Sharing Our Values Through Compensation
6 min read

It is important for our team members to be well cared for by the firm.
On the most basic of levels, we believe that every person deserves both dignity and mutual respect. We also believe that everyone is important and contributes to the growth and success of the company. That alone is sufficient justification for being thoughtful not just of what our compensation package consists of, but why.
Team members that are genuinely cared about and enjoy their work are able to give their best effort and focus, because they are not mentally or emotionally compromised by a lack of resources and support. These pressures, which can compromise an individual’s decision making, are habitual reasons for the systemic and persistent abuses that occur in the financial industry. Looking back at what happened at Wells Fargo for years, the $12/hour employees pressed clients to open accounts literally so they could keep their meager earnings, out of fear of personal loss – not because they wanted to hurt people or commit fraud. Frankly, many of those employees did not even know what they were doing was in fact harmful. This is one of many examples demonstrating why firm stewardship is so important.
Moreover, team members who are well taken care of must be given consistently high quality resources. This means reliable equipment, reliable work platforms, professional education, and management support to both create and improve upon their work product. It is in our client’s best interests and the firm’s best interests to invest heavily in the person and their continued growth throughout their career, throughout their life.
We believe that taking care of our team members holistically is paramount in delivering the highest quality of service.
To that end, we would like to share with you what our firm provides team members as their compensation package. We are proud of what we provide, and we hope it’s something that resonates with you as well. Finally, if you are considering either working with our firm as a client or working for us as a team member, we hope this helps inform your decision as to whether or not Briggs Financial would be the right fit for you.
Salary
Salary is based on the level and nature of the role, qualifications, and previous experience if appropriate. No salary or bonus compensation is based on commissions or sales charges/loads, and as a firm we do not earn any of our fees from commissions or sales charges/loads.
What this means for you: There is no high-pressure selling atmosphere, ensuring that we are always putting our clients needs first and making the most thoughtful recommendations in our work.
Bonuses
Bonuses are based on specific job performance goals. Example goal areas include completing training/educational goals, feedback from existing clients, and meeting/exceeding job performance and professional benchmark expectations. No bonuses will be awarded for reaching particular sales-based incentives.
What this means for you: Incentives are client-service centered and striving for personal excellence, not high-pressure sales tactics and hidden-fee/profit-centered agendas.
Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA)
Every six months, an evaluation will be made based on market conditions as to whether a COLA is appropriate. An increase in compensation based on COLA is not a substitute for or proxy for a promotion or raise; it is the firm’s commitment to partner with team members in maintaining a standard of living.
What this means for you: The acknowledgement of inflation is not arbitrary. Our pricing will also periodically reflect these changes, such that we can maintain a quality of care for our team.
Professional Development
We provide, at no cost to our team members, materials and resources for professional development. This includes books, supplies, and coursework for the Master of Science in Personal Financial Planning degree program from The College for Financial Planning, an HLC-accredited institution and degree program. We also provide time for study as well as extensive amounts of both observation time and mentoring to teach, learn, and share best practices in our work with clients.
What this means for you: Beginning advisors after receiving licensure will spend 2-3 years in a combination of deep education, observation, and supervised practice. Their livelihoods will not be strained by the financial burdens of advanced education. Combined with expert mentoring, we are committed to developing a team of career-oriented professionals with a high degree of education and ethics beyond reproach. After that training is complete, advisors will still be expected to and have resources provided for them to continue studies in financial planning and behavioral finance relative to their role, responsibilities, and opportunities for growth. Lifelong learning is a core value of our firm.
SIMPLE IRA
We offer a SIMPLE IRA program through our custodian TD Ameritrade and match 100% of the first 5% in employee contributions made to their SIMPLE IRA.
Financial Planning and Tax Preparation
It makes zero sense to be a financial planning firm and yet not offer services for our team members. Team members of our firm may receive financial planning and tax preparation services provided to them/their immediate family at no cost.
What this means for you: We need to drink our own Kool-Aid; if we believe what we do is vital to long-term success, we should absolutely be offering our team these services. This also provides opportunities for peer-review, self-reflection, and growth.
Office Setup
We provide an office setup including phone, computer, and other office supplies and resources.
What this means for you: You are not expected as a team member to shoulder the burden of our business on your household’s bottom line. Remote work, if anything, suggests that we need to make even more conscious, deliberate efforts to support your connection with the team.
Vacation and Sick Leave Policy
We believe very strongly that it is important for our team members to feel happy, motivated, and healthy working for our clients. To that end, we are not interested in tracking vacation or sick time – all time off is paid time off. If you are sick, you are expected to take care of yourself and get rest. When you want to take a vacation, we’ll work together to make it happen.
What this means for you: We want people who do not feel well to do what they need to do to take care of themselves, period. With respect to vacation, we want your vacation and time away to be generous, to reflect your lifestyle and what you value doing with that time, whatever it is. We aren’t interested in keeping a tally, apart from making certain if anything that you are taking enough vacation time.
Health Care
Starting in 2022, all team members will be enrolled in a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement, or QSEHRA. A QSEHRA is an employer-funded health reimbursement accounts that team members can use to reimburse a wide range of expenses, from health care premiums through the Marketplace or their spouse’s work, to the huge umbrella of goods and services that qualify under the IRS’s definition of a qualifying expense. We use a third-party processor for this, meaning that we are entirely HIPAA-compliant. We contribute the maximum amount allowable for individuals annually under the tax code, which for 2022 is $5,450 ($454.16 monthly).
What this means for you: Having access to high-quality health care is an expectation work for our firm. Removing the variability that can exist regarding health care expenses is a high priority for our firm.
Parental Leave
We believe parental leave should support the health of our team members and their families. To that end, it will be assumed that when you request paid parental leave, your leave period will be 26 weeks by default.
What this means for you: We value the healthy development of families and support best practices in child development. Current research strongly suggests that the optimal length for parental bonding and child development is 6 months.