Our Affiliates

As you work with Planning with Purpose you will hear many different names and affiliates that we work with which can be confusing.  It can be difficult to know who is who.

This is our broker/dealer.  J.W. Cole’s main role is to supervise us.  They monitor our activities for compliance with FINRA rules and regulations.  They will review investments that are being made and evaluate them for suitability and appropriateness based on a client’s age, risk tolerance, net worth and other pertinent factors.

J.W. Cole is also a resource for us if we have questions regarding a client.  They have experts in many fields that can provide assistance as needed.  J.W. Cole is a great sounding board for working through a complex issue with a client.    They provide educational opportunities to learn about new information within the industry and opportunities to learn more about managing our financial planning practice.  We at Planning with Purpose attend their annual conference and participate in educational opportunities.  We especially enjoy their Women of Cole events.

This is the primary place where Planning with Purpose goes to invest managed money.  AssetMark has many different money managers that we work with to make the investment choices, to monitor investments and help us manage your investments.  Each money manager or strategist has a philosophy about investing.  You, as the client and we work together to determine which money manager’s strategy may be appropriate for you.  We may choose to work with multiple money managers and get one consolidated statement.  We may choose to work with only one money manager if we believe they can meet your needs.

Money managers are the individual or team that chooses the actual investment – which may be mutual funds, stocks, ETFs, bonds or alternative investments that money is going to be invested in.  Each manager must stay within the limitations of their investment strategy to insure that investors are getting the types of investments that they actually want to invest in.

Assetmark provides consolidated quarterly reports for investments held.  They provide educational opportunities and can assist with money manager selection for the more complex cases.

Assetmark provides us with educational opportunities through conferences, webinars and annual meetings.  Assetmark also has experts available to assist us with trust needs, strategy implementation, and charitable opportunities.

AssetMark Trust, Pershing and National Financial Services (NFS):

These are clearinghouses and custodians for assets held through Planning with Purpose. These institutions do not make the investment decisions.  They settle the transactions placed by a money manager or a financial planner.  Your monthly or quarterly statements are provided by these custodians.  Each maintains a website that you can use to monitor your investments.