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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. Does RW Investment Management receive compensation from clients other than the fee it charges?
A. No. Very important to the integrity of our service is the fact that the only remuneration we receive are the fees our clients pay us. We believe this eliminates any conflict of interest between our clients and us.
Q. Does RW Investment Management charge a setup fee for its discretionary money management services?
A. No. When a client engages us, the initial quarterly fee is pro-rated for the remainder of the first quarter of service. After that, a client is billed on a quarterly basis.
Q. Are clients locked into a long-term contract?
A. No. A client may terminate their relationship with RW Investment Management at any time. Clients who do so will be provided with a pro-rata refund for the remainder of the quarter in which they canceled.
Q. What protects you from RW Investment Management personnel running off with your money?
A. We have all read horror stories of financial advisers running off with their clients' money. To protect our clients, RW Investment Management has put several security measures in place:
First, when financial advisers abscond with clients' money, generally the adviser has taken a full power of attorney over their clients' assets. In such cases, clients usually make their investment checks payable to the advisor who can then distribute the funds as they deem appropriate. The advisor is free to move the client's money around between various accounts at different financial institutions.
RW Investment Management takes only a limited power of attorney over our clients' accounts. This gives us the ability to make trades within clients' accounts, but it does not give us access to their money. Clients' investment checks are made payable to the custodian, not to RW Investment Management. This way, clients' investment money never passes through RW Wealth Management hands.
Second, clients' whose assets are custodied at Charles Schwab will receive periodic (usually monthly) statements directly from the broker. This effectively prevents RW Investment Management from sending out fraudulent statements. We reconcile client data in our system with that in the brokerage firm's system on a daily basis. Therefore, the quarterly reports we send clients should tie-in directly to their statements from Charles Schwab.
Third, whenever RW Investment Management makes a trade in a client's account, the custodian immediately sends out a confirmation of the trade to the client. This alerts the client to any activity in their account very quickly. All transactions conducted the previous month are also delineated on the client's monthly brokerage statement. Additionally, clients can track their account information on-line.
Q. Can I transfer money from another financial institution for RW Investment Management to manage?
A. Certainly. A significant percentage of the money we manage came to us as a result of clients transferring assets from other firms. If the money is invested in securities at the other firm, we will work with clients to determine if the investments themselves should be transferred, or if it would be more appropriate to liquidate the assets and transfer the cash.
Q. Can RW Investment Management manage IRA money?
A. Currently, a substantial amount of the money we manage is in IRA accounts. A significant portion of these assets were rolled over from 401(k) and 403(b) plans, but we can manage contributory and Roth IRA’s as well.
Q. How much does RW Investment Management charge for its full-time money management services?
A. A listing of all fees can be found in our Form ADV Schedule F.
Q. Does RW Investment Management prepare income tax returns?
A. Absolutely. As a CPA firm, RW Investment Management has significant experience in preparing complex tax returns for individuals and businesses of all types.
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