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Introduction

Choosing Your Advisor

God has placed certain advisors in your life who have the character, competence, and chemistry needed to guide you every step of the way and maximize your success. These advisors are essential because they provide confidence and clarity. That is why it is so important to define what is most important to you in an advisor.


Character

One of the easiest ways to learn about Dustin LaPorte, or any other advisor, is to go to FINRA’s website and download the advisor’s full detailed FINRA report by selecting the “Detailed Report” download link, found on the top right corner of the FINRA Broker Check. Use this information to research the advisor’s experience, and to look for violations and outside activities that may violate your core values.

Before ever working with an advisor, research the advisor’s website for items that reveal the advisor’s heart. Go to the advisor’s social media websites like Facebook and LinkedIn and see the people you have in common to ask them about the advisor. Does this advisor view his or her occupation as a calling, or just a job?


Competency (History)

In 1995, Dustin began his career as a financial advisor. In 1999, BB&T Securities recognizes his talents, and promoted him over a region of bank branches to provide financial advice to their bank customers. Quickly, other prominent banks pursed him and incentivized him to move to their banks. Eventually, Dustin opened his own practice, LaPorte Wealth Management Group. He wanted the freedom to be able to minister to his clients, and to have the discretion and fiduciary responsibility to do what he believed was in their best interests.


EDUCATION AND ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Diversified Licenses
    • Mortgage
    • Investments (Series 6, 7, 63, and 65)
    • Insurance (Life, Health, Accident, Long-Term Care, and Disability)
  • Former Chosen SmartVestor Pro® through Dave Ramsey's Recommended Ramsey Solutions
    • Not just anyone can be a SmartVestor Pro®. Ramsey Solutions interviewed and vetted over 1,200 pros across the country. Each SmartVestor Pro® must adhere to Ramsey Solutions’ Code of Conduct and have a client-first mentality. Dustin retired from the program in 2021 due to a strong desire to focus on existing clients.
  • Certified Financial PlannerTM (CFP®)
    • Only those who have fulfilled the certification and continuing education requirements of the CFP® Board can display the CFP® certification marks, which represents one the highest levels of competency, ethics, and professionalism. Dustin adheres to the CFP® professional Code of Ethics and Conduct which requires him to place your interests above his own.
    • For more information, please visit the CFP® Official Website (CFP.net) or download their Fact Sheet. To verify if an advisor is a CFP® professional go to letsmakeaplan.org
  • Certified College Funding Specialist® (CCFS®)
    • A Certified College Funding Specialist® is qualified to give advice on the financial aspects of paying for college. By working with a CCFS®, on average, people save 15-30% on the overall cost of college. Each CCFS® is required to adhere to the highest standards of professional competence, ethical standards, and continuous professional education in the college financial planning field.
    • Visit CCFS®’s Official Website (hireaccfs.com) or verify if an advisor is a CCFS® on hireaccfs.com/search
  • Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor® (CPFA®)
    • The Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor (CPFA) credential was developed by some of the nation’s leading advisors and retirement plan experts.
    • It demonstrates the advisors knowledge, expertise and commitment to working with retirement plans.
    • Plan advisors who earn their CPFA demonstrate the expertise required to act as a plan fiduciary or help plan fiduciaries manage their roles and responsibilities.
    • Visit CPFA®’s Official Website (Napa-net.org/education) or verify if an advisor is a CCFS® on https://napacredentialcheck.org/
  • Certified Kingdom Advisor® (CKA®)
    • Certified Kingdom Advisor® is a designation granted by Kingdom Advisors started by Ron Blue and Larry Burkett. We confidently navigate your financial decisions as a faithful steward through a Christian worldview. The designation is issued only to individuals who have:
      • Demonstrated the ability to apply Biblical Wisdom in financial counsel
      • Successfully completed the rigorous Certified Kingdom Advisor® coursework and examination
      • Provided evidence of an approved professional designation and/or experience requirements
      • Active local church involvement
      • Provided pastoral and client letters of reference 
    • Please feel free to visit CKA®’s Official Website (KingdomAdvisors.com). To verify if an advisor is a CKA® visit kingdomadvisors.com/find-a-professional/directory-search
  • Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®)
    • Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®) is a designation granted by the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts (IDFA™). Founded in 1993, IDFA provides specialized training to accounting, financial, and legal professionals in the field of pre-divorce financial planning. The Institute provides CDFA® with comprehensive training using a variety of knowledge and skill-building techniques. We help clients with financial issues that will impact the rest of their lives, including:
      • Personal vs. marital property
      • Valuing and dividing property
      • Retirement assets and pensions
      • Spousal and child support
      • Splitting the house
      • Tax problems and solutions
      • Expert witness testimony
      • Tax law and financial issues affecting divorce

      Visit CDFA®’s Official Website (institutedfa.com) to learn more. To verify if an advisor is a CDFA®’s visit https://institutedfa.com/find-a-cdfa/

  • Pastoral Training
    • Graduate of All Access program at Seacoast Church, which required a year-long commitment (including over 800 hours of in-depth, hands-on ministry training led by well-known ministry consultant, Mac Lake).
    • Mentored an additional two years by Dr. Vern Jensen, PhD: author, pastor, and former bishop.
    • Graduate of Christ Quest Institute - for couples who are close to divorcing they offer a 3-year in-depth training and coaching program to learn strategies to strengthen the relationship. Also, invested an additional 4 years leading others through the program.
    • Graduate of Our Community Listens program - learning the skills needed for better connection, understanding, and conflict resolution.


Commitment to Excellence

Many of the services and companies we partner with are ranked #1 in their industry. We have intentionally researched and chosen to purchase these additional services to provide an excellent client experience. As a firm, we are committed to be the best in our field because we believe that “...whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31, NIV). “Someone skilled in their work... will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank” (Proverbs 22:29, NIV). A great advisor knows that to be the best requires being the best at what they are called to do—and hiring the best to do the rest. An advisor is only as good as his or her ability to access the right tools, knowledge, and people.


Compensation for Advisory Services

We believe it is important to be paid for what we do and not for what we sell. We are mainly compensated through the assets we manage or by set financial planning fees. We are opposed to commissionable products unless the product is the best solution for your needs.

Planning is crucial to your investment strategy and is a necessary part of our investment advisory services. Depending on the amount of assets we manage for you we will reduce or waive our financial planning fees. The cost of planning will be known upfront, and we will all agree upon the scope and cost of the engagement before any work is done. If we discover there is greater complexity than originally discussed, then we will address the additional cost immediately.


Basic Financial Plan (Bronze Level): Free if we manage $100,000 or more of your investment assets in an advisory account. Without an advisory account, plans cost around $800 to $1,500 and $450 or more for each additional session, beyond the creation of the plan.


Comprehensive Financial Plan (Silver Level): Free if we manage $500,000 or more of your investable accounts in an advisory account. Without an advisory account, plans cost around $3,000 to $10,000 for the plan and $250 for each additional session, beyond the creation of the plan.


Specialized In-depth Complex Financial Plan (Gold Level): Free if we manage one million dollars or more of your investment assets in an advisory account. Without an advisory account, plans cost around $10,000 to $30,000 for the plan and $250 or more for each additional session, beyond the creation of the plan.


Focused Needs: Without an advisory account with us, your cost will be $450 to gather all the financial information and personal preferences needed to make a focus recommendation. Then, going forward there will be an additional $250+ per session which normally runs around one hour. This pricing is for focused needs: cash flow, debt reduction, investment risk analysis, Social Security, Roth conversion, basic college entry or retirement planning, etc.


EXPECTED LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION AND SERVICE AGREEMENT


BronzeSilverGold
APA Registered Investment Advisor Advisory Fee. 
.65 to 1%

.55 to .85%

.45 to .70%

Based on Your Managed Assets at our firm

$100k

$500k

Million

Strategic Meetings (per year)

1

2

4+

Web-based Performance Reporting

Risk Tolerance Evaluation

Asset Allocation

Seminar Invitations

Access to RightNow Media Video Content

Financial Planning Web Portal

Investment Policy Statement

Match Goals with Portfolios

Analyze Life, Disability, LTC Coverage

Anonymously Shop: Life & Disability Insurance

Anonymously Shop Rates/Terms: Mortgage

Retirement Savings and Income Analysis

Assist in Implementing Basic Financial Plan

Comprehensive Financial Plan

Assist in Implementing Comprehensive Plan

Special Client Events

Active 401(k) Review

Cash Flow Management

Referral Dinners

Analyze Health and Property Insurance

Legacy/Estate Planning Assistance

Specialized Planning

Taxation Sensitivity

Intimate Private Client Events

Charitable Giving Strategies

Multi-generational Wealth Transition

Advanced Investment Strategies

Work with Specialist Advisors

Open Access to Advisor

Business Succession Planning

Total Insurance Review



To offer the high-level of service our clients have come to expect, we use these support services:

Third-Party Money Management Support: Think about this...

If your advisor is also your money manager, how likely is your advisor to fire himself if he does a horrible job? To us, an advisory relationship is a long-term relationship built on trust, care, and deep friendship. The last thing we want to do is to endanger our relationship with you based on poor investment performance. By using third-party money managers, we protect our relationship with you. If we do not like the overall performance of the third-party managers, we fire them.

How can an advisor truly watch all accounts and keep track of markets and, at the same time, spend most of his/her time in meeting clients or prospects, making or returning calls and emails, reading, and researching? To be a great buyer and seller of individual investments requires complete focus on that responsibility. Advisors should advise and money managers should manage. So why do so many advisors try to do both? Is it ego or because they collect more fee revenue by not having to pay for a third-party? Is it truly in your best interest to work with advisors who think they can be great at both, especially when their attention is so unfocused and scattered? Dustin is licensed for investment advisory, mortgages, and insurance, and he works with skilled professionals in their field, sharing in the revenue that comes from providing his clients access to these valuable resources.

Local investment advisors do not have the capacity to spend millions annually on research and technology and conduct over a thousand onsite interviews with different investment advisory firms. That is why Dustin works with independent third-party money management firms that do have this capacity.

What happens if your local money manager dies, retires, or becomes too busy? Who then is watching your account? The buying and selling of investments require a full-time commitment to watching the market, that is why Dustin has chosen to work with third-party money managers. Hiring out the money management allows Dustin to focus on what he cares the most about: relationships.


Broker Dealer Support:

Dustin has chosen American Portfolios (AP), selected as Broker-Dealer of the Year 5 years in a row (Division III) by Investment Advisor magazine for 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, 2019 based on a poll of registered Broker-Dealers (rated highest by their representatives), and selected as Top 10 Best Small/Mid-Size Companies to Work for in the state  of New York for 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 by the New York State Society for Human Resources Management (NYS-SHRM) and the Best Companies Group (BCG). American Portfolios was named a WealthManagement.com 2019 Industry Award Finalist for Enhanced Customer Service Support in the category of Broker-Dealers with Fewer than 1,000 Advisors.


Planning Support:

Dustin uses MoneyGuide Pro, #1 ranked financial planning software 11 years in a row, according to Financial Planning Tech Survey (2018). Securely link your online financial accounts to report directly into the software, providing real time data that automatically updates to create a clear and current financial picture.


Research Support:

Dustin uses a variety of well-known and respected research from Morningstar, Lipper, and other investment advisory firms.


Our Team

Advisory Services: Working alongside Dustin, Anissa LaPorte (former Registered Nurse) is entrusted to provide the excellent customer service. She is the person to call when you need information about our planning process or to schedule an appointment. She coordinates the appropriate team members to respond to your needs. Behind the scenes, we have many dedicated support team members at American Portfolios. Jeff Hartman, Office of Supervisory Jurisdiction, is Dustin’s accountability partner and backup when Dustin is out of the office. Both Dustin and Jeff have similar years of experience and core values, and they both have had the privilege of being trained by AXA/Equitable in financial planning.

Mortgages: Dustin LaPorte is also a licensed Mortgage Officer with Coastlend Mortgage Corp for South Carolina. The rates he gets for his clients are far below the National Average. His secret to stay ahead the competition is to keep his fees and overhead costs low and use software to anonymously shop over 30 lenders all at once. Each bank changes its rates throughout the day depending on the market. Without this technology, it is impossible for you to know which leader has the best rate at any moment in time. Even if you spent a week applying with 30 lenders, by the time you received all their quotes and reviewed them, their rates would have changed.

Insurance: Through various agencies, Dustin has the ability to shop anonymously for you and gather rates and information from some of the top name insurance carriers, such as MetLife, Nationwide, Prudential, AXA, ING, Lincoln National, John Hancock, Genworth, Protective Life, Transamerica, United of Omaha, American General, and more. Imagine not having to deal with a dozen different insurance agents all calling you and trying to get you to buy from them.

Using a consultative, no-pressure approach, Dustin will be your agent for those carriers because he is a licensed insurance agent in South Carolina and North Carolina for:

  • Annuities
  • Disability Insurance
  • Life Insurance
  • Long-Term-Care Insurance
  • Health Insurance

Because financial situations are often complex, we typically work directly with you and a network of additional expert professionals to provide you with technical advice, when required, and to design and implement the strategies to help you achieve your goals. These professionals include:

  • Real Estate and Trust/Estate Lawyers
  • Certified Public Accountants
  • Real Estate (commercial and residential) Professionals

There is so much we want to share about us. However, all our meetings are designed to be focused on what is important to you. That is why we created this web page as an Introduction Package to highlight what you need know about us before we meet.  It provides you with all the need-to-know highlights about us and links to explore more. Our initial consultation is always complimentary. Before we meet, all we ask is that you review this page so we can focused on you at our first meeting and not on a sales presentation about how great we are.


Preparation

Before you meet with any Certified Financial Planner™ professional there are certain items you may want to gather to help in the planning process. We have created these checklists to aid you in the process.


Agenda for Our First Meeting

Interview / Evaluation Session (No Cost)

  • Review the agenda for agreed-upon purpose and direction
  • Focus on your story:
    • What is most important to you financially and spiritually
    • What areas are you particularly seeking professional guidance
    • Which personality type best describes you
    • Which personality types work best with you
  • Questions you have about our us, our firm, and service levels
  • Schedule time to talk about next steps

If we decide to move forward, to prepare for our next meeting:

  • Enter your basic data into our secure portal – Allow 5 min.
  • In the next day or two, you receive an invite to enter additional information into our #1 rated financial planning software (Financial Planning Tech 2018 Survey). You can either manually enter your financial data or securely link your online financial accounts to report directly into the software, providing real time data that automatically updates to create a clear and current financial picture.


Our Proven Process

At Every Session:

  • Review the agenda for agreed-upon purpose and direction
  • Focus on what is most important to you
  • Review our progress and schedule our next steps together

1st Session: Confirmation of Data and Direction

  • Confirm what is most important to you: your values, goals, etc.
  • Confirm your risk tolerance results
  • Review and confirm the accuracy of information entered
  • Agree upon and sign our estimated planning cost agreement

2nd Session: Plan Creation

  • Discuss analysis and assumptions
  • Review and fine-tune recommendations
  • Confirm plan, strategies, direction, and schedule next action steps

3rd Session: Implementation

  • Implement agreed-upon strategies to achieve what is most important to you: your values, goals, dreams, etc.
  • Confirm service levels, type, and frequency of communication
  • Sign documents

4th Session: Welcome (New Investment Accounts with Us)

  • Review your first statement
  • Setup and/or review online access
  • Review the Expected Levels of Communication & Service Agreement

Ongoing Planning and Strategy Sessions

  • Confirm and adjust direction if needed due to changes in financial goals, probability projects, or life changes (risk, family, priorities, goals, gifting, cash flow, philosophy, taxes, selling property, etc.)
  • Discuss tax and distribution strategies and tactical investment moves
  • Review/coordinate with your advisors: CPA, attorney, agents, etc.
  • Confirm and adjust direction according to your current plan’s projections and probabilities

 

Define What Matters

Dreams are essential to life; they bring inspiration and hope. However, dreams are only wishes until you "write the vision; make it plain… so he may run who reads it" (Habakkuk 2:2, ESV).

Most people do not take the necessary time to write down and follow their personalized God-given road map. This creates a challenge for "where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18, KJV).

Knowing the compelling vision God has placed in your heart is key to your financial planning success. God made you and designed you just the way you are for a specific reason and purpose. He has placed a road map to your destiny inside of you that serves a purpose greater than you will ever know. 

You are an individual with unique qualities and gifts. To conform to this world's definition of success is not only an insult to you; it is an insult to your Maker. People who follow the world's definition of financial success will find that they will never be satisfied for they can never save enough.

A great advisor does not push his or her view of financial success on you, but works with you to define what is most important and what legacy and difference are you called to make. This creates a framework to build upon which is vital to your personal success. You do not have to know the answers right away. However, it is important to start praying about them, asking, and seeking. Many of your answers will be reveal to you overtime as you become more equipped and skilled and have your team in place to guide you on our journey.


Values / Legacy 

Identify the God-given values inside you that give your life a meaningful purpose (What is most important to who you are):

Which values are you "called" to bestow in the people you love:

What are you "called" to do that you want others to remember long after you are in heaven:

(i.e. your legacy)


Vision

What is the compelling vision for your future that God has placed in your heart and what does it look like?

 

Mission

A personal mission statement defines who you are and who you are not. It is a boundary marker that keeps you focused.


Based on your values and vision for your life...

What is your personal mission statement?

 

Based on your values, skills, abilities, personality, and passions...                         

What is your professional mission statement?


Goals

With a clear vision and mission to provide boundaries and stay focused, your next step is to work with an advisor to prayerfully create SMART-certified goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely). Use my list of common client goals to assist you in knowing which goals you are prayerfully looking to accomplish by working with us.

Freedom

  • Having enough income during retirement
  • More time to enjoy the things in life I value

Debt            

  • Cash flow and debt management/elimination
  • Purchasing another property or second residence

Educate      

  • Providing for education

Protect       

  • Family security in the event of death, disability, etc.
  • Protecting my assets from creditors and liability lawsuits

Estate         

  • Legacy planning and efficient transfer of my estate
  • Business succession planning and family dynamics
  • Passing my core values/beliefs on to my children

Charity        

  • Providing capital for charitable organizations  

Taxes          

  • Avoiding excessive taxes on the sale of assets
  • Reducing income taxes  

Confident    

  • Having a sense of security/confidence in my plan


Our Investment Philosophy

The foundation of our investment philosophy comes from a surprising source - King Solomon's writings found in both Jewish and Christian Bibles.

DEFINE: Path, Direction, Objectives, and Diligently Stay the Course


DIVERSIFY: Seek Growth While Managing Risk

Inside your portfolio with us, we will manage risk by owning a wide variety of investment asset classes selected by multiple trusted advisors:

  • Ecclesiastes 11:2, NLT “But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.”
  • Ecclesiastes 11:6, NIV “...for you don't know if profit will come from one activity or another.”
  • Ecclesiastes 11:1 “Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you” (NLT). “Invest your money in foreign trade, and one of these days you will make a profit” (GN).
  • Proverbs 11:14, NIV “...victory is won through many advisers.”
  • Proverbs 24:6, NLT “...victory depends on having many advisers.”


DISCIPLINE: Count on Our Process Instead of Emotions

We do not wait for perfect weather to invest. We monitor investment storms and are tactical in our approach to consider when and where we invest.

  • Ecclesiastes 11:3-4, NIV “When clouds are heavy, the rains come down... Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.”


What You Can Expect

You can trust that we will consistently and responsibly perform all requested services promptly. We will:

  • Treat you with respect, honesty, and dignity
  • Place your interests first
  • Strive to acquire a complete and accurate understanding of your
    goals, tolerance for investment risk, and time frame
  • Explain the implications of the strategies we propose


What We Can Expect

Effective communication and mutual respect are essential to a successful partnership, so we expect:

  • Trust
  • Respect
  • Sincere Honesty / Complete Disclosure
  • Commitment

Our recommendations are always developed with your interest in mind. As our client, all investment, tax, estate, and insurance advice will be based on the information you provide to us.

We only work with people of integrity who are living within the boundaries of the law.

Communication is essential to effective financial planning. To make your financial strategies a priority, we will both agree to keep each other informed of new developments impacting your plan. Through mutual trust, respect, and understanding, our regular strategic meetings will be honest and forthcoming regarding your financial situation.


Secure and Convenient

Our firm is all about making life more secure and convenient for you. Here are some services we provide to make your life easier:


Less Travel Time

Dustin meets with most of his clients through an amazingly easy-to-use, high-quality video conferencing program.

Benefits of Video Conferencing:

  • No more lost travel time to our office
  • No more fighting Mount Pleasant traffic
  • Meet in comfort of your own living room, office, or in anywhere in the world. When you move, we can, potentially, move with you.

Dustin has clients in New York, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Washington, and even Mount Pleasant, SC, who love using this technology with him.


Less Time on Paperwork

The challenge with meeting via video conference is signing forms. Once again, we are all about making life more convenient and secure for you. Through our electronic signature process, you can easily sign most of our advisory paperwork.

Benefits of Electronic Signature:

  • No more printing, scanning, or faxing
  • Saves valuable time for everyone
  • No more missing signatures
  • Quick processing time
  • Immediate electronic copy for your files
  • Reduced errors and mail time


Managing Conflicts of Interest

Commission Vs. Advisory Fee: We have access to best of both worlds: commissionable products and/or fee-based advisory products. What we use depends on your needs and what is available and what is best for your situation. If there is a not a good equivalent product on the advisory side, then we will use a commission product.

Insurance Agent: Many call themselves financial planners but are just insurance sales people in disguise who believe insurance is the answer to every financial need. They can legally say, "if they are stupid enough to buy it then it is their fault." As a Certified Financial Planner™ professional, I have a fiduciary responsibility to protect you and to empower you make sound financial decisions. I have the opposite goal of an insurance salesperson. My goal is to find best prices for the appropriate amount of coverage you need to free up more capital to invest and to eventually self-insure.  For over 25 years I have been a licensed insurance agent who works for my clients to find the insurance that is right for them while protecting them from sales pressure and insurance math tricks. I am an independent insurance agent. I do not work for an insurance company. I work for you and your best interest. I work through multiple agencies to gain us access to over 25 top notch, large, name brand insurance companies. Unlike an insurance agent, you are hiring me to advise and get paid for my time regardless if you buy insurance through me.  I do this by design, to greatly reduce any conflicts of interests. I also will use up to 50% of commission I earn from your new policy to offset my hourly advisory planning fee. The commission can be used to cover up to 100% of the planning fee I would have charged with the commission. Any commission above the planning fee will not be rebated (which is illegal) or used for future planning cost. Because I am both your advisor and your agent there is a conflict of interest because I will make a commission from being your insurance agent and potentially a fee as an advisor if the commission is not enough to cover the cost of my time. However, if I was not your agent then you would be responsible for paying my hourly advisory fee, and you would have to call on insurance agents and compare policies instead of having our team do it for you.    

Mortgage Officer: Many call themselves loan officers but they are just bank employees with a basic level of understanding on lending.  They will not tell you when they are no longer offering great rates, because they represent the lender. They can legally say, "if they are stupid enough to pay that much for that rate then it is their fault." As a Certified Financial Planner™ professional, I have a fiduciary responsibility to protect and empower you to make sound financial decisions. I have the opposite goal of a bank mortgage employee. My goal is to shop multiple banks to find the best rates with the lowest cost because I want to lower your mortgage payment. My process will free up more capital to invest so you can eventually pay off the mortgage.  For over 15 years, I have been a licensed mortgage officer who works for my clients to find mortgage and the right rate and price.  As a mortgage broker, I do not work for a bank, I work to find a bank for you. Unlike mortgage officer, you are hiring me to advise you as a planner, so I am able to be compensated for my time and do not have to earn a commission by selling you a mortgage. I have designed my process in this way to greatly reduce the conflict in interest. For example, if I would normally charge a $500 planning fee to analyze your mortgage options you received from various lenders, I will waive that fee if you go through Coastlend Mortgage and I receive a commission from  Coastlend Mortgage. Because I am both your advisor and also a loan officer there is a conflict of interest because I will make a commission from your loan. However, if I was not your loan officer it would be very difficult to have found the rate and pricing we were able to find for you; plus, you would have lost a lot of time shopping and interviewing.   

Dave Ramsey: If you go on Dave Ramsey's website looking for a local financial advisor in Charleston you will probably see my name. I have strong Christian values, and I study Godly financial principles. I pay a monthly membership to Ramsey Solutions and Ron Blue's Kingdom Advisors to mentor me as to how to provide the best overall services possible. I want to be constantly reminded of Biblical financial principles. You do not have to be a Christian for me to be your advisor. However, it is extremely important to know that I cannot work with those who are doing illegal activities. If you money launder, drug deal, etc. my moral values require me to report you to the authorities. My Biblically based financial principles have stood the test of time and work regardless if you believe in the credibility the bible. I want you to be debt free and I will work to lower your interest rates. However, with today's extremely low interest rates, you need to know I believe you should be more focused on investing your way out of debt. This may be in conflict with traditional debt-free thinking most other advisors teach, but logically it can be the best path for many. Example: Two people with the same loan amount same interest rate and term and both have $1,000 monthly to invest or pay down the mortgage. Person #1 decides to pay down his mortgage and Person #2 decides to invest the extra money.  The day Person #1 becomes debt free will also be the day Person #2 could be debt free if he cashed in his investment and pay off his mortgage assuming he earned after taxes the same rate of return as the interest rate charged on the mortgage. What happens if Person #2 earns more than then rate the mortgage is charging? Person #2 (the investor) could pay off his mortgage sooner than Person#1.  What if they both lost their jobs before paying off their mortgages? Person #1could lose his house if he had no money saved to make the mortgage payment. Person #2 withdrawal from his investments to make the house payment and not lose the house.

Girl Scouts: If you ask me who has some of the best cookies or who should I give some money to help develop young women into leaders, I am going to say it is the Eastern Carolina Chapter of the Girl Scout.  This is a conflict of interest because I am on their board 😊.

By law I have to have you acknowledge my conflicts of interest and that you have received:

Dustin’s IAR Resume

APA RIA Brochure

Customer Relationship Summary