• Customized guidance based on your entire financial picture
• Attentive, responsive, and personal relationship
• Simple and transparent fee structure
• Expertise to support your complex financial needs
• Your money is held with an independent custodian, not the advisor firm
• Your best interest always at top of mind (Fiduciary)

Our mission is to help you reach your financial goals through a relationship based on personalized, knowledgeable advice, with your best interest always top of mind. This focus is designed to help you reach your goals with greater confidence. Everyone has their own life path, therefore, no two financial plans or investment recommendations are alike. 

It’s an important question for investors and people nearing retirement. That’s because, if you’ve yet to select an advisor, you’re:

• Looking for someone you can trust
• Going to want to work with a fiduciary who will put your interests ahead of their own
• Searching for a professional with:
  • A college degree
  • Important credentials like an AWMA® , CRPC® or AAMS® professional
  • Good references and a solid reputation
  • A thorough knowledge of the rules and regulations and workings of our industry

One of the best ways to check off all or most of the bullet points above is to only work with an independent, fee-only advisor.

Here are 3 important reasons to make that a priority.

1) Independent Advisors Can Offer You More Options

When you think of the word “independent,” you might be imagining a cowboy, Amelia Earhart, or maybe one of your favorite actors going it alone as a character in a play.

But it’s different when it comes to advising.

That’s because when it comes to being a financial advisor, “independent” doesn’t mean going it alone so much as it means providing advice that is not motivated by outside influences such as sales quotas or commissions. It also means the advisor isn’t limited to only being able to offer clients a limited family of funds or investments.

JST Investment Consulting is independent. And being independent means our in-house investment committee can conduct its research and due diligence, and then pick and choose the investments we deem appropriate for constructing our portfolios.

Simply, no one has a “say” but us.

So when you think of independence, think of your doctor. Do you want him or her motivated by what’s best for you, and able to prescribe the best available treatment or medication? Or do you want him or her to only be able to recommend things that were manufactured by a single parent company?

2) A Fee-Only Compensation Model Aligns Interests

Independent advisors, and those who offer a Fee-Only compensation model, typically go hand-in-hand. Fee-Only advisors should be offering you advice and guidance for a percentage of the assets they manage.

Fee-Only matters because, first, it gives you clarity. You should always know precisely what your advisor charges, along with how that amount is calculated.

There should never be any surprises or hidden fees.

A second, less obvious reason you want to work with a fee-only advisor is because it aligns your interests. The better you and your investments do, the better the advisor does.

Third, a Fee-Only compensation model should mean you aren’t getting advice from someone working under the duress of sales quotas, who wants you to purchase high-commission investment products that aren’t necessarily the best option available to you.

3) Fee-Only Means Flexibility

Some popular investment products like permanent life insurance, certain types of annuities, and non-traded REITS, not only pay salespeople large commissions but can be difficult (and expensive) to get out of.

Conversely, an independent, Fee-Only advisor typically works with you to invest your money in securities that are traded on an exchange and are easily liquidated. Simply, if you need your money for any reason, you should be able to get it fast and without paying fees and surrender charges.

The public is learning that not everyone who calls him or herself a “financial advisor” is equally trained, qualified, or even equally motivated to meet your needs.

The power to locate a credentialed, independent, Fee-Only advisor who will always put your interests first is in your hands. You just have to know where to look and what questions to ask.

Twenty years of working with investors, just about every type of client has sought out our services; retirees, pre-retirees, corporations, non-profit organizations, and trusts. They all seek one thing in common – simple, honest, straightforward conversation about what they’re trying to achieve and how we can help them. We listen to what our clients say so that we can better provide investment advice to help work towards their goals.

Naturally, our conversations evolve to other aspects of their lives that are equally important. Long-term clients grow to think of us not only as their “investment advisor” but their “financial consultant”. We readily offer our thoughts, opinions and experience on a wide range of financial matters that clients might find helpful. This allows us to share the wealth of our collective clients’ Knowledge, Experience and Commitment.

We find that our clients are much like ourselves and our families – hard-working people who pursue an education and understanding of important topics, such as, investing, but aren’t afraid to work with professionals in developing and implementing their strategies. Our clients recognize, as do we, that there must be some balance in our lives. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day to become proficient at everything, so they seek professional help where needed.

ARE YOU A PROFESSIONAL FIDUCIARY?

As a member of the Professional Fiduciary Association of California (PFAC), we offer an investment advisory solution for Professional Fiduciaries that need an asset manager for their clients. JST advisors are not available for hire directly as Professional Fiduciaries as defined by the state of California. We work with Professional Fiduciaries who are working on behalf of their own client’s financial and investment affairs.