How long has Paragon been in business?

• Paragon has been in business since 1986. During that time, it has had three different names. It began as The Center for Financial Excellence in 1986. In 1992, the name was changed to Paragon Capital Management, and the company was registered with the SEC. In 2005, the name was changed one more time to Paragon Wealth Management.

What makes Paragon different from all the other investment companies?

• Active money management. Our focus is on actively managing your portfolio and adjusting it to current market conditions.
• Performance. See Paragon’s track record for full disclosures and performance numbers.
• Experience. We have over 20 years of experience working in both good and bad markets that are difficult to navigate and constantly changing.
• Fiduciary responsibility. We have fiduciary responsibility, which means we have a legal obligation to put your interest ahead of our own.
• No commissions or surrender fees. Our advisors do not receive commissions, and their primary focus is on money management. We do not sell life insurance, annuities or other financial products. We will not create a financial plan and then recommend you purchase self-serving products. We do not charge a surrender fee if you decide to move your money out of an investment.

What do you mean by “actively managed money”?

• See our Top Flight Investment Strategies and our Managed Income Investment Strategies.

What are ETFs?

• An Exchange-traded Fund (ETF) is an index fund that is traded on stock exchanges, similar to stocks or bonds. They hold assets like stocks, bond or futures. There are all types of ETFs for items such as large or small US companies, real estate investment trusts, international stocks, bonds and gold. In our opinion, ETFs are the most popular, reliable and useful offering introduced to the market in years.

Why do you use ETFs in your portfolios?

• ETFs provide the opportunity to gain precise strategic and tactical market exposure.
• They are also much more cost effective and tax efficient than traditional mutual funds.

How have your Managed Income (conservative)  and Top Flight (growth) portfolios performed over the years?

• Both portfolios have experienced considerable growth since they were created. Look at their performance records to see how they've done.

What is your minimum investment requirement?

• $200,000 for Asset Management services.
• $1,000,000 for Wealth Management services.

How do you charge for your services?

• We charge a management fee for our money management services. All of our portfolios returns show the net results after all management fees have been assessed.
• Our fees are charged quarterly. Since there are no redemption fees or surrender charges, clients are free to leave any time if they are dissatisfied. That means we must continuously earn your satisfaction.
• Our wealth managers do not receive commissions.

Where is my account custodied?

• Charles Schwab.

How often will you keep me updated and informed?

• We are committed to keeping you in the loop and involved with our management strategies. We strictly follow our commitments for Asset Management and Wealth Management.

What are the important differences between all various types of financial advisors?

• It can be difficult to sort through the maze of different types of “financial advisers,” because many of them are free to call themselves whatever they want. In the final analysis there are two major distinctions:
  
  
  • Whether they are selling cars, timeshares or financial products, salespeople are selling products to earn commissions, and they have no fiduciary responsibility. Usually when an adviser holds an insurance or brokerage license, he or she is a salesperson.
    
  • On the other hand, if an adviser is charging a management fee to manage your portfolio, he or she may have fiduciary responsibility. A relatively small percentage of advisers (including Paragon) are compensated purely through management fees.
    

What should I look for when hiring a financial advisor?

• Choosing the right adviser is an important decision that should not be taken lightly. There are certain commitments and characteristics you should look for before deciding on a financial advisor:
  
  
  • Are they fiduciary?
    
  • How many years of experience do they have?
    
  • What is their track record?
    
  • Do they sell products or receive commissions?
    
  • Do they charge a surrender fee?
    

Do Paragon employees invest in their own portfolio(s)?

• All Paragon employees invest 100% of their 401k savings in portfolios managed by Paragon.
• Many of the models and systems used by Paragon were originally developed by Dave Young, president and founder of Paragon, to manage his personal funds. He continues to invest significant portions of his personal net worth in Paragon portfolios.