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Financial Advocates Review

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This review was produced by SmartAsset based on publicly available information. The named firm and its financial professionals have not reviewed, approved, or endorsed this review and are not responsible for its accuracy. Review content is produced by SmartAsset independently of any business relationships that might exist between SmartAsset and the named firm and its financial professionals, and firms and financial professionals having business relationships with SmartAsset receive no special treatment or consideration in SmartAsset’s reviews. This page contains links to SmartAsset’s financial advisor matching tool, which may or may not match you with the firm mentioned in this review or its financial professionals.

Financial Advocates Investment Management (FAIM) - more commonly known as Financial Advocates - is a financial advisor firm with billions of dollars in assets under management (AUM). Financial Advocates' headquarters is in Olympia, Washington. The firm offers services such as financial planning and portfolio managment, though it doesn't do this in a traditional way. More specifically, the firm partners with outside financial advisors, offering them services that they then use with their own client base.

As a fee-based firm, certain advisors who partner with Financial Advocates can receive commissions from things like insurance and securities sales in addition to client-paid fees. A fee-only firm, on the other hand, focuses entirely on client-paid fees.

Financial Advocates Background

FAIM is fully owned by Financial Advocates, LLC, and it has been in business as an investment advisor since 2010. According to its website, it works with hundreds of independent financial advisors. Gary Campbell is FAIM's founder and serves as its chief strategy officer, with Angela Vlach being its president and CEO.

Financial Advocates Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes

On its own and through its affiliated advisors, Financial Advocates advises individuals with and without a high net worth, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations and corporations/businesses.

The firm does not have a set minimum account size, though some of its LPL-sponsored programs may have their own minimums.

Services Offered by Financial Advocates

Offerings from Financial Advocates include asset management services, third-party asset management programs, strategic wealth management, financial planning and consulting services and investment fiduciary and retirement plan consulting services.

The firm offers asset management services on a discretionary basis only. Asset managment services comprise the creation of a portfolio for each client, initially designed to meet a specific investment goal. Clients who opt for strategic wealth management can consolidate multiple investments into one account and receive one statement. 

In terms of financial planning and consultation, services may include analysis or discussion in areas such as charitable planning, education planning, mortgage/debt analysis, insurance analysis, evaluation of lines of credit and/or business and personal financial planning.

Financial Advocates Investing Philosophy

IARs at Financial Advocates work separatey from one another and use a variety of philosophies, strategies and tools in the ways they analyze investments and complete due diligence. They may use one or more of the following methods to analyze and put together management advice: fundamentaltechnical, quantitative or qualitative.

Furthermore, advisors may use one or more strategies for managing assets. For example, things like long-term purchases (securities held at least a year) and short-term purchases (securities held less than a year) are some of the basics. Short sales, margin transactions and options are also used.

Fees Under Financial Advocates

The fees that Financial Advocates charges clients are negotiable and affected by several factors, including the scope and complexity of services, amount of assets managed or advised, number of plans with the client, number of participants or accounts, location of participants or accounts and number of meetings required with the client.

With regards to asset managment services, Financial Advocates generally bills clients quarterly, in advance. The firm's guidelines suggest a maximum annual fee of 2% of assets under management (AUM) and may be subject to negotiation at the discretion of the IAR. Here's the full fee schedule:

Asset Management Fee Schedule
Portfolio Value Base Annual Fees
Up to $500,000 2.00%
$500,001 - $1,000,000 1.75%
$1,000,001 - $3,000,000 1.50%
$3,000,001 - $10,000,000 1.00%
$10,000,001 and more 0.50%

Here is the estimated dollar amount you'd pay in advisory fees based on the size of your account:

*Estimated investment management fees do not include brokerage, custodial, third-party manager or other fees, which can vary in amount.
Estimated Investment Management Fees at Financial Advocates*
Your Assets Annual Fee Amount Charged on All AUM
$500K $10,000
$1MM $18,750
$5MM $68,750
$10MM $118,750

For financial planning or consulting services, the firm charges fees on an hourly basis (ranging from $50 to 300) or a flat fee basis (ranging from $250 to $30,000). Clients may have to pay fees in advance, with the firm not collecting more than $1,200 in advance of the service they provide, with certain exceptions.

What to Watch Out For

Financial Advocates Investment Management has a clean legal and regulatory record on its Form ADV.

It's important to note that advisors at Financial Advocates may also be broker-dealer representatives or insurance agents. Employees acting in these roles generally receive transaction-based fees, which can be a potential conflict of interest. That said, as an SEC-registered investment advisor, the firm is legally obligated to uphold its fiduciary duty and work in clients’ best interests at all times.

Opening an Account With Financial Advocates

To open an account with Financial Advocates, you can visit the firm's website or call (360) 866-2345.

All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.

Tips for Finding a Financial Advisor 

  • Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
  • Ask candidates whether they adhere to the fiduciary standard of putting clients’ interests first. Yes is the ideal answer, of course. But they may follow a lower standard of providing only suitable recommendations.

How Long $1mm Lasts in Retirement

SmartAsset's interactive map highlights places where $1 million will last the longest in retirement. Zoom between states and the national map to see the top spots in each region. Also, scroll over any city to learn about the cost of living in retirement for that location.

Least
Most
Rank City Housing Expenses Food Expenses Healthcare Expenses Utilities Expenses Transportation Expenses

Methodology We analyzed data on average expenditures for seniors, cost of living and investment returns to determine how many years of retirement a $1 million nest egg would cover in cities across America.

First, we looked at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on the average annual expenditures of seniors. We then applied cost of living data from the Council for Community and Economic Research to adjust those national average spending levels based on the costs of each expense category (housing, food, healthcare, utilities, transportation and other) in each city. Using this data, SmartAsset calculated the average cost of living for retirees in the largest U.S. cities.

We assumed the $1 million would grow at a real return (interest minus inflation) of 2%. Then, we divided $1 million by the sum of each of those annual numbers to determine how long $1 million would cover retirement expenses in each of the cities in our study. Cities where $1 million lasted the longest ranked the highest in the study.

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Council for Community and Economic Research