Why We’re Different
Over the past decade we have developed a comprehensive financial planning process specifically designed for Washington State Fire Fighters, Medics, Dispatchers, and all Fire Department Administration, and Maintenance Personnel and their families.
Our Fee-Only Fiduciary approach goes beyond just managing your 457(b) & 401(a) investments. We are focused on your entire financial picture and we are obsessed with helping you make sound financial decisions at every point in your life.
FAQs
- Are you Fiduciaries?
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Yes! We have a legal duty to always act in our client's best interest.
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Are you Fiduciaries?
DecisionPoint Financial, LLC is a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) with a fiduciary duty of loyalty to our clients.
RIA’s have a fiduciary duty to their clients. This means that we are legally obligated to always act in your best financial interest. Non-RIA financial advisors, such as broker-dealers, may only have to offer advice that is suitable to their clients. This means they can offer financial advice that meets a client’s needs, but which may earn them sales commissions or higher fees.
RIA’s register with either the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or state securities regulators. DecisionPoint Financial, LLC is registered with the SEC. SEC regulation and oversight ensures that all representatives of DecisionPoint are serving your interests as fiduciaries. The regulators provide websites where you can research any complaints against your financial advisor. For RIA’s you can check the background of an advisor or their firm utilizing the Investment Advisor Public Disclosure site; and for Brokers governed by FINRA, you can go to BrokerCheck.
RIA’s must clearly disclose any conflicts of interest. DecisionPoint must be fully transparent when disclosing all fees and potential conflicts of interests to our clients.
- Are you CFP® Professionals?
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DecisionPoint Financial has many CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals on staff. To learn more about what that means, and why it’s important, click below.
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Are you CFP® Professionals?
DecisionPoint Financial has many CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals on staff.
Most people think that all financial planners are “certified”, but this isn’t true. Anyone can call themselves a “financial planner.” Only those who have fulfilled the certification and renewal requirements of the CFP Board can display the CFP® certification marks. When selecting a financial planner, you need to feel confident that the person you choose to help you plan for your future is competent and ethical. The CFP® certification provides that sense of security by allowing only those who meet the following requirements the right to use the CFP® certification marks:
EDUCATION: CFP® professionals must develop their theoretical and practical financial planning knowledge by completing a comprehensive course of study at a college or university offering a financial planning curriculum approved by the CFP Board.
EXAMINATION: CFP® practitioners must pass a comprehensive CFP® Certification Examination that tests their ability to apply financial planning knowledge in an integrated format. Based on regular research of what planners do, the exam covers the financial planning process, tax planning, employee benefits and retirement planning, estate planning, investment management and insurance.
EXPERIENCE: CFP® professionals must have two years minimum experience in the financial planning process prior to earning the right to use the CFP® certification marks. As a result, CFP® practitioners possess financial counseling skills in addition to financial planning knowledge.
ETHICS: As a final step to certification, CFP® practitioners agree to abide by a strict code of professional conduct, known as the CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility, that sets forth their ethical responsibilities to the public, clients and employers. Through the Code of Ethics, CFP® practitioners agree to act fairly and diligently when providing you with financial planning advice and services, putting your interests first. The Code of Ethics states that CFP® practitioners are to act with integrity, offering you professional services that are objective and based on your needs. They are required to provide you with information about their sources of compensation and conflicts of interest in writing.
ONGOING CERTIFICATION: Once certified, CFP® practitioners are required to maintain technical competence and fulfill ethical obligations. Every two years, they must complete a minimum 30 hours of continuing education to stay current with developments in the financial planning profession and better serve their clients.
- Are you Fee-Only & how do you get paid?
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Yes! We do not sell any type of commissioned products like annuities, life insurance, or recommend funds that provide kick-backs. The only revenue that DecisionPoint derives is from the asset-based fee which we charge on the accounts we manage. We collect this fee by debiting your account each quarter. All our services are included in the asset-based fee.
If a financial advisor is not fee-only, it can be challenging for them to act as true fiduciaries to their clients because they may be incentivized to sell you one financial product over another.
- Do you only work with First Responders?
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No. Outside of our work with the First Responder community, DecisionPoint has a very broad and diverse client base with a variety of investment and financial planning needs. We work with professionals, business owners, retirees, families and individuals, conservatorship trusts, charities, and employer sponsored 401(k), 403(b), and Cash Balance retirement plans throughout the country.
- Do you work virtually?
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Yes! Accessibility to us and to our team of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals is our highest priority. Our office is located in Gig Harbor, WA, but we work extensively throughout Pierce, Kitsap, King, Thurston counties as well as throughout Washington State. The majority of the financial planning that we offer is done ideally in person, but we are well equipped to meet with clients virtually through applications like Zoom. When scheduling time with us to review your retirement account, or go through the financial planning process, we try very hard to accommodate your schedule and your preference for meeting virtually or in person.
- What is your investment approach?
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We take a very disciplined and strategic approach to money management. View the “Investment Management” tab within the services dropdown to learn more.
- How accessible is the DecisionPoint team?
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Accessibility has been a primary key to our success over the past decade as a provider of 457(b), 401(a), and financial planning services to fire service employees throughout Washington State. Scott Johnson, CFP®, CJ Harrison, CFP®, Matt Daley, CFP®, and Chadd Peachey, CFP® work as a team to service our clients. We give out our cell phone numbers and we encourage you to reach out to us when financial issues arise. We meet with you in our office in Gig Harbor, in your station during regular station visits, virtually, or in your home as needed. We want to be your on-call financial planning resource.
- Who is Spectrum & what role do they play?
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Located in Tacoma, WA, Spectrum Pension Consultants is one of the oldest and largest retirement plan record keepers and third-party administrators in the Pacific Northwest. DecisionPoint has partnered with Spectrum to provide low-cost, state of the art 457(b) and 401(a) plan solutions to fire departments throughout Washington State. On the DecisionPoint retirement plan platforms, participants will log in to their online account at dp457.com or spectrumpension.com. Spectrum interfaces with your fire department’s payroll department to ensure timely deposits of your retirement account deferrals.
- Who is Charles Schwab & what role do they play?
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Charles Schwab is one of the largest financial service companies in the world with over $7 trillion in assets held in custody. Schwab is the custodian for DecisionPoint’s 457(b) and 401(a) retirement plans. When your fire department submits payroll deposits into your retirement account, this money is sent directly to Charles Schwab. Neither DecisionPoint nor Spectrum ever has direct access to your hard-earned retirement assets.