Our Team

Mission

To serve those charged with the stewardship of financial assets by providing a high level of financial expertise and professionalism. To conduct our relationships with clients, service providers, and all others with kindness, free from conflicts of interest, and always in the best interest of our clients.

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

We value diversity in background, perspective, and experience because we believe it makes us better at what we do while enhancing how we serve our clients. We embrace our responsibility to continuously learn from the unique voices within our Firm and those whom we serve. We strive to create an inclusive environment where all are empowered to share their individual perspectives and ideas. By fostering a culture of diverse thought, we maximize our creativity and serve our clients and their employees with the utmost level of professionalism, kindness, and respect.

Our History

Independent. Focused. Expert. The genesis of our team came in 1988 when we witnessed American workers struggling with important employee benefit questions and in need of truly independent, conflict-free advice.

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It all started in the 1980s, when 401(k) plans were in their infancy. We were asked by an employer to help establish their new 401(k). The employer agreed to our administrative and investment recommendations on the condition we agreed to help them communicate the new benefit to their workforce.

As we met these employees, we recognized a tremendous need. Most had no idea how to answer the fundamental questions posed by their employee-directed benefit plan: How much should I save? Should I save pre-tax or post-tax? Where should I invest my savings? They desperately needed help from someone they could trust, but most didn’t have the means to afford a professional advisor. Seeing this need and having the resources, we took action and formed what is now called Francis Investment Counsel.

We created a different kind of institutional advisor, one whose structure is independent and completely transparent. In 2004, the Francis team formally severed ties with a national brokerage firm and established itself as a Registered Investment Advisor. We remain committed to serve as an ERISA fiduciary to all of our retirement plan sponsor clients and their employees.

As demand for advisors to employer-sponsored retirement plans has grown, we have continued to share our expertise with plan sponsors and to educate employees, absent the conflicts of interests plaguing most of the industry. Our conversations with clients and one-on-one interactions with employees prove the impact of our work: We change people’s lives. This impact motivates us to maintain our focus on serving the qualified plan marketplace exclusively.

Our Firm’s business model stands out within a complex industry.

Our structure is straightforward. We are 100% employee owned with no affiliations of any kind, no financial products to sell, and no personal wealth management service offerings.

Our compensation is straightforward. 100% of the Firm’s revenues comes from flat fees paid by clients. There are no conflicts, no commissions or asset-based fees, and no sources of indirect compensation.

Our services are straightforward. We help plan sponsors design the best retirement plans possible while helping their employees become better family finance managers through our MoneyAdvice@Work^® financial wellness services.

With Francis Investment Counsel, what you see is what you get: a dedicated, conflict-fee advisor, committed to the success of your plan and your people.