BenFi created a sophisticated algorithm that uses dozens of data points from both the investor and the advisor. Each data point has its own weighting, and none of the data points has an overarching impact on the outcome. It is completely objective and does not have artificial limits such as geography, size of investor or size of advisor. It uses data about the advisor and the advisors aggregate client base and based on the BenFi proprietary algorithm, matches using the data provided by the investor.
No. With BenFi there are no account minimums. BenFi has advisors who have no account minimum, but others that do have minimums all the way to a seven-figure minimum. We also have many advisors that only do financial plans for a fixed or similar fee, which is perfect for those who do not yet have an investment portfolio, but need advice on any number of wealth related issues.
BenFi serves the investor first, and the advisor second. We are in business to improve the investor/consumers life BY getting them the best possible financial advisor. The investor is in total control of the experience and reaches out to the advisor when they are ready. The advisor cannot contact investors first. BenFi is a service of MPFA, Inc. a Registered Investment Adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission and by law must put the investors’ needs first, above our own needs or the needs of the advisors that pay us $995 per year to belong to our network. We do not sell leads to advisors, nor do we get paid based on how much money an investor transfers to an advisor.
No. Investors need to contact the advisors they are matched to, first. The investor is in complete control of when they want to interact with their matches.
BenFi is free to investors/consumers. We charge the advisors a flat $995 annual subscription fee, provided they pass our due diligence.
We have advisors from every type of firm and from all parts of the country subscribing to help our investors. Some work for firms who are well known, others work for firms you may have never heard of. Advisors who have very wealthy clients are in our platform and we have advisors that cater to families early on in their wealth-building journey. What they all have in common is that all advisors must pass our very stringent due diligence. After we validate that the advisor is licensed with the appropriate securities regulator, they cannot have any negative disclosable event on record with their regulator. Even something that appears unrelated, but is a disclosable event, disqualifies an advisor from subscribing to BenFi.
No. No information is shared with your matched advisors, even the information you entered to get matched is all private and never disclosed to the advisor. Once you contact your matched advisors, you can share as little or as much about yourself and your situation as you feel comfortable doing.
BenFi, like all people and all organizations does have conflicts of interest. However, our conflicts are quite minimal. Our matching service only includes advisors that pay us a flat, annual fee of $995 upfront, providing they pass our due diligence. Our conflict is that the advisors in our network pay us the flat fee and of course that means we do not have every single qualifying advisor that exists. Many other services that match investors make their money by selling the names of the investors as leads to the advisor, or collect a part of the revenue the advisor receives from the investor, or only allow larger investors to use their system. These other business models create significant conflicts that are not in the investors best interest.
