Custody is why platforms can die without your money dying with them — and why scams self-custody. What custodians do, the graveyard's proof, and the two questions that expose fakes.
Fiduciary duty vs suitability vs Reg BI, dual registrants, fee-only vs fee-based — and the two written questions that settle what any adviser actually owes you.
PFOF explained: the routing mechanics, the genuine controversy, the Robinhood disclosure settlement, and what a retail investor can actually do about it.
Wealthfront verification report: adviser and brokerage registrations, how the cash sweep and FDIC pass-through actually work, and the live registry scan.
AUM is the number the industry lives on. The regulatory vs marketing versions, why fees make it oxygen, and the three skeptic's moves: average account, AUM-per-employee, and the trend.
Betterment verification report: the SEC adviser + FINRA broker structure, what the Form ADV shows about scale and revenue, and the live registry scan — read before you fund.
Expense ratios are deducted invisibly from returns and compound for decades — the difference between 0.05% and 1% can be six figures. What the number means and the two-minute audit.
The ERISA notice your pension sends every year discloses its solvency. The three numbers that matter — funding percentage, allocation, PBGC backstop — and what to do with a bad one.
Recap Investing was a SEC-registered sustainable robo-advisor that once lived at this domain. What the public record shows, why it likely didn't make it, and what its story teaches platform users.
Amana Funds explained: how Saturna Capital's halal screening works, the honest performance trade-offs, and why these funds survived decades while values-based robo-advisors died.