2. What are the fees?
A: We can manage your investments in either of two different compensation arrangements: a fee-based, asset management account or a traditional, transaction-based, commission brokerage account. Either model may be appropriate in a particular set of circumstances. In a fee-based, asset management account (which does require a minimum value), the client pays a periodic fee which is a percentage of the value of the account. The fee is not connected to the activity in the account. It is based on the value of the account, so our fee increases only if your account increases in value. The majority of our accounts are fee-based. If needed, a second alternative is available: the traditional account. In a traditional commission account, the client pays, and the advisor receives, compensation based on specific transactions in the account. Although most of our accounts are fee-based, certain conditions may require the use of a traditional brokerage account.
LongView Wealth Management is an independent registered investment advisory firm, and we are able to recommend the most suitable investments for your situation. We receive no incentive to work with proprietary products and we have no quotas to fulfill.

We typically provide general financial advice to clients in the course of managing their investments. If you engage us solely for financial planning, such as an analysis of your overall financial situation, or consulting on a specific financial issue, such as the selection of investments in company retirement plans, the fees, whether general financial planning fees or hourly fees, will be determined between you and the advisor based on the scope and complexity of the analysis. 

5. Who are Pershing and National Financial Services? 
A: Pershing LLC, a division of Bank of NY Mellon, and National Financial Services, a division of Fidelity, support LongView Wealth Management with clearing, execution, settlement, reporting, and trading services. Pershing is the world’s leading provider of comprehensive, financial business solutions to broker-dealer firms, registered investment advisors, and investment managers. Pershing has nearly $1 trillion in assets under administration. Its parent company, the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, has more than $23 trillion in assets in custody.  For 27 years, National Financial Services has been a leader in offering integrated brokerage solutions to clients ranging from retail broker/dealers to institutional investment firms.  NFS services over 18.5 million accounts representing $1.7 trillion in assets.  Its parent company, Fidelity Investments, has $2.7 trillion in total customer assets and 77.6 million customer accounts.

6. Who is Cambridge?
A: Cambridge Investment Research, established in 1981, is regarded as a leading independent broker/dealer in the US specializing in fee-based advisory solutions.  Cambridge offers support to over 1500 professional advisors nationally, managing over $30 billion in client assets. A full-service registered securities brokerage firm, Cambridge is headquartered in Fairfield, Iowa, and offers a wide variety of investments and services through independent financial consultants.

7. What is the relationship between LongView Wealth Management, Cambridge Investment Research and Pershing/National Financial Services? 
A: Cambridge Investment Research is the highly regulated avenue by which LongView Wealth Management advisors can offer you securities such as mutual funds, stocks, and bonds. Pershing and National Financial Services provide Cambridge with custody of client assets, client account statements, trade execution, reporting, and other services related to securities accounts.

8. What does SIPC mean? How does that help me?
A: The mission of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation is to restore funds to investors with assets in accounts at bankrupt or financially troubled brokerage firms. When a brokerage firm is closed due to bankruptcy or other financial difficulties, and customer assets are missing, SIPC steps in quickly and works to return customers’ cash, stock and other securities. Without SIPC, investors at financially troubled brokerage firms might lose their investments forever or wait years while their assets are tied up in court. Established by Congress in 1970, SIPC estimates that 99% of persons who are eligible have been made whole in the failed brokerage firm cases that it has handled.  Our broker/dealer firm, Cambridge Investment Research, is a member of SIPC.

9. What is FINRA?
A: The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is a regulatory organization for all securities firms doing business in the United States, including nearly 5,000 brokerage firms and more than 676,000 registered securities representatives. Created in July 2007 through the consolidation of NASD (National Association of Securities Dealers) and the regulatory functions of the New York Stock Exchange, FINRA is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through effective regulation and compliance services.

FINRA’s scope encompasses nearly every aspect of the securities business — from registering and educating industry participants to examining securities firms; writing rules; enforcing those rules and the federal securities laws; informing and educating the investing public; providing trade reporting and other industry utilities; and administering the largest dispute resolution forum for investors and registered firms. It also performs market regulation under contract for The NASDAQ Stock Market, the American Stock Exchange, the International Securities Exchange and the Chicago Climate Exchange.

10. How are my accounts protected?
A: The Securities Investors Protection Corporation (SIPC) provides $500,000 of coverage, including $100,000 for claims for cash. That means that $400,000 is for securities and $100,000 is for cash in the account.

Most of our clients’ securities are held in advisory or brokerage accounts at Pershing or National Financial Services. Assets held in custody by Pershing/NFS for clients are protected through Lloyd’s of London with the following coverage in excess of the limits as defined by SIPC: (1)an aggregated loss limit of $1 billion for eligible securities across all client accounts, and (2) a per-client loss limit of $1.9 million for cash awaiting reinvestment, within the aggregate loss limit of $1 billion.  This excess account protection is the highest level of coverage available in the industry.

The account protection provided by SIPC and Lloyd’s only applies when a SIPC member firm fails financially and is unable to meet obligations to securities clients, but it does not protect against losses from the rise and fall in the market value of investments.