Atlantic Capital Investments (ACI), is a fee-only financial planning firm and a Registered Investment Adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. ACI is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA") and was founded by Kent Thune, CFP®, MBA.
What does this mean?
- In short, it means ACI is the investment adviser working for you, not the competing interests.
- ACI is as client-centered as financial advice gets: As an independent, fee-only, registered investment adviser, ACI upholds a true fiduciary standard of care by placing client needs ahead of its own.
- In contrast, the traditional brokers, bankers and insurance agents are product/sales-centered: they get paid commissions or share in the revenue generated by the products or services they sell, regardless of the results generated for the client. These conventional financial advisers, even with good intentions, are not able to fulfill a truly client-centered, altruistic approach to financial planning.
For outside information, consider what The Wall Street Journal recently said in the article, How to Build Your Financial Dream Team:
Insurance sales people, stockbrokers, accountants and even lawyers might call themselves financial advisers, but your specific needs might not fall under their area of expertise...
Which credentials matter most? Certified financial planners, chartered financial analysts and certified public accountants have completed extensive course work and passed many hours of exams. These designations also require work experience and additional continuing education each year...
In addition to putting your interests first, those with fiduciary obligations must disclose any conflicts of interest that may affect their decisions and tell you about any fees, commissions or other factors that could influence the decisions they make on your behalf. If your planner isn't a fiduciary, ask what commissions or fees will be received on any investments you make.
Kent Thune, CFP®, MBA, presides over ACI on the foundation of more than 15 years of experience in financial services and exceeds the level of certification and education that the prudent client should expect from their investment adviser and financial planner:
- Prior to founding ACI in 2006, Kent was Senior Investment Adviser at a regional pension consulting firm. He provided fiduciary guidance to trustees and investors of over $350 million in retirement assets, representing more than 100 corporations, and provided investment research, fund selection, fund monitoring, asset allocation, and investment advisory services with consistent and reliable results.
- Mr. Thune is a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP), which assures an adviser has broad and expert knowledge in all aspects of financial planning.
- Rounding out his knowledge, Kent holds a masters degree in business administration (MBA) from one of the oldest and leading business schools in the country, The Citadel of South Carolina.
- Prior to his qualified retirement plan experience, Mr. Thune worked in the financial services areas of financial planning, brokerage, personal and commercial banking, insurance, and loan origination; all combining for more than 15 years of valuable experience.
- Kent has also attained the Series 7 and 63 securities licenses as well as the Life, Accident & Health insurance license.
More importantly, the impetus of change that inspired the creation of ACI in 2006 was the growing realization that money should only be used as a tool to enable clients to focus on the priorities in life – priorities such as family, health and other meaningful pursuits – and not to allow money, itself, to be the priority (see ACI's Investment Philosophy).
This philosophical and intellectual approach to money, combined with broad and deep investing and financial planning experience, makes ACI a unique and valuable guide in this ever-complex, money-centered and fast-paced world.
