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Castle Rock Investment Company

Complimentary Seminar – Solutions For You to Comply with the DOL Fiduciary Rules

August 26, 2016 by admin

Do you advise on 401(k) plans?

Please join Castle Rock Investment Company and the Law Office of Ed Frado, LLC on September 20, 2016 for a lunch seminar at Maggiano’s Little Italy (DTC).

We will educate you about the new DOL rules, their impact on you, and solutions that are available to you to comply. You will also meet advisers that focus exclusively on serving retirement plans and how they plan to grow in this new fiduciary world through acquisition and strategic partnerships.

Please click here to register. We look forward to seeing you in September!

Filed Under: 401K, Advice, Blog, Castle Rock Investment Company, Retirement Plans, Seminars, Uncategorized Tagged With: Castle Rock Investment Company, DOL Fiduciary Rules

Coming April 10, 2017

May 20, 2016 by admin

Did you know that when you pay for investment advice, your adviser might not always have your best interests at heart? Yes, investment advisers are currently legally allowed to sell you products with their own financial gains in mind, even if it means that the products have a high price tag or pay excessive commissions. This is ridiculous, we know, but there is good news for investors on the horizon!

On April 8, 2016, the DOL released its final “Conflict of Interest Rule” to update the definition of fiduciary investment advice under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The new rule will protect investors by requiring all who provide retirement investment advice to plans and IRAs to abide by a ‘fiduciary’ standard, which basically means that they must put their clients’ best interests ahead of their own financial gains.

What does this new regulation mean for average investors? It is a big win for them. Castle Rock Investment Company applauds the new regulation since it empowers investors to be given the best advice possible as they make crucial decisions about their retirement savings plans. If you have questions about the new fiduciary regulation, please contact us at info@castlerockinvesting.com or via phone at 303.719.7523.

Filed Under: 401K, Advice, Blog, Castle Rock Investment Company, Department of Labor, Uncategorized Tagged With: Castle Rock Investment Company, Conflict of Interest Rule, Department of Labor

Castle Rock Investment Company Celebrates 10 Years!

May 5, 2016 by admin

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Castle Rock Investment Company, formed in April 2006, is an independent woman-owned registered investment adviser located in Castle Rock, Colorado. We celebrated our 10-year anniversary on April 17, 2016.

To celebrate this important milestone, 50 people attended our 10 Year Anniversary Party at Siena at the Courtyard in Castle Rock.  It was a wonderful evening with delicious food, great weather and a festive atmosphere. We were honored that so many of our colleagues and friends came to the event to celebrate our anniversary.

Thank you to everyone who has supported our company over the past 10 years. We look forward to continue serving our great clients for many years to come.

Regards,

Michele Suriano
President
Castle Rock Investment Company

 

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Filed Under: Blog, Castle Rock Investment Company, Uncategorized Tagged With: Castle Rock Investment Company

Water Cooler Wisdom – First Quarter 2015

April 15, 2015 by admin

Most of the significant economic elements from the end of 2014 carried into the first quarter of 2015, including the abnormally low price of oil, a strong U.S. dollar, and the ongoing financial experiment of the Federal Reserve. The European Central Bank’s decision to implement a negative deposit rate (-0.10%) last June has become kitchen table talk and began to foster some growth in the European economy.

Returns and Valuations by Style
Since the S&P 500 return was sideways in the first quarter, investors who were willing to take on more risk in the U.S. small
capitalization growth style equity market generally fared better than their large capitalization “value” style peers. The difference in performance by size and style was a reversal from the trend in 2014.

Energy Supply Demand and Prices
The price of oil, hovering around $50 per barrel, has continued to dominate the headlines and impact GDP forecasts. On the slide, you’ll see U.S. productionincreasedby20.8%since2013whileconsumptiononlyincreasedby2%. The oversupply from the U.S. is projected to continue despite the absence of marginal producers that could not compete in the current marketplace. Generally, economists were expecting a 1% bump to GDP from the stimulus created by lower oil prices but the meteoric rise in the value of the dollar is already causing a drag on exports and the economy.

Global Equity Markets
Last year, we talked about the drag a strong U.S. dollar had on international equity investments when reported in U.S. Dollars. In the bottom half of the slide, you’ll see a striking difference in performance of each country’s equity index when shown in the “local” currency versus U.S. Dollars. In just the first quarter of 2015, the German DAX 30 Index gained 22% but, as a result of the weaker euro, it gained just 8.4% when measured in U.S. Dollars. Big exporting firms outside the U.S. are benefiting from the U.S. dollar strength as well as low oil prices for heavy users of energy.

Manufacturing Momentum
The Purchasing Managers Index (Manufacturing PMI) is used as an indicator to compare manufacturing momentum internationally. There are a handful of countries that are still weak but, in aggregate, the global growth is noticeable and strong. The U.S., U.K., Ireland, and Mexico stand out as the strongest while Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, and Australia are losing momentum.

Conclusion
With offsetting factors dominating the forecasts for GDP growth, it is no surprise that the minutes from the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee show a divergence of opinions on whether a rate hike would be warranted as early as the June meeting or delayed until September. As usual, we recommend a balanced portfolio with a risk profile suitable for each investor’s tolerance. Loss aversion continues to weigh heavily in portfolio construction.

Filed Under: Blog, Castle Rock Investment Company, Uncategorized, Water Cooler Wisdom Tagged With: Castle Rock Investment Company, Global Equity Markets

White House Memo: A Moment of Opportunity for Fiduciaries to Retirement Plans

February 5, 2015 by admin

Famous showdown between "Fast Eddie" Felson and “Minnesota Fats” in the iconic American film, The Hustler
Showdown between “Fast Eddie” Felson and “Minnesota Fats” in the iconic American film, The Hustler

If you think we’re letting go of the “fumbling children” reference made by FSI chairman Adam Antoniades, you have another thing coming. He reminds me of the proud “Minnesota Fats” character in the classic film The Hustler— he doesn’t want to recognize the truth and talent of the situation he’s faced with by “Fast Eddie” Felson (Paul Newman), because it means that his reign as best player has ended.

Mr Antoniades goes so far to call the leaked White House Memo from January 13 simplistic, though it refers to more PhD studies than his fumbling response could even spell, so he’ll have to try and respond again.

[Read more…] about White House Memo: A Moment of Opportunity for Fiduciaries to Retirement Plans

Filed Under: Blog, Castle Rock Investment Company, Fiduciary, Industry News, Michele Suriano, Retirement Plans, Uncategorized Tagged With: #SaveOurRetirement, Castle Rock Investment Company, Conflicted Investment Advice, Department of Labor, Discussions, Fiduciary, FSI, Google Scholar, Investment Advisor, January 13 2015, Michele Suriano, Opinion, Phyllis Borzi, Registered Investment Advisor, retirement, retirement advice loophole, Retirement Industry, Save Our Retirement, White House Memo, workplace retirement plans

Declaration of Independence

February 3, 2015 by admin

“Can you be more specific?”

Embarrassing, but true: the retirement industry is asking that of the US government.

The definition of a Fiduciary needs to be more specific because of cases where Plan Sponsors are legally charged unreasonable fees for a long time, but the Department of Labor’s interpretation is undesirable to Wall Street. Of course, Wall Street is on the receiving end of these unreasonable fees.

As an investment advisory firm who identifies in writing as a fiduciary to our clients, we uphold the interests of our client above those of any other interest, because we have no other interested parties. The unfortunate reason that other investment advisors will not agree to sign a fiduciary agreement with a client is because they are “promised” to a large company, who profits from a retirement plan through hidden fees.

While the Plan Sponsor is unaware of this other agreement, and often the Investment Advisor is not entirely upfront about this agreement with the Plan Sponsor’s representatives, it comes out in the end through hidden fees and a whole mess of ugly policies.

The sort of game run here should be illegal. Not because the Plan Sponsors are not careful, instead they often are smart and diligent, but because they are simply not protected by the law. Up to this point, the law is unclear. The Independent Advisor they supposedly hire is not, after all, independent according to a stricter definition now proposed by the Department of Labor, led by Phyllis Borzi.

Insist upon a clear definition of an independent advisor so that you know your advice comes for the interest of your retirement plan, and not for the interest of someone else’s quasi-legal activity. Sign the petition at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/414/401/760/tell-washington-to-stand-up-to-wall-street/

 

Michele L. Suriano, Accredited Investment Fiduciary™, is president of Castle Rock Investment Company, a woman-owned SEC registered investment advisory firm serving qualified retirement plans. www.CastleRockInvesting.com

Filed Under: 401K, Advice, Blog, Castle Rock Investment Company, Department of Labor, ERISA, Fiduciary, Industry News, Katherine Brown, Michele Suriano, Plan Administrator, Retirement Plans, SEC, Uncategorized Tagged With: #SaveOurRetirement, Accredited Investment Fiduciary, Castle Rock, Castle Rock Investing, Castle Rock Investment Company, Department of Labor, DOL, ERISA, Fiduciary, hidden fees, independent investment advice, Investment Advisor, Katherine Brown, Michele L. Suriano, Michele Suriano, petition, Phyllis Borzi, Plan Sponsors, Registered Investment Advisor, retirement, retirement advice loophole, Retirement Industry, Retirement Plan, RIA, Save Our Retirement, SEC, stand up to wall street, strict definition fiduciary, unreasonable fees, US Government, Wall Street, washington, Woman-Owned, workplace retirement plans

Not that Complicated

February 2, 2015 by admin

FSI Chairman Adam Antoniades, from Think Advisor
FSI Chairman Adam Antoniades, from ThinkAdvisor

In any fight, there are two sides waving their arms around.

The Financial Services Institute, or FSI, states in response to a recent White House memo that changing the way the delicate fiduciary system is run will ruin everything. The Financial Services Institute, or FSI, is in opposition to redefining the Fiduciary Standard as it is proposed because of various reasons, some more partisan than others. In general, the FSI puts investor advisors first, and the DOL puts workers and clients first.

How could increased or maintained responsibility of advisors lead to greater abuse of power? Among the first things said by the FSI is the atypical “hrrumph, well people outside the industry just don’t understand the complexities of how we deal with these things.” When in reality, it’s not that complicated: you protect the interest of your clients retirement if you are forced to put their interests first under the law, so why not stop dancing around this and just execute the priority anyway?

Demand protection for your retirement you deserve. Sign the petition to here at SaveOurRetirement.org: http://saveourretirement.com/take-action.html

 

Michele L. Suriano, Accredited Investment Fiduciary™, is president of Castle Rock Investment Company, a woman-owned SEC registered investment advisory firm serving qualified retirement plans. www.CastleRockInvesting.com

Filed Under: 401K, Advice, Blog, Castle Rock Investment Company, Department of Labor, ERISA, Fiduciary, Industry News, Michele Suriano, Plan Administrator, Uncategorized Tagged With: Adam Antoniades, Castle Rock, Castle Rock Investment Company, Department of Labor, Discussions, DOL, ERISA, Fiduciary, Financial Services Institute, FSI, hidden fees, Michele Suriano, Phyllis Borzi, Plan Sponsor, retirement, retirement advice loophole, ThinkAdvisor, workplace retirement plans

Press Release: Castle Rock Investment Company Announces Support of SaveOurRetirement.com

January 26, 2015 by admin

(CASTLE ROCK, COLORADO JANUARY 26, 2015) Castle Rock Investment Company has announced its support of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) effort to more broadly define fiduciaries as “those persons who render investment advice to plans and IRAs for a fee.” By amending the regulatory definition of the term “fiduciary,” the DOL will require all investment advice to adhere to the fiduciary standard set forth under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.   “The DOL’s proposal would ensure that all financial professionals have a legal obligation to put the interests of their customers first when offering retirement advice,” said Michele Suriano, President of Castle Rock Investment Company.  “We must close this ‘Retirement Advice Loophole’ to better protect Americans from conflicts of interest that result in their retirement accounts being drained by hidden fees and second-rate investment options.”

About the “Save Our Retirement” Initiative
Supporters of the broader fiduciary standard, including AARP and other consumer groups, recently launched the “Save Our Retirement” initiative. The campaign, which includes a website with a petition for supporters to sign, urges visitors to “join the campaign to get important updates as the Department of Labor tries to strengthen rules that apply to retirement investing.”

About Castle Rock Investment Company
Castle Rock Investment Company is an entirely woman-owned, SEC registered investment adviser currently serving plan sponsors in Colorado, Idaho, Nebraska, and Texas. Castle Rock focuses on workplace retirement plans to help plan sponsors meet their fiduciary obligations and increase retirement readiness for their employees. The firm puts its clients’ interest first by maintaining its independence from compromised business practices.

For more information, please contact Castle Rock Investment Company at (303) 719-7523, or via e-mail at info@castlerockinvesting.com.

Read Official Press Release

Filed Under: 401K, Blog, Castle Rock Investment Company, Department of Labor, Uncategorized Tagged With: Castle Rock Investment Company, Michele Suriano, retirement advice loophole, Save Our Retirement

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Castle Rock Investment Company, formed in 2006, is an independent woman-owned SEC-registered investment adviser located in Castle Rock, Colorado. We specialize in individual financial plans and qualified service plans.

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From the Blog

State Farm and Edward Jones React to the Fiduciary Rule

By Mack Bekeza With April 10th, 2017 quickly approaching, a large number of investment firms and insurance agencies are scrambling to comply with the DOL fiduciary regulation. However, some firms believe they have found a solution to the upcoming rule. Knowing that their representatives cannot put their clients’ interest first, State Farm and Edward Jones […]

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