CUSTOMER STORY: AN RIA PARTNER WITH THE FLEXIBILITY TO ADAPT TO YOUR SPECIFIC BUSINESS NEEDS AN INTERVIEW WITH JEFF SHELTON, PRESIDENT, AND DAN EASLEY, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, AT SHELTON FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. “ Managing portfolios is significantly easier and more efficient with TCA. Dan Easley | Chief Operating Officer, Shelton Financial Group, Inc. ” should be more of a partnership, not a vendor relationship. The other custodians that we work with feel like more of a vendor relationship than a partnership. Vendors come and go, but partners, they tend to stick. JEFF SHELTON, PRESIDENT How is Trust Company of America (TCA) different from other custodians? Jeff: I wanted to be independent so that I could offer what was in the best interest of my clients, and I need my custodian to be independent as well so what we can always do what's in the best interest of the client. TCA is independent and responsive to our needs. Dan: TCA’s ability to adapt to our specific needs is unique.

We have worked with other custodians who hear what we say but can’t actually accomplish what we need. TCA has the flexibility to provide what we need. Unlike other custodians, we aren’t pressed into a box and required to do things the TCA way.

We are able to do things the SFG way, which is important to us. Dan: That’s true, and we’ve worked with a variety of different custodians. They hear us, they talk to us, and they send people to our office who understand what our issues are, but to translate that into a change, into something that’s meaningful for our office, is rare. With TCA, it’s different.

We want to be heard and we want to know that it’s a partnership, that we’re not a small fish in a large pond. TCA gives us that. What do you like about working with TCA? Jeff: What we value with TCA is the partnership. We think the best custodian/advisor relationship DAN EASLEY, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER (continued on the reverse) . How is the service you get from TCA? Jeff: We have a single point of contact, her name's Melissa, and having someone who knows us and knows our business brings great value to my service team. They think that she's fantastic, she's highly responsive, and she’s incredibly knowledgeable. When we call some of our other custodians, the rule here at our office is, if you call three times and you get the same answer twice we're going to go with that. We never have to do that with TCA. We call Melissa and get the right answer every time, and if she doesn't have the answer right away, she'll get it, and believe me, that single call and that single point of contact is a big deal. Has the Liberty platform from TCA made your practice more efficient? Dan: Absolutely.

What takes many hours to accomplish at one of our other custodians takes 10-15 minutes to accomplish at TCA. Our trading staff can accomplish in much less time, and actually more accurately, the trades, the everyday work and, in particular, our big quarterly trade. It is significantly easier, simpler and more efficient with TCA. Are there differences you see with the Liberty platform compared to other technologies? Dan: TCA’s ability to do multiple strategies in a single account is a big deal to us.

Implementing this type of strategy for a client at a different custodian would require five times the paperwork. It would be a complex, time consuming process for the client, time consuming for our staff, and potentially create lots of opportunity for error when you do five sets of paperwork. With TCA, it’s one set of paperwork with the strategies listed out, and it’s very easy to adjust those strategies as needed. What would you say to other advisors about TCA? Jeff: There’s a different level of access at TCA than we get with other custodians.

At TCA, we have access to the decision-makers. We don't have access to the decision-makers at any of the other custodians. Having access to the decision-makers at TCA is a great value for a firm our size. Dan: I think one of the great values TCA offers our firm is the ability to be flexible with our clients and the ability to bring them simply what they need.

We are offered lots of great technology out there. We’re offered 37-page reports that we can give to our clients with huge amounts of data that really only serves to distract them from the real issues that they’re facing. The beta on five different indexes is pretty irrelevant to their ability to pay their bills for the rest of their life.

With TCA, we get simplicity and efficiency. TCA enables us to serve our clients in the way that we want to serve our clients. At Trust Company of America, we improve your efficiencies and empower you to achieve higher levels of success. Discover how we can help transform your business: contact us today at 1-800-955-7808 or visit trustamerica.com Since 1972, Trust Company of America (TCA) has been a champion of Registered Investment Advisors, dedicated to helping them realize their full potential. TCA is the only independent RIA custodian offering fully integrated real-time technology, consultative services and back office support built exclusively for RIAs. © 2016 Trust Company of America.

All Rights Reserved. Member FDIC. Investment Products: Not FDIC Insured - No Bank Guarantee – May Lose Value. .