Plancorp, LLC Nominated for Fiduciary Award
Plancorp, LLC has been nominated for the 2011 Tamar Frankel Fiduciary of the Year Award. Plancorp, LLC is among a group of firms who are distinguished by their fiduciary leadership and are outstanding examples of what the Committee for the Fiduciary Standard represents.
The nominated firms have been certified by the Centre for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX) as adhering to a Global Standard of Excellence for Investment Fiduciaries. The Standard for Investment Advisors comprises 23 Fiduciary Practices, supported by 68 criteria, which together form the most comprehensive description of fiduciary practices in the industry. This Standard, published by fi360, is a practical expansion of the five core principles promoted by the Committee for the fiduciary Standard. By adhering to this prevailing fiduciary standard, these firms are serving the best interests of investors including plan sponsors, and plan participants.
Carlos Panksep, General Manager, CEFEX, states, "I hope you agree these firms deserve the highest recognition. Not only do they excel in their fiduciary practices, but they are leaders in their adoption of a much-needed fiduciary certification program for this industry."
Overall Nomination Considerations
CEFEX-certified Advisors and Managers are firmly committed to adhering to an open, published Fiduciary Standard. They actively promote the standard, thereby increasing the awareness and education of plan sponsors. By implementing the 23 practices and associated criteria, they fulfill the comprehensive fiduciary role. Their objective to serve the needs of plan sponsors, foundations and endowments and their associated participants and beneficiaries.
Adherence to a fiduciary standard can be claimed by almost any investment firm. CEFEX-certified firms do far more than claim adherence; they have voluntarily subjected themselves to external independent assessments of their fiduciary practices. Consider the leadership and transparency of a firm which invites an external analyst to rigorously assess its operations!
Assessments are conducted on an annual basis by qualified fiduciary experts. The process includes a sampling of the advisors client files to verify they are completely documented with items such as client meeting minutes, rebalancing, cash-flow analysis, executed service agreements and due diligence of providers. The certification has often been referred to as the 'gold standard' for Investment Advisors. It goes beyond the requirements of an SEC regulatory audit, because it aspires for excellence, rather than just meeting minimum operating levels.
In addition to scrutiny by the Analyst, the firm is subjected to a review of the assessment package by a team of fiduciary experts in the CEFEX Registration Committee. This ensures that all firms are consistently assessed, and that there is complete impartiality in the process.
The resulting fiduciary culture is the hallmark of CEFEX-certified firms and is an asset to their clients. The interests of investors, whether institutional or individual, are best-served when managed by CEFEX-certified firms.