OAK STREET ADVISORS
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## EMPLOYER RETIREMENT PLAN ADVISORY
| Oak Street Advisors offers employer retirement plan services for small- to mid-sized businesses. We help compare employer plans and expenses, design plans for new and existing qualified retirement plans, select investment options, monitor investment options, and provide ongoing employee education. We partner with independent third party plan administrators to provide turnkey solutions to employer retirement plan needs. Oak Street Advisors act as a co-fiduciary with the retirement plan sponsor and charges a minimum annual fee for employer retirement plan services.     | Small Business Retirement Plans |
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**EMPLOYER RETIREMENT PLAN SERVICES**
* Assist in selecting an appropriate employer retirement plan and provide education as to plan options and alternatives
* Assist in analyzing and comparing the expenses of current and alternative plan options
* Act as a co-fiduciary in selection of plan investment options
* Provide professionally designed risk-based portfolio options for participants
* Monitor & recommend modifications to plan and investment options as appropriate
* Provide annual on-site or virtual sign up and plan education meetings
* Provide ongoing education for plan participants through quarterly electronic newsletters
* Act as a liaison between client and plan administrator
## WANT A FREE PLAN COMPARISON? FILL OUT THE FORM BELOW
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| Business Name \* | Plan Contact Info \*  First  Last |
| Email \* | Number of Employees \* |
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## **OUR STORY**
| **OUR PLANNING PROCESS & TEAM****We promise to treat you with respect, always treat you fairly, have no hidden fees, listen intently, and understand your goals. We will clearly answer your questions and help you make good financial decisions.**Our story began in 2005, when Founder and President Joe Taylor decided to open Oak Street Advisors as an independent, fee-only, Registered Investment Advisory firm.Joe previously worked for 16 years with two large Wall Street firms as an advisor where he learned the basics of portfolio management and financial planning. However, he did not always feel that these companies put the interest of their clients first. Often, he felt pressured to sell products rather than provide sound financial advice, something that kept him up at night.​After several years of employment with these big Wall Street wire-houses, he decided it was time to follow his true passion - providing fee only fiduciary advice and financial planning to both existing and future clients.By providing comprehensive financial planning, eliminating sales commissions and insurance products, and moving to a fee-only business model, Joe eliminated many of the conflicts of interest rampant in the financial services world.His existing clients supported the transition and future clients sought him out to receive objective and transparent fiduciary financial advice.Over the years Oak Street Advisors has grown and now includes offices in both **Myrtle Beach** and **Mt. Pleasant, SC**.Joe's son Bryan, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (TM) practitioner, joined the team in 2014. Oak Street Advisors then welcomed Ryan Cooper to the staff as a fiduciary advisor and Director of Operations in March of 2021 and Christina Norwood as our Client Services Specialist in January of 2024.We invite you to  to learn how financial planning and objective, fiduciary advice can help you reach your financial goals. | Oak Street Advisors     ---    WANT TO KNOW MORE? \* Indicates required field Name \*  First  Last     Email \*     Phone Number \*      LOCATION \*   City, State  NET WORTH ESTIMATE \* $0 - $250,000 $250,000 - $500,000 $500,000 - $1,000,000 $1,000,000 - $2,500,000 $2,500,000 +     RETIREMENT TIME HORIZON \* I'm Currently Retired 0 - 5 Years 5 - 10 Years 10 - 20 Years 20 Years+   How long until you plan to retire?      Submit |
**OUR ADV FORM 2**
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## **WHAT IS A FEE-ONLY FINANCIAL ADVISOR?**
## **WHAT IS A FEE-ONLY ADVISOR? AND WHY SHOULD YOU WORK WITH ONE?**
Is your advisor suggesting an  or purchase because it will get you closer to your financial goals -- or because they will earn a kickback commission? Financial advisors earning commissions or markups on sales are often faced with conflicts of interest — conflicts that aren’t clearly disclosed to clients.
Companies who sell annuities, life insurance contracts, or mutual funds aren’t required to send you a bill with details about the costs of the transaction.  Similarly, if you purchase a bond or new stock issue, you will never receive a bill outlining your costs.
Why is that?! Why don’t most "financial advisors" want you to know how they make their money? Because they know the two most popular ways financial advisors get paid: commissions and markups — create real conflicts of interest.
There are three main ways financial service professionals are paid and only one of them consistently puts ***your*** interests first.
## HOW DO FINANCIAL ADVISORS GET PAID?
**1. MOST FINANCIAL ADVISORS RECEIVE A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THEIR PAY IN COMMISSIONS**
**​**This is the payment model you are probably most familiar with. When you purchase shares of stock through a broker or agent, you receive a trade confirmation showing commissions you were charged for that trade. These commissions aren’t always clearly labeled, can become quite complicated, and can be hidden within other expenses. **This can make it harder for you to tell who is making what — and why.**
For instance, if you purchase an annuity from a life insurance agent or class B or C share mutual funds from a broker, the commission payment is wrapped into insurance product or fund expenses...where you might not notice it! Or, you are told there is a penalty period when withdrawals above a certain threshold trigger a fee. The legal term for this penalty is “contingent deferred sales charge,” but really, it’s a commission.
The insurance company or mutual fund company pays your “advisor” an upfront commission when you purchase the product and often, a smaller amount each year you continue to own that product. Penalty periods and extra fees are a way for the company to guarantee they make back the commission they paid your advisor. So-called index annuities are even better at camouflaging commissions — they withhold money they know the policy would earn if it were transparent, pay you less — and call it even.
***Because advisors paid in commissions make the most money when you purchase financial products, they may be tempted to recommend buying things you don’t need.*​**
**2. FINANCIAL ADVISORS CAN ALSO MAKE MORE MONEY THROUGH MARK-UPS**
If you purchase bonds, CDs, or new stock issues through a broker, you don’t pay commissions on your trade confirmations. You pay mark-ups on the securities you are buying or bonds you are selling. A mark-up is a lot like buying an item in a store. The store buys products in bulk and sells them for a higher price. Or, if you are selling a fixed income security, mark-ups are like selling something at a pawn shop. The shop will always pay you less for your item than they think they can sell it for.
But how can you tell if the mark-up you have paid is fair and brings value? The mark-up for new issue shares of stock are disclosed in a legal document you receive called a prospectus (good luck finding it!). For bonds and CDs, the mark-up is not usually disclosed. If that makes you wonder if mark-ups are worth it, well, it should.
***When advisors earn money on mark-ups, they can be tempted into pushing you to purchase more than you need or make less suitable recommendations.***
​At Oak Street Advisors, we know there is a better way: . When you work with us you never need to second-guess our recommendations and strategies. We aren’t paid by producers. We’re paid by you, and only by you. And that makes you — and your financial future — our highest priority. Oak Street Advisors committed to being fee-only financial advisors to give our clients complete confidence in our financial advice.
**3. FINANCIAL ADVISORS FOCUSED EXCLUSIVELY ON YOUR FINANCIAL GOALS GET PAID ONLY IN FEES ​**
Fees are the most transparent way to pay for professional financial services — direct payments, by check or debit, to your financial advisor for the work they do for you. Before any work begins, you and your advisor decide upon a fee structure that is fair to both parties and sign a contract that clearly spells out when you'll pay, the services you'll receive, and how much you'll be charged. Fees can be a percentage of the assets in your account, a fixed amount at some regular interval, or hourly charges — but you always know what you are paying and why.
You also know that your advisor has met a very strict professional standard. Fee-only financial advisors must become Registered Investment Advisors and meet the highest fiduciary standard, while other advisors are held only to the lower suitability standard. Don’t you want to work with the best of the best?
**FEE-BASED IS *NOT* FEE-ONLY**
It’s no surprise that when clients understand their options, fee-only is their first choice. So, to confuse you — and to keep profiting from you — Wall Street firms coined the title “***fee-based financial advisor***.”
Fee-based financial advice is not the same as fee-only financial advice! ***Fee-based advisors receive third party commissions***, typically on C share mutual funds or through wrap accounts, ***while a true fee-only advisor is paid only by you***. Another half-measure is Dually Registered Firms. Firms registered as both Registered Investment Advisors and Broker/Dealers are trying to have their cake and eat it, too. But because there is no clear division between roles, this leaves clients with crumbs.
*****​Insist on fee-only financial services. Fee-only financial advisors can only make money by helping you succeed. It’s the most motivating — and rewarding — way for experienced financial experts to work.*****
As you can see, it matters how your financial advisor makes their money! To learn more about the clear benefits of fee-only financial advice, follow the "Schedule an Introduction Call" link below. We'll discuss your planning needs and determine if we're the right fit, then schedule a no-cost introduction meeting in person at either our Myrtle Beach, SC or Mt. Pleasant SC offices. We can also schedule an online meeting for those who have limited time, are non-local, or travelling.
## FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
## WHAT IS A FIDUCIARY?
A fiduciary obligation exists whenever the relationship with the client involves a special trust, confidence, and reliance on the fiduciary to exercise his or her discretion or expertise in acting for the client. The fiduciary must knowingly *accept that trust and confidence* to exercise their expertise and discretion to act on the client's behalf.
## IS MY FINANCIAL ADVISOR A FIDUCIARY?
Maybe. If your financial advisor is a registered investment advisor subject to the *Investment Advisors Act of 1940* they are legally bound to act as a fiduciary on your behalf. If your financial advisor works for a broker/dealer, they are not bound to a fiduciary relationship but to a***suitability standard***set and enforced by FINRA. If your financial advisor is an insurance agent the answer is also no.
## ​WHO IS THE BEST FINANCIAL ADVISOR?
That depends on a lot of variables. If you seek fiduciary care, then a registered investment advisor firm would be your best choice. If you need financial planning help, you should seek a firm with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERⓇ professional. If you are seeking advice on life insurance, the agent should have the CLU designation. If you are only looking for investment recommendations, a broker could be a good choice.
Whoever you select, you should know how they are compensated. Are they paid commissions for selling you a financial product or do you pay them directly for the advice they provide? To learn about any complaints or disciplinary actions pertaining to a potential advisor or firm, you can search . Unfortunately insurance agents are not included in this database.
## **WHAT IS A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER**Ⓡ **PROFESSIONAL?**
The CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERⓇ designation is conferred by the CFP Board to foster professional standards in personal financial planning through its setting and enforcement of the education, examination, experience, ethics and other requirements for CFP® certification. For more information visit the 
A fee only financial advisor is paid directly by the client for financial advise. Fee-only means the advisor receives no commissions or other payments from third parties that could cloud their judgement or create a conflict of interest between the advisor and the client
## **WHAT IS A FEE-BASED FINANCIAL ADVISOR?**
A fee-based financial advisor is paid by a third party for a client's participation in an investment platform. Sometimes the fee is paid by a registered investment advisory firm for assets they manage for the advisors' clients, sometimes the fees are paid from fees a mutual fund company charges the shareholder for investing in a mutual fund. There are many variations of fee-based transactions. Be sure you are clear about all the fees charged and who shares those payments with whom.
## **HOW MUCH DOES A FINANCIAL ADVISOR COST?**
A fee-only financial advisor's fee varies from firm-to-firm and also varies with the complexity of the client's situation and the amount of assets that the client needs help with. You could pay an hourly fee for financial planning or a flat fee for a financial planning project. Sometimes the financial planning work is included in an asset management fee for clients who need both financial planning and investment advisory services. Oak Street Advisors AUM fees are disclosed in our form .
## **WHAT IS A COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL PLAN?**
A comprehensive financial plan analyzes all aspects of your financial life and seeks ways to reach your financial goals, minimize both your current and future income tax liability, provide for protection of income for you and your family, plan for expected expenses such as education and retirement and unexpected expenses such as disability or special needs, address estate planning needs, and more. A comprehensive financial plan will help you understand the appropriate steps to take today to achieve your financial goals. It is a customized document that is as unique as your life.
For more information .
Schedule a no-cost initial financial planning discussion with one of our fiduciary advisors in our Myrtle Beach or Charleston office.