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National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is an American financial planning trade organization created in 1983 to expand the use of Fee-Only financial advisors by individual consumers. NAPFA established the first set of professional standards for Fee-Only financial advisors and has updated them to reflect changes in industry practices. Due to these standards, NAPFA members retain a reputation for excellence and integrity in a profession that has suffered numerous scandals in the last several years. According to its website, NAPFA's core values are as follows: competency, comprehensive financial planning, objective Fee-Only compensation, a client-centered fiduciary relationship, and complete disclosure of fees. NAPFA members are distinguished from other financial professionals in several ways. * Adherence to a Fee-Only standard is strict: NAPFA members cannot accept compensation in any form from any source other than their clients. There are no exceptions. NAPFA believes that this minimizes potential conflict of interest between a financial planner and their clients. * The fiduciary relationship requires that members always put their clients' interests before their own and that they disclose any potential conflict of interest prior to the client making a decision. This fiduciary standard is in direct opposition to the fiduciary standard by which investment brokers are held, a standard under which their legal responsibility is to their employer ahead of their client. * NAPFA is the only financial planning organization to require a peer review of a candidate member's work output prior to granting membership. * Peer review ensures that a NAPFA member has the ability to provide comprehensive financial planning across a wide range of potential client needs—investments, taxes, estate planning, college savings, insurance, long-term care insurance, retirement spending, and more. The combination of strict Fee-Only rules and a peer review have kept NAPFA's membership small compared to other professional financial planning organizations. As of September 1, 2010, NAPFA had approximately 2,400 members.〔(NAPFA - What Is NAPFA? )〕 NAPFA's Board members, staff, and individual members are regularly quoted in leading consumer finance publications. They are valued for providing objective advice that is not affected by sales recommendations (because they are not compensated for sales recommendations). ==Fee-Only== NAPFA defines a "Fee-Only" financial advisor as one who is compensated solely by the client, with neither the advisor nor any related party receiving compensation that is contingent on the purchase or sale of a financial product. This definition is in direct contrast to most advisors, who earn commissions, discounts, and other incentives when their clients purchase financial products. Also, unlike other financial planners, NAPFA members are required to clearly disclose the fee in advance. However, NAPFA members differ on how they charge the fee. Some advisors charge an hourly rate, similar to an attorney or CPA. Rates vary by region of the country and an advisor's experience level and expertise. Some advisors charge a retainer fee schedule that is paid quarterly or annually. Other advisors charge based upon a percentage of the client's assets under management, such as a 1% fee on the assets per year. Regardless, the fee must be made clear to the client. NAPFA does not permit its members to be compensated via the industry-standard 12b-1 sales & marketing expense fees for mutual funds. From NAPFA's perspective, there are two problems with these fees: undermined objectivity and inadequate disclosure. * Objectivity: A mutual fund pays 12b-1 fees directly to the selling broker-dealer, to be shared with the selling broker. This violates NAPFA's rules—though it is neither illegal nor unusual—and it potentially could influence an advisor's recommendation about selection of a fund. * Disclosure: NAPFA has written to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to explain that the fees are removed from the clients' assets without notice or invoice to the client, are not reported on their investment statements, and are generally invisible to the client except through reduced investment returns. In 2010, the SEC adopted rules to improve disclosure of 12b-1 fees. NAPFA has prepared a short report that compares how advisors are compensated. It can be found on NAPFA's website at (www.napfa.org ), under the link for Consumers. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「National Association of Personal Financial Advisors」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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