Promoting the benefits of working with an independent financial advisor

Rusty Woods is an investment advisor representative (IAR) affiliated with Enterprise Financial Network, based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Raleigh, North Carolina. He is a registered representative of Cambridge Investment Research Inc. With over 29 years of experience in the financial-services industry, Mr. Woods focuses on addressing the investment, risk-management, and retirement-planning needs of his clients.

Mr. Woods takes pride in his career as an independent financial advisor, serving the needs of clients with solutions that have helped improve their financial lives. He shares a brochure with prospective clients that outlines many of the benefits of working with an independent advisor, which includes the following points:

• An independent financial professional “is not an employee of an investment or financial services firm—they are an independent business owner. They have the freedom to structure their business in a manner that best serves their clients.”
• Independent financial professionals “can offer non-proprietary products from a wide variety of companies.” They can “provide investment advice and holistic financial and retirement planning guidance without expectations to sell proprietary products.”
• “In an independent model, the financial professional, investment firm, and clearing and custody firm are all separate entities that are regulated and work together to serve the needs of the investing client.”
• Clients can “choose to interact with [an] independent financial professional through a fee-based or commission relationship, or both, based on [their] financial needs.”
• The freedom and flexibility afforded to an independent financial professional allows for the development of customized, needs-based financial and investment plans for clients—not relying on prepackaged alternatives.