Greater Midwest Financial Group ×
651-490-9790
  • eMoney Login
  • News and Events
  • Why GMFG
    • Why GMFG
    • Our Process
    • FAQs
  • Who We Work With
    • Who We Work With
    • Professionals/Executives
    • Business Owners
    • Retirees/Pre-Retirees
    • Dental Professionals
  • Services
    • Overview
    • Benefit Planning
    • Business Owner Services
    • Educational Planning
    • Estate Planning and Wealth Transfer
    • Executive Benefit Strategies
    • Insurance and Risk Management
    • Long-term Care and Elder Care Planning
    • Organizational Services
    • Retirement Planning
    • Tax Planning
    • Wealth Management
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Careers
  • Contact Us

Home   /   Why GMFG   /   FAQs

  • Why GMFG
  • Our Process
  • FAQs

FAQs

Have questions about what it’s like to work with our team at Greater Midwest Financial Group? See the answers to commonly asked questions below. If you have additional questions, feel free to contact our team.

How are you paid?

Greater Midwest Financial Group advisors are typically paid based on either financial planning fees or asset management fees. Our financial planning fees are based on the time involved for the planning engagement. We always provide you with that information up front.

Asset management fees are based on the amount of assets we are managing. Occasionally we are paid a commission for some products or assets that we manage. For example, some of the insurance products we use for your risk management needs will pay us a commission. On the asset management side, some products like 529 college savings plans are not allowed to be purchased using an asset management charge. Under those circumstances, you will pay our firm a commission.

What is a fiduciary and do GMFG’s advisors operate as fiduciaries?

GMFG is an independent financial advisory practice whose professionals hold themselves to the fiduciary standard. We do so by striving to put our clients’ interest first.

A fiduciary advisor is someone who, for compensation, acts in the best interest of his or her clients. The Fiduciary Standard of Care requires that a financial advisor act solely in their client’s best interest when offering personalized financial advice. We believe in and follow the Fiduciary Standard of Care when addressing any of our clients’ concerns. Not every financial advisor accepts this fiduciary duty. For example, some brokers are held to the much lower standard of suitability. This standard of care means an advisor need only suggest products that are suitable for their clients’ objectives and no disclosure is required for possible conflicts of interest.

Where is my money held?

We use a custodian to hold your money. A custodian is a financial institution that holds customers’ securities for safekeeping. Investments that you entrust to our firm are placed in custody with Fidelity’s clearing firm, Fidelity Institutional℠. A clearing firm is an organization that works with financial exchanges to handle the confirmation, delivery and settlement of transactions.

As part of our effort to provide you with quality service, Fidelity Institutional℠ provides a comprehensive clearing and custody platform, brokerage services, trading capabilities, and practice management and consulting to broker-dealer firms, banks, and insurance companies through National Financial Services LLC (NFS). In addition to providing services to third party institutions, the NFS brokerage platform supports all the clearing and custody businesses at Fidelity, including Fidelity’s retail and capital markets businesses, bringing NFS assets under administration to over $4 trillion as of 8/31/20.

The strength and reputation associated with Fidelity Investments is one of the many reasons we are pleased to be working with Fidelity Clearing & Custody Solutions.

Am I qualified to be a GMFG client?

Our clients typically enjoy healthy household incomes and have investment portfolios of $500,000 or more. However, we welcome and enjoy working with clients who have not yet met that threshold but are on a path to reach it in the near future. We also enjoy building longstanding relationships with families and working with our clients’ children as they graduate from college and enter the workforce.

What is GMFG’s investment philosophy?

Because we’ve been investment advisors for a long time, we understand that accumulating and growing your investments over time requires a consistent and monitored approach. Our investment committee meets at least monthly to monitor portfolios, discuss market conditions and determine if changes are necessary.

We have investment models ranging from conservative to aggressive. We’ll make sure you’re comfortable with your portfolio and that your portfolio is aligned with the other financial goals you’re trying to achieve. We put a heavy emphasis on generating growth and/or income in client accounts depending on specific needs, but know that preserving assets during market declines is a key component to long-term investment success

Why should I work with GMFG?

GMFG has been in business for over 30 years. During that time, we have worked to place our clients’ interest first.  We care deeply about helping you and your family reach your financial goals. By working with dentists, professionals, business owners and retirees, we’ve put together a team of professional advisors that has the expertise needed to help you maximize your success.

How do I start working with GMFG?

Give us a call and we’ll schedule a convenient, complimentary consultation. During this consultation we’ll learn more about you, your goals and your resources. We’ll explain how GMFG can help you further your goals and the costs you would incur to engage in our services.

 

 

Fidelity Investments and Fidelity InstitutionalSM (together “Fidelity”) is an independent company, unaffiliated with Greater Midwest Financial Services (“GMFS”). Fidelity is a service provider to Kestra Financial. There is no form of legal partnership, agency affiliation or similar relationship between your financial advisor and Fidelity nor is such a relationship created or implied by the information herein. Fidelity is a registered service mark of FMR LLC. Fidelity InstitutionalSM provides clearing, custody, or other brokerage services through National Financial Services LLC or Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Members NYSE, SIPC. 835983.22.0

Subscribe to News and Events

Get regular market and financial insights from our team.

By signing up, you agree to receive emails from Greater Midwest Financial Group, LLC. Unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Questions?

Is your current advisor giving You Advice That Is Right For You?

Request a second opinion and get your finances back on track.

Get a Second Opinion
logo_reversed
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • News and Events
  • Careers
  • Privacy Policy
MSPWM 2023 Five Star Wealth Manager
Greater Midwest Financial Group, LLC
3222 Rice Street
St. Paul, MN 55126
651-490-9790
Get Directions

BrokerCheck

Check the background of this firm on FINRA's BrokerCheck.

Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. Greater Midwest Financial Group, LLC is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS. Neither Kestra IS nor Kestra AS provide legal or tax advice. View Investor Disclosures.

This site is published for residents of the United States only. Registered Representatives of Kestra IS and Investment Advisor Representatives of Kestra Advisory Services, LLC may only conduct business with residents of the states and jurisdictions in which they are properly registered. Therefore, a response to a request for information may be delayed. Not all products and services referenced on this site are available in every state and through every representative or advisor listed. For additional information, please contact our Compliance Department at 844-553-7872.

To receive the 2023 Five Star Wealth Manager award, researched and managed by Five Star Professional, a wealth manager must meet 10 objective eligibility and evaluation criteria associated with wealth managers who provide quality services to their clients. 4080 wealth managers in the Twin Cities area were considered for the award. 633 were named 2023 Five Star Wealth Managers which represents 14% of the total candidates in the area. Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of the 2023 Five Star Wealth Managers. The Five Star award is not indicative of the wealth manager's future performance.

©2023 Greater Midwest Financial Group.
All Rights Reserved.