The Linkous Group, Ltd.

                                             A Registered Investment Advisor

 

                                                       " Investing for Life"

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

January 11, 2011

 

Linkous Group, Ltd.

LPL Financial

Fountain Hills, AZ

Dear Linkous Group, Ltd.

 

CONGRATULATIONS!

 

It is our distinctive honor to congratulate your practice for their achievement and inclusion in the NABCAP Premier Advisors list in the February 18th issue of The Phoenix Business Journal.

NABCAP is privileged to recognize an elite group of advisory practices in the Phoenix Area. Your practice has been reviewed versus a long list of your peers from all industry channels and firms. Our process evaluated each practice based on a proprietary system and objectively verified the information submitted through our multi-level verification process.

 

As a NACAP Premier Advisor, your practice is a member of an exclusive group who represents the best in quality Wealth Management. NABCAP is the first non-profit 501(c)(3) organization to create a discerning process to help identify the top quality advisory practices in order to better serve the investing community.

 

Thank you for your participation and helping NABCAP add transparency to the financial services industry. We wish you the best and prosperity in 2011.

 

Best regards,

 

Charles E. King

Vice President

Board of Directors

NABCAP

 

7108 S. Alton Way, Building L Suite B, Centennial CO 80112

Contact: P- 720.542.8353

 

 

www.nabcap.org

 

 

 

NABCAP's Methodology

 

The primary focus of NABCAP, a nationally registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is to serve the needs of the investing public by helping identify top wealth managers. NABCAP and its Board of Directors created an unaffiliated evaluation process in which 20 categories of practice management are assessed. Advisors are invited and/or nominated to participate by submitting an online questionnaire. The multi-step verification process utilizes independent resources to assess the accuracy and truthfulness of the information submitted by participating advisory practices. NABCAP's methodology is unique in deciphering advisors

because it is primarily objective, not subjective and helps add transparency for the investor’s benefit. NABCAP takes pride that their list of Premier Advisors is not merely defined by Assets Under Management (A.U.M.), revenues produced or even worse, popularity. Alternatively, NABCAP attempts to identify top advisors regardless of size, firm or channel they are affiliated with. The ultimate goal is to provide investors and advisors a trusted standard of excellence to help guide them within the Financial Services Industry. Participating practices may be published and will be compared versus their peers locally, regionally and nationally. Distinguishing characteristics of an advisory practice will include in part, though not exclusively:

• Team dynamics- who comprises the team

• Years of experience

• Credentials/Designations

• Average AUM per client

• Planning philosophy

• Investment philosophy

• Risk philosophy

• Fee/Cost structure

• Customer service

• U4/ADV status

Through our process the investing public will clearly identify practice specialties and areas of excellence. NABCAP strives to create a platform and process through which transparency becomes both the expectation and the industry standard. The investing public requires advisory practices to be in line with their needs and goals.

 

The Advisory Practice Evaluation Process: NABCAP & RPA

The Board of Directors elected to preserve the interests of our process of reviewing and ranking Financial Advisory Practices. To accomplish this, NABCAP must have a clear separation from outside influences. We carefully considered why separation is vital to our long-term viability and success. The following are taken into consideration in order to preserve our "Black Box" approach:

 

1. Discrimination - Including but not limited to age, gender and ethnicity.2. Team Structure - Regardless of how your practice operates, in terms of personnel, your practice will be evaluated

on their merits.

3. Firm Association - We treat all participants equally, without regards to which channel of operations they have chosen or its size. (National or Regional wirehouses, Banking, Insurance, R.I.A., Independent, etc.)

4. Revenues- The amount of sales a Financial Advisor generates is an irrelevant determining factor for who the best overall practice managers are, higher revenues do not necessarily benefit the Investor.

5. A.U.M.- A practice's assets can be stated in multiple ways and ultimately can be misleading. To the best of NABCAP's abilities we assure results are clear and concise.

NABCAP has established a long-term contract with RPA to facilitate, administer and implement our process. We require strict assurances from RPA that all information provided by Financial Advisors is utilized solely for the purpose of educating the investing public, and not for solicitation purposes. All the information collected is the property of NABCAP.

 

© 2010 NABCAP

NABCAP is a national 501(c)(3)

Securities and investment advice offered through LPL Financial, a registered broker/dealer. Member of FiNRA/SIPC and a registered investment advisor.

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