Dispelling the Myths of HD Vest

Transcription

1 Dispelling the Myths of HD Vest Who we are: H.D. Vest Investment Services SM is the holding company for the group of companies providing financial services under the HD Vest name. HD Vest provides services related to securities investments primarily through two of its subsidiaries: HD Vest Investment Services and HD Vest Advisory Services SM. H.D. Vest Investment Services is a broker/dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a member of the Financial Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and provides brokerage and investment transaction services. HD Vest Advisory Services is registered with the SEC to provide investment advisory services. When it comes to evaluating broker/dealers, it s important to separate fact from fiction. Over time, many firms have grown and changed. Understanding the differences helps Advisors make a well-informed decision when it comes to determining their strongest business partner. Let s start with the first myth about HD Vest. With more than 30 years of experience, we have built a reputation as a leading broker/dealer. In fact, Financial Advisor ranked HD Vest as one of the top 20 firms in the industry based on gross revenue. 1 Many Advisors discount our firm, often labeling us the tax guy business. Well, we are more than that. Debunk the following myths and discover the value HD Vest can bring to your practice: Myth 1: HD Vest is only a firm for tax professionals. We may be founded by a tax professional, but we re a full service broker/dealer. It s our tax roots that give you a competitive advantage over others in the industry! We re the only broker/dealer model that supports adding financial planning to your existing tax practice giving you the ability to provide clients with a truly holistic planning approach that harvests both your tax and investment knowledge. From this dynamic model we ve been able to produce the industry s most successful referral model. For more than a decade, we ve been pairing financial advisors with tax professionals in a mutually beneficial revenue generating relationship. Without having an Advisor base of sole financial planners, there is no way this revolutionary referral model could have attained such success! Myth 2: Offering financial services is a conflict of interest. For tax professionals considering a partnership with HD Vest, we know from personal experience you have a competitive advantage as a tax professional offering financial services. 1 Financial Advisor Magazine, 2013 B-D Rankings, April 2013.

2 Myth 2:... Continued We know this because we were founded by a CPA. Like most tax professionals, he initially decided to refer his clients elsewhere for their financial needs. However, he quickly learned this was a mistake. Often times, his clients would be placed in the wrong investments resulting in tax implications. Plus, someone else was compensated for his advice on Simplified Employee Pension Plans (SEPs), Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and other tax-saving vehicles. Disgruntled, he quickly took command and pioneered the way for tax professionals to offer financial services to their clients. With victory in hand, he founded HD Vest Financial Services so others, like you, could provide clients with the services they need. We invented the model of integrating financial services into your tax practice. With our tax background, we know better than anyone that offering financial services isn t a conflict of interest it s in your best interest and more importantly, your clients! Myth 3: HD Vest caters to low-producers. We re a different kind of independent broker/dealer. Our focus is on providing a business model that supports mainstream clients. We believe when you do what is best for your clients the results will follow. Pressuring you to meet firm-defined metrics only forces you into tunnel vision when it comes to offering your clients solutions which often times aren t right for them. To us that model doesn t make sense for you or your clients. Our Advisors cover a range of assets under management, and grow at their own pace. Our model has helped more than 4,600 Advisors manage over $30 billion in assets for more than 1.8 million Americans. 2 We believe investment decisions made on your clients timetable when they re ready and able to contribute is what ultimately makes you their financial confidant with whom they entrust their entire world. Myth 4: HD Vest Advisors are part time. Our Advisors are anything but part time. HD Vest Advisors manage multi-businesses that include tax and financial planning practices. Unlike most financial advisors in the industry, our Advisors offer a competitive advantage to their clients by providing a comprehensive holistic approach that considers the tax impact associated with financial plans. Myth 5: HD Vest does not offer a competitive product line. Having the right products is paramount to providing clients with the right solutions. We offer a vast product line including 13,000 mutual funds, 1,800 annuity products, 736 separately managed accounts, 1031 Exchange Strategies and alternative investments. Plus, through HD Vest Advisory Services, our exclusive advisory platform offers the only dual-discretion fee-based solution in the industry! When it comes to the breadth of our product shelf, we re pretty hard to beat. But the major distinction is our conservative approach. We are more concerned with offering products versus the latest fad creating a blip on the Richter scale. 2 As of January 1, 2013

3 Myth 6: HD Vest is owned by Wells Fargo & Company. Independence. It s a quality you value as a business owner and one we proudly tout as a firm. Throughout the past 30 years, we ve evolved and experienced some changes along the way. One of those changes the acquisition of our firm by Wells Fargo & Company in During this 10-year period, HD Vest President & CEO Roger Ochs remained at the helm with a laser focus on upholding the client-focused culture on which we were founded. Through this alliance, we were able to bolster our service offerings and emerge as a powerhouse, ultimately allowing us to regain our independence in It s the unwavering leadership of Ochs for the past 14 years that has enabled us to preserve our unique culture and become one of the leading independent financial services firms in the industry. Myth 7: HD Vest can t compete with other broker/dealers in technology. We know robust technology is the lifeline to any thriving business in today s cyber world. For this reason, we re committed to transforming your business into a paperless office where you are able to operate from a single portal HDVLink. Managing your entire practice with a click of a mouse is just the beginning. We also offer a best-in-class planning tool, that enables you to increase your rolling gross between 7-12% faster. Our planning tool offers an easy, effective way to help clients identify their highest priority goals and develop an investment plan. This tool is just one example of how our technology gives you a competitive advantage. Another VestAdvisor Select, our revolutionary fee-based model can transform the way you do business. It s no secret the industry is moving toward fee-based business. VestAdvisor Select gives you the ability to delegate investment management to the home office. This technology provides the ultimate flexibility for your practice while generating impressive results. The bottom line is technology is one factor that differentiates you from the competition. And, it s also one that differentiates us as a firm. Myth 8: HD Vest doesn t provide Advisor support. Most of our competitors offer a support system that boils down to nothing more than a phone game of chance. However, we offer the only Advisor support model in the industry that assigns a dedicated Wealth Management Support consultant to you. As your designated business partner and coach, your consultant supports you in a suite of services as you holistically serve your clients and grow your business. Custom support doesn t just end with your day-to-day business activities. Our Practice Management team also provides sound and proven management techniques including the renowned Kolbe Certified TM program to help you efficiently manage your practice over the long-haul. Your dedicated support happens day one. You do not have to earn your way to a Practice Management specialist. We recognize that providing you with superior service enables you to do the same for your clients. That s why we don t attach our level of service to your production. It s only common sense that if your production is teetering along, you need support the most not the least. When we say we re here to support you, we mean it. And our no-strings-attached, dedicated service model proves it!

4 Myth 9: HD Vest is not a growth model. One thing is for sure if you re not growing, you re not going to be in business for long. For 30 years, countless Advisors have found HD Vest to be the perfect growth engine for their practice. But don t take our word for it. The proof is in the numbers: More than 50% of HD Vest Advisors have been with the firm for more than 10 years. Common sense tells you if these Advisors weren t growing their practice, they wouldn t stay. The growth model at HD Vest is simple do what s best for your clients, when it s best for your clients and the results will follow. Myth 10: HD Vest doesn t offer a transition team. We know transitioning your practice can be daunting. That s why our step-by-step process is tailored to ensure your practice never skips a beat. From start to finish, you have a skilled licensing expert to navigate you through all the necessary paperwork. Plus, you also benefit from a dedicated consultant assigned specifically to you on day one. Your consultant is an experienced guide to help you efficiently get your practice running on all cylinders. Already, our time-tested approach has helped more than 4,600 Advisors successfully transition their practice. Myth 11: HD Vest provides insufficient training. Thirty years of experience has taught us first-hand that the best way to grow your practice is by learning from your peers, not sitting under the latest one-size-fits-all training programs. For this reason, we offer training programs that boast some of the highest accolades in the industry: New Advisors who attend our Financial Planning Institute increase their rolling gross by 60%! Advisors who attend our National Conference, on average, produce six times more revenue that s why we send all new Advisors to their first conference for free! We provide the only customized training that shows you how to offer Investment Planning from the Tax Return we understand how the two businesses align. Our renowned Mentor Program helps Advisors nearly triple their average rolling gross and it s free to participate! We offer 100 different Chapter meetings across the U.S. with nearly 20 years of best practices experience! Advisors attending our signature Advisory and Insurance Summits claim a competitive advantage in offering these solutions. We offer nearly 750 different training events each year and one of the most successful networking programs in the industry! We know a lack of training is the most common hindrance to your practice, and have invested heavily in programs that provide the support and guidance you need. When it comes to our training, it s anything but insufficient!

5 Myth 12: Our payout isn t competitive. Our payout structure is extremely competitive. Unlike our competitors, your payout percentage won t reset at the beginning of each calendar year. Instead, when you reach 90%, you stay at 90%. Plus, at HD Vest you don t have to worry about hidden fees cutting into your income. Often times our competitors tout high payouts that come packaged with hidden fees. Unfortunately, you don t know until it s too late just how little you re actually making. We don t nickel and dime you. Instead, we diligently manage our fees to ensure you keep more money in your pocket. While some firm s fees skyrocket from year to year, our fees hold steady. If a firm can t provide you with exemplary services and technology without puncturing your income, what service are they really providing? We communicate up front what you can expect, so there are no surprises. An important part of our business model is teaching tax professionals how to integrate financial services into their practices. From an overall percentage scale, true production will skew on average production by Advisor. The average production of our producing Advisors (not in a new asset growth phase) is $234,000 with an average tenure as an Advisor of 15 years. Myth 13: Our business processing is cumbersome. Our business processing can be summed up in one word streamlined. You have a business to run; so do we. The key to our efficiency lies in our state-of-the-art technology. Our back-office support team has an optimal system in place for processing all your requests. When it comes to compliance, we re able to keep an electronic paper trail of all correspondence, which ultimately provides greater efficiency and protection for your practice. We re here to support not burden you. Our technology helps us dojust that. When it comes to separating fact from fiction, being an HD Vest Advisor is more than just having tools and products to use in your practice. It s being connected to a family of tax and financial planning Advisors who are committed to seeing each other succeed. Through this commitment, our Advisors are able to sharpen each other s skills and generate an Advisor force like none other in the industry. Whether you re new to HD Vest or have known of the firm for years, debunk your personal inhibitions today and gain the competitive advantage you can only obtain by becoming an HD Vest Advisor. For more information about HD Vest Financial Services, please visit hdvest.com or contact a Business Development Consultant at (800) Securities offered through H.D. Vest Investment Services SM, Member SIPC Advisory Services offered through HD Vest Advisory Services SM 6333 N. State Highway 161, Fourth Floor, Irving, TX 75038, (972) /13