DO YOU KNOW THESE PEOPLE? . . . a "suddenly single" woman, widowed or divorced, who is new to handling family finances . . . an entrepreneur who knows everything about his or her business, but is too busy to manage personal financial matters . . . a retired couple trying to preserve assets while making ends meet. If any of these people are friends - or clients - you could do them a favor by recommending investment counseling. People who are looking for help with investments often are baffled by the array of brokers, financial planners and annuity salespersons. The choice might be easier if they understood how investment counseling differs from their other options. Only an investment counselor provides investment advice free of any conflict of interest and independent of third party influence. Each client's portfolio reflects the client's unique financial circumstances. A counselor considers a client's financial position, tax status, investment objectives and time horizon to develop an ongoing strategy. Advice is not distributed on a wholesale or mass basis. An investment counselor does not participate in commissions or transactions. We are independent. There is no motivation to recommend transactions other than those that are in the best interest of the client. We are successful when a client's assets grow because fees are based on a percentage of assets. An investment counselor provides only investment advice, and provides that advice in a continuing person-to-person professional relationship with the client. Supervision of assets under management is constant, not incidental or occasional. The counseling process requires a continuous evaluation of client needs and an ongoing analysis of the client's portfolio because the economy, markets and investor circumstances change. Investment counseling is what most people want from a financial adviser.