Benefits of Independent RIA

We are a fee-only based adviser. There are primarily three business models for investment advisers, regardless of the investment products.

Commission-Based Adviser Compensation Though a commission-based adviser may say that they have the best interests of the client in mind, this may not always be the case. The interest of the commission-based adviser is not always aligned with the interest of the client because such an adviser’s commissions generally have no direct bearing on the investment return. This is not a good way to compensate your financial adviser because it becomes impossible to distinguish the best interest of the client from the best interest of the adviser.

Fee-Based Adviser Compensation The fee-based adviser model can be more confusing to the average investor because these advisers receive both a fee for investment advice and may also receive incentive payments for products sold. These types of investment advisers are conflicted between the fees paid by their clients and those they receive as incentives from the underlying investments. Though such an adviser's intentions may be good, we believe that the model does not often work well because the investment performance is not directly tied to the adviser/client performance. In addition the name itself only helps to confuse the client as to how the adviser is compensated. Firms such as brokerages, insurance companies, and even banks may operate under this mixed model. Any time the adviser’s compensation is tied to commission or incentive payments, the client will have good grounds to wonder: Is the investment in the best interest of the client?

Fee-Only Compensation This is Bowen Asset Management's model. Fee-only advisers sell their knowledge. We charge only for their advice and the ongoing management of our clients' investments. We do not receive any commissions or incentives for placement of our clients' funds in any products. Our fee grows only as a result of the increase in value of a client’s funds. We believe that this model is the only model where an adviser's interests are truly aligned with those of the client.