A broker/dealer is a firm that oversees the activities of investment professionals (like us) to ensure that their clients' (your) best interests are being served. So, if you've ever purchased or sold investments through a registered investment professional, he or she was affiliated with a broker/dealer.

By federal regulation, all investment professionals must be affiliated with a broker/dealer. However, the firm ASAM chooses to affiliate with is completely up to us. Of the many good independent broker/dealers in our industry for us to choose from, we believe that our partnership with National Financial Partners, Inc. says a lot about our firm, and it is what makes us different from other independent representatives.

Working with an independent broker/dealer means that we can select any investment we need to help you achieve your financial goals. At brokerage firms, such as Merrill Lynch, brokers don't have that freedom of choice. For the most part, they must sell what the firm tells them to sell.

NFP Securities, Inc., is a leading independent broker/dealer that provides a wide variety of financial products and services. Some of the products and services offered include Financial Planning and investment advisory services, corporate and executive benefits and life insurance and wealth transfer.

Whom do you report to?

Only financial professionals working with an independent broker/dealer can truly say they report to their clients. Other professionals report to a sales manager who sets specific targets for sales to existing clients. How will you ever know if the recommendations provided to you by such an individual are geared to your goals or to other factors?

Do you make more money when you sell a product developed by your firm?

It's not uncommon for a broker to receive additional financial incentives to push his or her firm's own products. In fact, certain investment firms will not even carry the competitors' products regardless of how well they perform. Rather, they offer suitable substitutes. We don't have such concerns.