We’re On Your Side
With financial advisory firms, bigger is not necessarily better. Why? The big brand name firms usually spend millions of dollars to make them seem trustworthy and customer-oriented. However, if you look closer you will usually find something very different:
- A business model designed to serve shareholders, not customers.
- These firms are usually commission-based, meaning they are sales-driven organizations.
- The advisors that work for these firms usually do not act as your fiduciary, meaning they don’t legally have to put your interests first.
- These firms value sales skills above all, so the advisor that you work with may have more sales training than in-depth financial experience.
The result? Conflicted advice.
17 Billion Reasons to Be Careful
The Council for Economic Advisors, a White House Task Force, issued a 1995 report that estimated that “conflicted advice” costs American investors over $17 billion a year. You can read a summary of the report here, but the take-home message is that with financial advisory firms, you need to choose very carefully.
A Better Model
That’s why at Sapiat, we’re proud to be the first fee-only advisor in Greeneville. Fee-only means there are no commissions and no sales. We’re simply here to provide you with unbiased, objective advice.
We also act as your legal fiduciary, meaning we always put your interests first. (You should demand that of any financial professional you hire.)
But first and foremost, our goal is to help you achieve financial independence. That’s a big responsibility that we don’t take lightly. So you’ll work directly with experienced experts, not salespeople or “relationship managers”.
And unlike the large firms with big advertising budgets, we’re a local business. That means we depend on happy customers to refer us to friends and family. That’s how we’ve continued to grow over the years.
Veteran Owned and Operated
Sapiat is a Veteran Owned & Operated company. We are truly thankful for those that served before, during, and after us. Rather than paying lip service to our Veterans, we put our money where our mouth is: we extend a discount to every Veteran we serve and their immediate household. This discount is in addition to breakpoint discounts. The discount applies to those currently serving on Active Duty or in the National Guard or Reserves and all Honorably Discharged veterans. Thank you for your service!
Certifications and Affiliations
Today’s financial world is complex. You need advisors who are knowledgeable enough to help you successfully navigate any investment climate. At Sapiat, we take that seriously, so we continually invest in education and professional training. Along with that, we have decades of real-world experience helping people like you through all of life’s stages.
Here are the professional credentials we hold:
- CFP® – CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ™ professional
- ChFC – Chartered Financial Consultant
- AWMA – Accredited Wealth Management Advisor
- AAMS – Accredited Asset Management Specialist
- IMC – Investment Management Consultant
- CRPS – Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist
- DACFP – Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals
- CLBB – Certified Lender Business Banker (2003 – 2019)
- Diploma – Commercial Lending
- Diploma – Consumer Lending
- Diploma – Mortgage Lending
Strategic Relationships
Our goal at Sapiat is to provide the best service possible to our customers. So we’ve partnered with a few unique firms that offer complementary services.
This is a firm that specializes in acting as Executors and/or Trustees, as a convenient option for our customers who require those services.
Creative One reviews existing life insurance policies & annuities and originates & processes life insurance policies & annuities for customers who need either service.
We also have relationships with other providers to help you with insurance and annuity needs.
Please note that as a fee-only fiduciary firm, we do not earn any commissions or referrals fees. We have simply set up these arrangements to help us provide a more complete service to you.
