While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to debate the ins and outs of implementing uniform fiduciary standards, Charles Gibson, president and founder of Financial Perspectives in Pleasanton CA, is adamant that fiduciary integrity simply needs to be a given within the industry.

“I think this is one of the most important industry topics on the radar right now, and needs resolution sooner rather than later,” Gibson insisted, bemused at why the topic is even in question. “It is my belief that, if you are not willing to put your clients’ interests ahead of your own and sign a fiduciary oath, you shouldn’t be an advisor. Period.”

Gibson, who made a career jump from Silicon Valley to the financial sector in 2000, has built his business on treating all of his clients with integrity and establishing trust-based relationships. “Trust,” he said, “is something clients need to make sure advisors earn by following through on the commitments they make.”

Working from a philosophy that successes are to be expected rather than celebrated, Gibson said that although his clients weathered the recession reasonably well in comparison to many, he was still devastated by the impact it had on them. “From that point forward I made it my life’s mission, my job, to ensure that when it happens again – and there’s no question in my mind that it will happen again – we will be prepared.”

Preparation to weather the inevitable tumultuous market includes using integrated management models and strategies that maximize market ups, while minimizing the downs. “Buy and hold is not a valid or rational approach to investing,” Gibson emphasized, speaking of the traditional standard.

“Markets go up as an escalator and come down as an elevator,” he said, explaining that it took investors an average of three years to recover what was lost in one.

Despite the lengthy recovery time, Gibson noted with dismay that many investors seem to have become complacent again. “I’m not sure if it’s their belief that the cause of the great recession has been fixed, or the fact that they think rules and regulations are in place that will protect them,” he said. “People are just focused on the here and now, but at some point in our lifetime, we are going to have to endure another similar type of event.”

Gibson is as passionate about helping clients prepare for retirement as he is about upholding his standard of integrity. “There’s no question that there’s a retirement crisis here in the U.S.” He illustrated how a current retirement account of $100,000 will only yield an income of $4,000 per year. “There’s a lot of catching up that we need to do, and saving, unfortunately, is only half the battle.” 

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