Mission Statement

To help people achieve and maintain financial independence by educating and assisting them to develop portfolios that would mirror our own given the same goals, objective, tax bracket, temperament, and investment time horizon.

Prime Directives

  1. Independent:  We will not be captive to any company that requires an agent or representative to sell their proprietary products or group of products exclusively.
  2. Consumer Oriented:  We constantly research the marketplace for what we consider to be the best client-driven products available.
  3. Educational:  We will take time, listen and take notes, and make sure all your pertinent questions are answered.
  4. Full Service:  Our goal is to service all your financial needs.

Code of Ethics

We want:

  • clients, not customers.
  • ethical & honest business practices.

We will never:

  • use tricks, gimmicks, or pressure.
  • make erroneous, misleading, or exaggerated claims.
  • sell on the first interview, unless the appointment was for that specific purpose.

We will always:

  • treat clients and associates with respect, courtesy, and consideration.
  • educate clients.
  • provide prompt service.
  • sell products to best serve a client’s needs, with constant consideration to their goals, objectives, taxes, and temperament.
  • provide full disclosure and complete information.
  • treat client information with total confidentiality.

The 10 Commandments of the Nicol Agency

  1. Thou shall not sell any product you would not own, if the need existed and your goals, objectives, temperament and tax bracket was similar.
  2. Thou shall treat all clients and associates with the same respect and consideration as you would be treated. (Never pressure and always educate and disclose. View your clients as if they were your Mom and/or Dad.)
  3. Thou shall not sell any product with a great likelihood you would potentially have to make an excuse for in the future.
  4. Thou shall obey all industry laws and keep them holy. (i.e. Never share commissions, forge signatures, accept cash or checks made out to you; always provide full disclosure, etc.)
  5. Thou shall always offer a complete Confidential Needs Analysis and full-service. (i.e. Insurance, investments, estate planning, etc.  Remember: You are an advisor, not just a salesman.)
  6. Thou shall balance all your client portfolios with prudent asset allocation based on their needs with consideration to goals, objectives, temperament and taxes. (Do not sell single funds unless minimums are not met.   Provide proper balance between: long-term/short-term, stocks/bonds/money market, large/mid/small cap, domestic/global, etc.)
  7. Thou shall make recommendations based on client need with consideration of management, breakpoints, and long-term positioning.  Thou shall not make recommendations due to commissions and promotions. (Do not sell “hot,” “hyped,” or “star-managed” funds.  Sell the fund family concept, not single funds.)
  8. Thou shall always be coachable and open-minded while in constant pursuit of excellence, knowledge, the truth, and improvement of your business. (Attend all meetings, read, study, etc.)
  9. Thou shall not advertise, produce or distribute any literature without obtaining approval. (It is always best to ask permission than not receive any forgiveness.)
  10. Thou shall not represent the Nicol Agency without executing a signed written Associate Agreement and abiding fully with the Agency’s “Prime Directive, “Code of Ethics,” and these Commandments.