Adam Harter, CFA®, Chief Investment Strategist

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)

This designation is issued by the CFA Institute and is granted to individuals who meet each of the following requirements:

• Pass the CFA Program exams for Levels I, II and III.  Exam focuses: Level One: Ethics & Professional Standards; Level Two: Investment Tools & Asset Classes; and Level Three: Portfolio Management & Wealth Planning.
• Have four years of qualified investment work experience
• Become a regular member of CFA Institute and agree to follow the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct

Joseph Andrew Clark, CFP®, Managing Member

The CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, CFP® and federally registered CFP (with flame design) marks (collectively, the “CFP® marks”) are professional certification marks granted in the United States by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (“CFP Board”).

The CFP® certification is a voluntary certification; no federal or state law or regulation requires financial planners to hold CFP® certification. It is recognized in the United States and a number of other countries for its (1) high standard of professional education; (2) stringent code of conduct and standards of practice; and (3) ethical requirements that govern professional engagements with clients. Currently, more than 62,000 individuals have obtained CFP® certification in the United States.

To attain the right to use the CFP® marks, an individual must satisfactorily fulfill the following requirements:

• Education – Complete an advanced college-level course of study addressing the financial planning subject areas that CFP Board’s studies have determined as necessary for the competent and professional delivery of financial planning services, and attain a Bachelor’s Degree from a regionally accredited United States college or university (or its equivalent from a foreign university). CFP Board’s financial planning subject areas include insurance planning and risk management, employee benefits planning, investment planning, income tax planning, retirement planning, and estate planning;
• Examination – Pass the comprehensive CFP® Certification Examination. The examination, administered in 10 hours over a two-day period, includes case studies and client scenarios designed to test one’s ability to correctly diagnose financial planning issues and apply one’s knowledge of financial planning to real world circumstances;
• Experience – Complete at least three years of full-time financial planning-related experience (or the equivalent, measured as 2,000 hours per year); and
• Ethics – Agree to be bound by CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct, a set of documents outlining the ethical and practice standards for CFP® professionals.

Individuals who become certified must complete the following ongoing education and ethics requirements in order to maintain the right to continue to use the CFP® marks:

• Continuing Education – Complete 30 hours of continuing education hours every two years, including two hours on the Code of Ethics and other parts of the Standards of Professional Conduct, to maintain competence and keep up with developments in the financial planning field; and
• Ethics – Renew an agreement to be bound by the Standards of Professional Conduct. The Standards prominently require that CFP® professionals provide financial planning services at a fiduciary standard of care. This means CFP® professionals must provide financial planning services in the best interests of their clients.

CFP® professionals who fail to comply with the above standards and requirements may be subject to CFP Board’s enforcement process, which could result in suspension or permanent revocation of their CFP® certification.

Donald E. Hodson, EA

An Enrolled Agent (EA) is a federally-authorized tax practitioner who has technical expertise in the field of taxation and who is empowered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before all administrative levels of the Internal Revenue Service for audits, collections, and appeals.

The license is earned in one of two ways, by demonstrating special competence in tax matters by taking a written examination, or having worked at the IRS for five years in a position which regularly interpreted and applied the tax code and its regulations. All candidates are subjected to a rigorous background check conducted by the IRS.

In addition to the stringent testing and application process, the IRS requires Enrolled Agents to complete 72 hours of continuing professional education, reported every three years, to maintain their Enrolled Agent status.

Enrolled Agents are bound by Ethical standards and required to abide by the provisions of the Department of Treasury’s Circular 230, which provides the regulations governing the practice of Enrolled Agents before the IRS.

Grant Soliven, AIF®, Financial Advisor

Seth Grimme, AIF®, Financial Advisor

Accredited Investment Fiduciary

The AIF® certification is a voluntary certification; no federal or state law or regulation requires financial advisors to hold AIF® certification.

Aaron Scott Rheaume, CKA®, Financial Advisor

Certified Kingdom Advisor®

Certified Kingdom Advisor® is a professional designation granted by Kingdom Advisors, Inc., a not-for-profit organization established in 2003, to individuals who have satisfied the following requirements:

Prerequisites:

Candidates must sign a Statement of Faith, obtain a letter of reference from a pastor or member of pastoral staff, pass a regulatory review, complete a signed statement of personal stewardship and submit two client references.

Experience Requirements:

Candidates must either hold one of the following industry approved designations: CFP®, ChFC®, CPA, CPA/PFS, EA, CFA, CIMA®, AAMS, CLU®, JD or hold 10 years of experience in the professional discipline in which they applied for the CKA® designation. Disciplines include insurance, investments, accounting, law, and financial planning.

Educational Requirements:

Complete the 60-hour CKA® Educational Program, a 3 credit hour equivalent certificate program offered by Indiana Wesleyan University.

Educational Type: National proctored exam

Continuing Education: 10 hours of continuing education each year                                                 

Ethics & Public Disciplinary Process:

Kingdom Advisors (KA) requires all Certified Kingdom Advisor® designees to remain in substantial compliance with a set of ethical principles, rules, and standards in order to use or to continue to use the Certified Kingdom Advisor® designation. In order to oversee such compliance, KA has established procedures for reporting ethical violations, as well as a set of public disciplinary procedures to oversee the investigation of potential violations of such principles.

Andrew William Thrasher, CMT®, Portfolio Manager

The CMT Association is a global credentialing body with nearly 50 years of service to the financial industry. The Chartered Market Technician® (CMT) designation marks the highest education within the discipline and is the preeminent designation for practitioners of technical analysis worldwide.