What Does Being a Fiduciary Mean for Us?
Being a fiduciary means putting your interests first when providing financial advice. At Etzler Financial Advisors, that commitment is fundamental to how our practice is structured and how we work with people.
We are an independent, fee-only Registered Investment Adviser. We do not sell financial products, accept commissions or referral compensation, or charge fees based on the amount of assets you have invested. Our compensation comes directly from the people we serve for the financial planning and advice we provide.
That structure matters because financial advice can involve important trade-offs. Whether we're evaluating a retirement decision, an investment strategy, an insurance need, a tax-planning opportunity, or another financial question, our role is to help you understand your alternatives and make an informed decision based on your circumstances, not to steer you toward a product or transaction that compensates us.
Our fiduciary responsibility is therefore more than a statement about how we intend to behave. We have intentionally structured our practice to reduce many of the financial incentives that can create conflicts between an advisor and the people served.
Real Fiduciary™ Practices
Etzler Financial Advisors has adopted the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard’s Real Fiduciary™ Practices. These Real Fiduciary™ Practices are professional conduct standards for fiduciary advisors. They assist the public in understanding, evaluating and selecting competent financial advisors and wealth managers.
Many advisors and brokers talk like a fiduciary, though relatively few act like one. These Real Fiduciary™ Practices help the public distinguish advisors who work for and are paid only by clients — from sales representatives who work for and are paid by firms to distribute products. That is, these practices help separate brokers and advisors who merely talk like a fiduciary from advisors who really act like one.
How Our Fiduciary Approach Shows Up in Practice
We don't sell financial products
Our role is to provide advice, not to earn compensation from selling investments, insurance, annuities, or other financial products.
We don't charge based on your assets
You don't need to transfer your investment accounts to us or pay a percentage of your portfolio to receive financial planning and advice.
We start with your financial life, not your portfolio
Recommendations are developed around your goals, priorities, circumstances, and financial plan. Investments are one part of that planning process.
We help you evaluate choices
Our job is to provide the information, analysis, alternatives, and professional judgment you need to make informed financial decisions.
Real Fiduciary™ Advisors stand apart because they:
Demonstrate Loyalty
- Act as a fiduciary at all times. Affirm this commitment to the client in writing.
- Decline any sales-related compensation.
- Avoid conflicts of interest.
- Mitigate unavoidable conflicts.
Act With Due Care
- Maintain professional knowledge and competence.
- Explain agreements and disclosures clearly and truthfully, both orally and in writing.
- Establish and document a reasonable basis for advice.
- Follow and document a prudent due diligence process for rendering investment advice.
Act in Utmost Good Faith
- Decline gifts or entertainment or other benefits unless minimal in value, occasional in frequency, and consistent with the advisory firm’s gift and vendor relation policies.
- Charge reasonable fees and incur reasonable investment costs. Disclose and fully explain.
NOTE: These practices and their guidance comprise the Real Fiduciary™ Practices. For additional information, visit the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard.
© 2005-2026 Etzler Financial Advisors, LLC
Etzler Financial Advisors, LLC (“EFA”) is a registered investment adviser offering advisory services in the State of California and in other jurisdictions where exempt or otherwise permitted by law. Information on this website is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a solicitation of advisory services in any jurisdiction where EFA is not properly registered or exempt. Personalized investment advice is provided only after complying with applicable registration requirements or pursuant to an available exemption.