Our Principles

We have a fiduciary duty to our clients.

This means that as a professional we hold a relationship of trust or confidence. A person who has a fiduciary duty to another must act in the other’s best interest, must maintain the other’s trust and confidence, and must act with discretion. A fiduciary is charged with a higher standard of care and a higher degree of knowledge.

The principles of fiduciary duty are straightforward, too often their implementation are not: 

1. The Client’s Interest Comes First.  Barlow and its employees are prohibited from engaging in fraudulent, deceptive or manipulative conduct. In essence that means that we have an affirmative duty to act honestly, in good faith and in the best interests of our clients.

2. Disinterested Advice. Barlow must provide advice that is in our client’s best interests. We may never, under any circumstances, place our interests ahead of any client's interests.

3. Disclosure of Material Facts. Clients and prospective clients are entitled to disclosure of all material facts regarding our business activities, including material facts regarding the advisory services rendered, advisory fees, and conflicts of interest.

4. Conflicts of Interest. Barlow must disclose any potential or actual conflicts of interest when dealing with clients and potential clients.

5. Confidentiality. Nonpublic personal information about clients must be treated with strict confidentiality.

6. Fraud. Engaging in any fraudulent or deceitful conduct with clients or potential clients is strictly prohibited.

Specific Fiduciary Obligations – Examples

When working with an Investment Advisor or Broker, every purchase transaction is viewed as a “sale” of the security to the client. In general, Investment Advisors can present disclosure information at the point of sale, implying every transaction is independent and creating the potential for overall portfolio strategy to remain nonexistent.

On the other hand, Portfolio Managers like Barlow are directed to execute portfolio strategy that is determined in consultation with the client regarding their investment policy, liquidity and risk preferences. Not only does the Portfolio Manager have to follow the policy to the letter, but must also endeavor to follow the spirit of the policy. This is encouraged by the fact Portfolio Managers are typically paid the same fee without regard to the specific strategy or individual investments included in the clients’ account. In order to ensure this approach, we include our clients’ investment policy as part of our management contract.

In short, the disclosure information an Investment Advisor must present is product-related, while Portfolio Managers must present disclosure information about their business, principals, potential and actual conflicts of interest with the interest of clients.