Advisor Evaluation Process

Regulatory review. We work with advisors that are registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)* and operate under a fiduciary standard. Harness Wealth reviews the public disclosure reports and/or FINRA BrokerCheck reports of the selected investment adviser representatives that will work with matched clients. Any issues or possible conflicts are reviewed by the Chief Compliance Officer.

Investment oversight. Clearly defined investment procedure (e.g., Chief Investment Officer and/or research team, and compliance oversight).

Custodial platform. Our investment advisors maintain custody of their client assets with one of the industry standard financial institutions — Charles Schwab, Fidelity, Bank of New York Mellon, Raymond James, or Pershing.

Investment due diligence. Investment decisions must be vetted by an in-house investment team.

Financial planning services. Financial planning is a core offering and is included in an asset-based fee structure unless the AUM fees are 40% below the industry average for a combined service package.

Competitive fees. Firms must charge at or below industry standard fees. For any firms charging more than 1.5%, these firms must offer additional, more comprehensive services in addition to investment management and financial planning, including but not limited to: tax planning, estate planning, family office services.

Responsiveness. Firm commits to responding to client inquiries within 24 hours and seeks to deliver a high level of client service attention and sophistication.

Assets under management (AUM). Minimum of $300M in discretionary assets. We make exceptions to this minimum for qualifying wealth managers on our platform who solely provide standalone financial planning or other legacy relationships.

Financial planning offering. Firm must offer financial planning as part of the overall investment management services.

Tax efficient strategies. Tax efficient strategies must be offered as part of their investment management process (e.g., tax-loss harvesting).

Certifications. Each investment adviser representative working with matched clients must have an industry-specific designation or be working towards a designation. Eligible list: CFP, CFA, CIMA, JD, CPA.

Team-based approach. Firm must have a team-based approach to relationship management. Individual investment adviser representatives must have administrative support.

Industry experience. Firm owners, principals and investment adviser representatives must collectively have 30 years of industry experience.

Technology standards. Required client portal and use of industry standard advisor technology for financial planning, risk management, portfolio management, and reporting. Must be a technology-forward** firm with strong infrastructure.

Client data. Firm has a defined cybersecurity and information security policy with demonstrable procedures to protect client data.

No recent data breaches. Firm has not had any significant data breaches in the last 5 years.

Tax planning. Firm must offer tax planning in addition to annual tax preparation services.

Tax complexity. Firms must have a strong track record working with clients who have either multiple K1s and file in several states, or with clients who have several equity compensation-related needs.

Geographical coverage. Firms must serve multiple states, with a preference for full national coverage.

CPA designation. Partners must include CPAs, with a preference for CPAs with Big Four accounting experience (Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers).

Team structure. Minimum of 3 partners, minimum overall team size of 10 (operations, services, internal).

Industry experience. Minimum of 10 years on average of experience for every advisor at the firm, and a minimum of one firm leader with 15 years of experience.

Peer review relationships. Preference for firms who offer audit services for other CPA firms.

Industry membership. Firm must be a member of the AICPA (American Institute of CPAs). Membership in additional CPA governing bodies (state-specific CPA societies) is preferred.

Alliance membership. Must be part of a CPA network or alliance to supplement firm tax services, including but not limited to: BDO, PrimeGlobal, MGI, Nexia, NASBA, CPA Associates International, and state-specific organizations.

Technology standard. Firm uses one of the leading tax technology providers (CCH, Canopy, etc.) and also uses one of the leading document-sharing technology providers with client data security. Must be a technology-forward firm with strong infrastructure.

Data entry and calculations. Preference for in-house data entry.

Outsourced data entry. If data entry is outsourced to an outside firm or technology, firms must detail the due diligence on the outside entity and internal checks and balances to ensure data integrity.

Client data. Firm has a defined cybersecurity and information security policy with demonstrable procedures to protect client data.

No recent data breaches. Firm has not had any significant data breaches in the last 5 years.

Document creation. Firm must offer trust & will creation.

Additional estate planning services. Strong preference for firms which offer Trust & Estate Administration, and Probate Litigation.

Client demographic. Accepts clients with investable assets between $250k – $25MM.

Client data. Firm has a defined cybersecurity and information security policy with demonstrable procedures to protect client data.

No recent data breaches. Firm has not had any significant data breaches in the last 5 years.

References from other law firms. Firm has a minimum of two existing relationships with other law firms for referral purposes or for working together on various client matters and these other firms would be able to provide a recommendation.

ACTEC. Preference for a minimum of one firm member recognized by ACTEC as an ACTEC fellow. ACTEC is the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, a national organization of more than 2,500 lawyers and law professors peer-elected to membership.

Industry experience. A firm-wide average of 10 years experience is required.