A Personal Relationship
We will partner with you to build a relationship defined by your goals and preferences, and your active involvement. Not every client is the same. We tailor our services to meet your unique needs. We will help you choose the right level of advice for your needs - whether it's investing, managing your retirement plan, college savings plans or your estate.
When you partner with us, we become the "centerpoint" of your financial life. Your questions will be encouraged. Our answers will be straightforward.
We act as a liaison to help you communicate with your CPA, estate attorney, family members, college financial aid officer, insurance agent, and often more. As an independent, Fee-Only™ financial adviser firm, we do not sell products, receive commissions nor participate in referral fee arrangements with any other professionals. We are compensated directly by you for our full roster of services and not on a transactional or commission basis thus freeing our relationship with you from conflict of interest. As a fiduciary to you, our sole objective is to always advocate for your best interest.
The Fiduciary Standard
As Registered Investment Advisers, rather than stockbrokers, we adhere to the Fiduciary Standard, a very important distinction. The Fiduciary Standard is the highest standard in the financial services industry and defined by NAPFA™ and FINRA as “a financial adviser held to a Fiduciary Standard occupies a position of special trust and confidence when working with a client. As a Fiduciary, the financial adviser is required to act with undivided loyalty to the client. This includes disclosure of how the financial adviser is to be compensated and any corresponding conflicts of interest."
In June 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor proposed that all financial services providers adhere to the Fiduciary Standard if they are giving counsel to clients on retirement plans. This was not adopted nor is it enforced for broker dealers. However, this has always been CenterPoint's foundation standard.
If you would like to learn more about the distinction between an investment fiduciary and an investment product salesperson, please contact us. We look forward to talking with you.
We provide personalized, confidential financial planning and investment management. We work primarily with individuals and families though we also serve small businesses and charitable organizations. After in-depth consultation with clients to determine financial objectives, cash flow needs, and risk tolerance, we will develop a financial plan and investment strategy to meet that plan. Our recommendations will include cash flow management, tax planning, real estate considerations, insurance reviews, investment management, education funding, retirement planning, charitable giving, and estate planning, as appropriate. Investment advice is an integral part of financial planning.
Our clients receive on-going and in-depth financial guidance from us. We are strictly a Fee-Only™ investment management firm. Custody of all securities is through Charles Schwab and Co., Inc. Institutional, SIPC/NYSE.
We believe the strategic deployment of private capital can help address the global social, economic, and environmental challenges we face today.
Toward this goal, we strongly support our clients in their desire to invest according to their environmental and social values.
We are proud of our time-tested strategies in social investing.
The Biden administration has instituted new rules governing investment professionals. Effective in September 2024, the Department of Labor has closed loopholes that previously did not require investment professionals who provided one-time advice, such as retirement account roll-over advice, to function as fiduciaries. A fiduciary is required to act in the client's best interest. Read an overview here: The Way Advisers Handle Your Retirement Money Is About to Change - The New York Times.
Political stalemates, a recovering but unsteady labor market, a frothy U. S. stock market, soaring inflation, and China's regulatory changes: all are fuel for volatility. Will these issues settle down soon or is this the end of the bull market? Read CenterPoint's October 2021 Market Outlook.
Vermont Public Radio interview with Priscilla Gilbert: "Pandemic Personal Finance: Your Covid-19 Money Questions Answered"
Media Coverage November, 2020
Priscilla Gilbert, CFP R served on Schwab’s IMPACT panel with Bernie Clark, Executive Vice President and Head of Schwab Advisor ServicesTM to discuss advisors’ outlook for the financial services industry. See below for news publications featuring this discussion.
https://www.investmentnews.com/schwab-ria-survey-competition-198666
https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2020/10/27/schwab-advisors-upbeat-on-growth-but-see-huge-threats-too/
https://www.financialadvisoriq.com/c/2936513/359733/
Follow us on Twitter @centerpoint_fin
To learn more about our services, please call us at 802-225-1314, or email Patty Valentine, Client Associate, at pvalentine@centerpoint-financial.com. We look forward to hearing from you!