Too often, advisors and brokers pay lip service to integrity and ethics. Regulatory standards don't provide the protection that retirees need. Safeguard advisors are held to a higher standard. A standard with real world consequences. Below is a summary of the codes of ethics we hold all Safeguard Advisors and employees to.
Safeguard Wealth Management Code of Ethics
Safeguard Wealth Management also requires owners and employees to annually sign an internal
Code of Ethics
which:
- Expressly Prohibits disclosing confidential client information to anyone other than pre-authorized individuals.
- Expressly Prohibits accepting gifts or gratuities from those wishing to do business with SWM
- Expressly prohibits recommending securities in which the Advisor has a material economic interest.
- Expressly Prohibits Front-Running Clients
- Expressly Prohibits trading securities which clients own without Pre-Clearance
- Requires personnel to submit quarterly holding and transaction reports for review of potential conflicts of interest
Penalties for violating SWM’s internal Code of Ethics range from fines to termination to civil and even criminal referrals.
Third Party Code of Ethics
The American College has been the gold standard for financial advice knowledge and best practices for over a century.
To hold a designation from The American College, designees must not only complete coursework and continueing education but also agree to a
Code of Ethics, which include items like:
I. Conduct yourself at all times with honor and dignity.
II. Avoid practices that would bring dishonor upon your profession or The American College.
III. Publicize your achievements in ways that enhance the integrity of your profession.
IV. Continue your studies throughout your working life so as to maintain a high level of professional experience.
The American College also goes above-and-beyond the typical commitment to honor and requires designees to agree to the following pledge:
"In all my professional relationships, I pledge myself to the following rule of ethical conduct: I shall, in light of all conditions surrounding those I serve, which I shall make every conscientious effort to ascertain and understand, render that service which, in the same circumstances, I would apply to myself."
Designees found to be in violation of the Code of Ethics or the Pledge are stripped of their designations.