF Index Baskets to Strategic Tax Sensitive Models thru Global Multi-Cap portfolios with active risk mitigation.

  • We believe that portfolios need to be invested another way in “Bear Markets” than in “Bull Markets”- accordingly, we practice vigorous risk mitigation in our investment strategies in trending bear markets
  • Adjusting a portfolio over a full market cycle manages risk for clients and prevents market timing mistakes that diminish returns over time
  • We do not attempt to forecast the market’s direction; rather we vigorously monitor market trends, whether they are up or down, and reflect those trends in our portfolios
  • Timing the market is a very difficult endeavor, but identifying times when reducing risk has historically been beneficial, helps clients maintain their long-term asset allocation
  • Intelligently divide and manage your investments between your taxable and tax-sheltered accounts, to minimize the damaging impact of taxes across your portfolio.
What if I need a bond (fixed income) portfolio or other special holdings?2021-07-27T19:28:39+00:00

Our philosophy is that equity investments are for growth; fixed income investing has a vital mission all its own: to control overall volatility in a portfolio and provide a stable financial base. It should act as the vehicle for steady, reliable income and contingency reserves. We address your fixed income needs as an integral part of your overall portfolio as well as by considering the special needs, characteristics and (often hidden) costs inherent in the bond market. If a custom bond portfolio makes sense for you, we build one for you based on analysis of each bond’s full range of characteristics (sector, maturity, credit rating and more).

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