FAQ

At Weiss Capital Management, our experienced financial advisors work closely with you to help you meet your individual investment goals. You will find answers to our most frequently asked questions here, but please contact us for answers to specific questions about investing or for more information about designing a customized investment program to best suit your needs.

 

How can I open a Weiss Capital Management managed investment account?

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Click here now for simple instructions to open an account at Weiss Capital Management, or call us at 800-814-3045 and a dedicated financial advisor will discuss your unique investment goals with you.

 

How is Weiss Capital Management different from other money managers, stock brokers or financial planners?

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The first and most important difference is that we are a "fee-only" Registered Investment Adviser. This means that, unlike typical stock brokers or financial planners, we are registered as an Investment Adviser under the Securities and Exchange Commission Act of 1940, and must abide by the rules of the Act.

As an SEC Registered Investment Adviser, we manage money on behalf of our clients.

This means: We are paid based on how well we manage your wealth. Our fees go up only if your wealth increases; our fees go down if your portfolio declines in value. Our fees are annual, based on the market value of your account and are billed in advance at quarterly intervals. Most stock brokers and financial planners are paid commission on every transaction you make — and when you break it all down, those commissions on the trades they execute could be very high over time.

  • We actively manage each client's portfolio based on their unique investment goals. Many financial planners and stock brokers do not actively manage your portfolio or have the expertise to help design a comprehensive portfolio with the goal of meeting your individual, long-term wealth strategy.
  • Stockbrokers or typical Wall Street financial planners tend to spend time selling you on a particular security — an individual stock, bond or mutual fund — rather than focusing on growing and protecting your overall portfolio for the long haul.
  • At Weiss, we've been professionally managing client assets for more than 25 years. We have experienced both bull and bear market conditions and remain committed to growing your wealth and helping protect it against potential declines.
  • We are beholden only to you, not for a large wire house or investment banking firm whose interests may conflict with yours. As an independent investment adviser, we receive no compensation from any other source but the fees you pay us for guiding and directing your wealth management strategy.

You have many options when it comes to managing your wealth. At Weiss, the following principles are what set us apart from other investment options you may be considering:

Our product is our advice. Few investment managers offer specific investment strategies designed to help protect and grow your assets during prolonged market downturns. We do and our history and track record are testament to that fact.

While many investment managers, financial planners and even stock brokers tend to specialize in small segments of the market, like growth stocks or tax-free investments, we offer a broad selection of investment styles designed to meet the changing needs of our clients at their various life stages. Our products include low-risk fixed income strategies as well as high-growth international programs plus a strategy designed to help protect and grow your wealth during bear markets.

Protection of principal is paramount. As stewards of your hard-earned capital, we know that you value the return of your money as much as the return on your money. We aren't afraid to "move to cash" when the going gets tough in the markets. We pride ourselves on being one of a few firms who has cultivated a reputation for its bear market strategy and its ability to proactively "hedge" investor portfolios when signals indicate that bear market conditions are developing.

We strive to invest when the odds are in your favor. At Weiss, we don't subscribe to a typical Wall Street mentality. We mix various asset classes and strategies to fit your individual goals based on our estimate of value across stocks, bonds, commodity-based investments and cash. Our particular philosophy requires that we proactively utilize hedging strategies during times of market volatility. Although we cannot guarantee that our signals will always be right, we can assure you that your best interests are at the heart of each action we take.

We have a solid track record of performance during all market conditions. For the past 25-years, detailed results of the performance, for each of our managed programs, has been made publicly available for scrutiny. These quarterly and annual performance figures are based on a composite of actual client accounts, presented according to industry standards, and carefully reviewed by our investment committee with the benchmarks provided for comparison.

Call us at 800-814-3045 for copies of the most current performance information for each of our managed account programs.

 

I subscribe to various newsletters published by Weiss Research, your affiliate. Do you pursue the same strategies and recommendations for my account at Weiss Capital Management?

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Founded by renowned consumer and investor advocate Martin D. Weiss, PhD, Weiss Capital Management, Inc. is an affiliate of Weiss Research, LLC. However, as a member of the Weiss Group of companies, each affiliate operates entirely separate businesses with unique goals and services that are designed to meet the needs of different types of investors.

Since 1983, Weiss Capital Management has subscribed to the same core philosophy of careful money management and investment selection as its affiliate. However, at Weiss Capital Management, our particular investment techniques and strategies are customized to each client's needs, which are often entirely different from the kind of general recommendations and short-term trading news provided by Weiss Research to a large number of subscribers without regard for personal financial goals and individual circumstances.

 

Why do I receive statements from Fidelity Investments if my account is with Weiss Capital Management?

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For safety and transparency, your assets are always held in an account that is both registered to and accessible by you at our custodian, Fidelity Investments. We direct and manage the activity within your account based on our agreement with you. All client funds are held on your behalf by our custodian, one of the nation's premier custodians in the investment industry today.

The Limited Power of Attorney extended to us as your investment adviser affords us trading authorization only—at no time do we ever have possession or custody of your money or investments.

For additional protection, your account held at Fidelity Investments is protected by the Security Investors Protection Corporation (SIPC). SIPC protects your assets up to $100,000 in cash, $400,000 in securities, for a maximum total of $500,000. You also have excess SIPC insurance coverage, provided by Customer Asset Protection Company (CAPCO), a licensed Vermont insurance company that has received an A+ credit and financial strength rating from Standard & Poor's®, to provide you with total net equity protection, covering the same asset classes as SIPC on the remainder of your assets.

Of course, though this insurance helps protect you from brokerage or institutional failures, it cannot protect you from losses that may occur as a result of the rise and fall in the market value of investments in your account.

 

Do you offer financial planning, estate planning, or tax advice?

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At Weiss Capital Management, our focus is on preserving and growing your wealth, which is our unique specialty. As an independent investment advisory firm, we do not offer financial planning, estate planning or tax advice.

Naturally, we understand the major issues involved in financial planning, tax and estate planning, and can offer you general guidance. However, we are not attorneys or licensed tax planners. For specific estate planning or tax advice, we encourage you to seek licensed, professional counsel.

 

How is Weiss Capital Management compensated?

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As an independent, Registered Investment Adviser, clients compensate us directly in the form of annual management fees based on the market value of their account(s). However, as a by-product of actively managing your portfolio and effecting securities transactions in your account, you may, in addition to our management fee, pay transaction commissions to the brokers we use to facilitate trading.

Through negotiation, and by virtue of our volume, we have arranged reduced commission rates and institutional trading privileges for our client accounts with our trading partner and custodian. Weiss Capital Management does not share in or receive any portion of these commissions, though each client benefits from these reduced trading costs in his/her account.

 

I don't live in Florida. Can I still do business with you?

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Weiss Capital Management serves clients all over the U.S. In fact, the majority of our clients live outside our local area and many have never physically visited our offices. In this day and age of electronic communication options, we find that we can connect well even without a face-to-face meeting. In fact, because we are not geographically convenient to many of our clients, we try even harder to deliver superior service through various channels, such as email, video Webinars, phone calls and mail.

Weiss financial advisors are always available to assist you during regular business hours. Our office is open Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. Please call 800-814-3045 or click here to contact us.

 

What are your hours of operation?

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Weiss Capital Management financial advisors are available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. Click here for complete contact information. Weiss Capital Management observes all market holidays.

You also have 24/7 access to your account information via Fidelity Investments Account View at: https://www.fidelityaccountview.com/ and via our Web site at www.WeissCM.com. Please call us at 800-814-3045 for help accessing this information.