Frequently Asked Questions
Our Frequently Asked Questions address some of the most commonly asked questions from clients. We hope you find this resource helpful.
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Our Mission: To empower individuals to gain control of their financial well-being through comprehensive advisory services and help them become better positioned to positively impact others.
STRIDE Financial is a Chicago-based firm offering a complete line of financial services and products for families and businesses. Our mission is to empower individuals to gain control of their financial well-being through comprehensive advisory services and help them become better positioned to positively impact others. Our firm specializes in comprehensive retirement planning with an emphasis on income-oriented strategies. Our signature program, STRIDE, is an acronym for “Strategically Tailored Retirement Income Distribution.”
Our firm is a Registered Investment Advisory (RIA) and we are fiduciary financial advisors. Simply put, a fiduciary advisor is legally required to put clients’ interests ahead of their own. We are regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or state regulators to do so.
STRIDE Financial utilizes a comprehensive, data-driven discovery process where we identify the specific goals of our clients. Because everyone’s situation is different, we work closely with clients to customize their investment strategies. Transparency is also one of the core tenets of our firm - we work with clients every step of the way so they have an in-depth understanding of their investment strategy and solutions.
During your initial phone or virtual consultation with one of our licensed advisors, we will fully outline our management fee structure and answer any specific questions you have at that time. Because our fee structure is wholly contingent upon your individual investment strategy, we are unable to quote management fees in our FAQs.
In addition to holding several financial licenses, STRIDE Financial advisors hold the designation of “NSSA”, as accredited by the National Social Security Association. Professional advisors who earn the NSSA® Certificate benefit society by helping individuals and couples improve their financial security during retirement years through maximization of Social Security benefits.
Yes. Once you become a client of STRIDE Financial, our administrative team will send detailed instructions for our Secure Client Portal. This resource will provide you with 24/7 access to all your accounts. You may also elect to receive paper or electronic statements for all or some of your accounts. If you still require assistance, our Client Service team is available Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm CST.
We have simplified this process to be both quick and seamless. Most of our strategic partners - including TD Ameritrade Institutional - utilize an Automated Customer Account Transfer (ACAT) service, a system that facilitates the transfer of securities from one trading account to a different brokerage firm. This process is fully managed on our end and typically takes from 3 to 5 business days.
After you have become a client, our advisors will conduct an asset allocation process where we finalize your investment strategy. During this meeting, we will be evaluating different product and risk categorizations. Some products do offer contractual guarantees, and some may offer a secondary level of guarantor.
New clients do not need to transfer all assets under our management in order to benefit from our services. We also currently do not have minimum account balances to become a client. For clients working with multiple advisors, in our experience working with retirement-aged clients, we have found that most financial advisors are not prepared to answer questions on our specialized topic areas (Social Security Benefit Maximization, Required Minimum Distributions, Estate Planning, etc).
As fiduciary financial advisors, we work on your behalf and are required to put clients’ interest ahead of our own. As such, we hold periodic “check-ins” throughout the year so clients may provide any updates that might necessitate a course correction or a change in your comprehensive plan. Our firm can accommodate meetings via phone, teleconference, virtual platforms or in-person meetings.
STRIDE Financial is a full-service financial planning firm that provides expertise in many areas including retirement planning, college planning, estate planning, business planning, life insurance, annuities, health insurance, property and casualty insurance, long-term care insurance, disability insurance, and investment advisory services.