After two decades as an LPL affiliate, financial advisor Wayne von Borstel has restructured his namesake practice, von Borstel & Associates, and relaunched it as a fee-only independent registered investment advisory, the company announced earlier this week.
The investment advisory and financial planning hybrid, with approximately $330 million in client assets, has been in practice for more than thirty-five years.
von Borstel said in the news release that restructuring as a fee-only compensation model would provide his firm’s clients with greater transparency and would minimize potential conflicts of interest, while positioning it as a fiduciary.
"Our clients will benefit from knowing our relationship is not based on commissions,” he said. “Any investment recommendations or financial-planning decisions we make are in our clients' best interest and financial well-being."
In a subsequent interview, von Borstel explained why he decided to restructure as a fee-only RIA after affiliating with LPL Financial in 2001.
“I need the ability to make decisions as a fiduciary in the best interests of my clients, and in the brokerage world, I couldn’t,” he said.
von Borstel said that his motivating reason for the change, which wasn’t an easy decision for him to make, was doing the right thing by his clients.
“Change is always hard, but freedom is worth it," he added. "I knew my clients would be the better for it.”
von Borstel said he does not specialize in a particular clientele.
“My clients are a little bit of everything,” he said. “My average client is 67, and the majority are retired with at least $2 million. I love helping them do their best.”