Is Your Advisor on Your Side?

We Are.

“Form ADV” is a disclosure document registered investment advisors are required to file with securities regulators.

To verify your advisor really is Fee-Only & Independent, follow this link to see its responses to the following disclosure items:

View Wessel Investment Counsel FORM ADV

Form ADV Item 5E(5) – Commissions

Is your advisory firm compensated through sales commissions? If so, its objectivity may be impaired and item 5E(5) will be checked.

We do not accept commissions in any form so we are permitted to leave this unchecked.

Form ADV Item 6B(3) – Other Business Activities

Is your advisory firm structured to sell financial products or other services? If so, it may have an incentive to sell these products or services to you regardless of your particular needs. Its response to item 6B(3) will then be “Yes.”

We render financial planning and investment advice, but do not engage in selling financial products or any other services so our answer is “No.”

Form ADV Item 7A – Financial Industry Affiliations

Is your advisory firm really independent? While it may advertise that it is, it may really be an independently operated branch of an insurer, brokerage firm, or of some other entity. If your advisor is actually controlled by or affiliated with another entity, its interests may run counter to yours and it will have to disclose any potential conficts of interest in item 7A.

We are not controlled by or affiliated with any other entity so we have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

Form ADV Item 8E – Interest in Client Transactions

Is your advisory firm receiving a discount on research or other services from third-party vendors at your expense? If so, it is taking advantage of a so-called “soft-dollar” arrangement which must be disclosed by responding “Yes” to item 8E.

We pay 100% of the cost of research and other services we receive directly from our own pocket – not from our clients’ pockets. We do not engage in soft-dollar arrangements so our answer is “No.”

Form ADV Item 8F – Compensation for Referrals

Were you referred to your advisory firm by another person? If so, it is possible that your advisor paid that other person for the referral which means that you may have been introduced to your advisor for reasons that have little to do with your best interest. If your advisor pays others for referrals, its response to item 8F will then be “Yes.”

We neither pay nor accept referral fees of any kind. If you are referred to us or if we refer you elsewhere, that referral will stem from a good faith attempt to serve your interests. Our response is “No.”