FAQs
Willow’s certificate programs are designed to give financial advisors the tools and knowledge to best support specific groups of consumers. This is not a formal designation and there are restrictions as to how the advisors can message completion of the course in their public facing materials.
In order to earn the Advisor for Women™ or Advisor for NextGen™ Certificate, an advisor must:
Willow has an extensive content library and leverages both our in-house expertise as well as that of our Financial Life Coaches to develop and maintain all content on our platform. Willow Financial Life Coaches are put through a rigorous evaluation process that includes education, business structure, emotional intelligence, commitment to growth, background and ability to embrace the Willow way. Additional details on this can be provided upon request.
Yes. Willow is a recognized CE sponsor for CFP®, Investments and Wealth Institute, and Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts. All of Willow’s trainings are 50-minutes in length, include a 10 question assessment at the end (which requires an attestation of individual completeness) and are each eligible for continuing education credit for for CFP®, CIMA®, CIMC®, RMA®, CPWA® and CDFA®.
Yes. We encourage advisors to include the fact that they have completed the program. Upon completion of the program, the advisor will receive their certificate as well as our Usage Guide which includes detailed information about how they can and cannot use their certificate badge and refer to the program across their marketing channels. A copy of this can be provided at request. We encourage all advisors to get approval from their marketing and compliance teams before including in their materials and social presence.
Willow uses semantic matching and a proprietary algorithm to match advisors with potential clients. We use the data imputed from the potential investor and compare that to the information the advisor enters in their client criteria settings. Advisors are able to define the types of clients they are looking for across a wide spectrum of attributes including asset minimum, geography, personality, life stage, etc.
Yes. Willow can include any necessary disclosures on your advisor profile and/or to the matched potential client, whichever is preferred by your marketing and/or compliance department.
Additionally, Willow requires that the advisor approve their profile before it is made visible to matched investors. We encourage all advisors to ensure the content meets the requirements of their internal marketing and/or compliance program and secure any necessary approvals.
Yes. Any compliments, feedback or complaints for any of our advisors or coaches can be sent to members@trustwillow.com for our Advisor Review Committee to review and respond to in a timely manner. Willow does reserve the right to remove an advisor from the program if they are not upholding the standards.
We can help you determine if your firm has approved Willow and if you are a good fit for the program. If approval is needed, we would be happy to work with your compliance and/or vendor management team to start the process. Click here to schedule a time to chat.
If you have any additional questions that are not covered on this page, please reach out to members@trustwillow.com and a member of the Willow team will be in touch.
For Individuals
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Willow Partner Advisors, LLC (“Willow”) is not affiliated with any third-party Advisers and neither Willow nor any of its representatives are authorized to provide investment advice on behalf of a Willow or to act for or bind as an Adviser. Each matched Adviser has entered into an agreement with Willow under which the Adviser pays Willow a combination of fees. The fees paid by the Advisers to Willow are paid irrespective of whether you become a client of an Adviser and are not passed along to you. However, the presence of these arrangements may affect an Adviser’s willingness to negotiate below their standard investment advisory fees, and therefore may affect the overall fees paid by clients introduced by Willow through the Willow platform. Please ask your Adviser for more information about their fees.
Willow provides a matching service based on a computer algorithm to match the data you provide Willow to an Advisor. Willow only matches clients to Advisors that have taken and passed our certification courses and signed up for our matching service platform.
The Advisors we refer, have all paid Willow for both the courses and the matching service platform. Advisers provide cash compensation to Willow of up to $5,200 per year in connection with client referral services, and up to $800 per year in connection with participation in Willow’s certificate program. Such compensation arrangements may be subject to discounts.
Willow does not match clients to Advisors that do not pay for these services. This is a conflict of interest. To mitigate this conflict the matching algorithm directs clients to Advisors based solely on a correlation of the personal data you provide with the experience, background and beliefs of Advisors that have paid to be on the Willow platform.
Willow solicits and publishes testimonials from our existing clients and Advisors. Willow does not compensate clients or Advisors for testimonials in any way. Interactions with individual Advisors will vary.
Willow does not guarantee your interactions with the matched Advisor(s) will be the same as represented in any testimonial or will generate any specific investment result. Testimonials are not a guarantee of future performance or success.
Neither Willow nor its affiliates are engaged in providing investment advice. Willow does not receive, control, access, or monitor client funds, accounts, or portfolios. Willow does not warrant any services of any Adviser and makes no claim or promise of any result or success of retaining an Adviser. Your use of the Willow platform, including the decision to retain the services of any Adviser, is at your sole discretion and risk. Any services rendered by an Advisers you contact are solely that of the Adviser.
Willow and its affiliates are not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any information contained on third-party websites.
