Frequently Asked Questions

• Are you a Fiduciary?

  Yes! As a fiduciary, we are legally and ethically bound to prioritize the needs of our clients above our own. We believe this is the only way to serve clients.

• Who holds my money?

  Charles Schwab and Fidelity are the custodians we utilize for our clients.

• Does Flagship Financial Advisors prefer one custodian over another?

  No. We have relationships with multiple custodians so that our clients have choices. We find that some clients have an affinity toward one or the other.

• Does Flagship Financial Advisors have custody of my funds?

  No. Your money is held with the custodian (Schwab or Fidelity). We are granted limited rights such as trading, disbursement to your address of record and deduction of advisory fees.

• Are my funds co-mingled with any other client funds?

  No. Your investments are held in your specific account, under your name (or trust or entity of your direction) and your tax ID number. Your money is separate and distinct to you.

• Does Flagship Financial Advisors have access to my funds?

  We have limited access to just trading and the collection of our agreed upon fee. We have the ability to process distributions to your address of record and to accounts for which a signed authorization by you is on file with the custodian.

• Can Flagship Financial Advisors wire money without my signature authorization?

  No.

• Can Flagship Financial Advisors disburse funds to an address other than the address I have authorized (i.e., whatever you have indicated as your primary mailing address)?

  No. Flagship Financial can only disburse funds with a client signed authorization.

• Can I get regular distributions?

  Many retirees have authorized Flagship Financial to disburse scheduled monthly distribution from their investment account for deposit to their preferred back account. 

• Can I set up linked bank accounts and standing wire instructions to other accounts that I personally own and control (i.e., personal or business account)?

  Yes. 

• What happens if someone (including myself) tries to change my address?

  The custodian will require a signature from all the account holders to change the address. Both Flagship Financial Advisors and the account holder are notified of such a change.

• Can I securely view documents with your firm?

  Yes, our clients have 24/7 access to their encrypted Flagship Financial Advisors Client Portal, called Orion and access through the custodians website.

• What is the difference between discretionary and non-discretionary assets? What will I have when I invest with Flagship Financial Advisors?

  Non-discretionary management means that the client needs to approve each trade. Discretionary trading allows your advisor to make transactions on your behalf without your approval on each transaction. Flagship Financial Advisors operates on a discretionary basis, which allows us to rebalance, replace investments and manage clients assets in an efficient and timely manner. For each client, before we invest money, we come to a mutual agreement regarding the asset allocation and risk levels, and we stick to those agreed-upon parameters. If we deem a change to those parameters to be warranted.

• What if something happens to Flagship Financial Advisors?

  Your money is held directly with the custodians, and we are simply a servicing advisor you have linked to your accounts. While we have backup systems in place, you can always assign a new advisor.

• What happens if Schwab or Fidelity goes out of business?

  With how the financial industry is structured, your funds and securities are not assets of the custodian.  There can be SIPC protection within specified limits for funds and securities held with financially troubled SIPC-member firms.

• Who is Stratos Wealth Advisors?

  In selecting a firm, we took great care to ensure that from day one we would have all the necessary operational support to allow us to efficiently focus on serving you. To that end, we are proud to partner with Stratos Wealth Advisors, a registered investment advisor, through which we provide our investment advisory services. Flagship Financial is a DBA of Stratos Wealth Advisors.