Corporate Headquarters, Irvine CA Index Funds Advisors, Inc.
19200 Von Karman Ave.,
Suite 150
Irvine, CA 92612
Toll Free: 1-888-643-3133
Local Phone: 949-502-0050
Fax: 949-502-0048
Our corporate office is located in the Atrium Building in Irvine, CA, which
is very close to Orange County's John Wayne airport. View
Directions Online Print
Version of Directions
Index Funds Advisors, Inc. (IFA)
is a fee-only Independent Financial Advisor (ifa), registered with the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission. IFA incorporated on
March 5, 1999
and also is a 50% owner of IFA Canada, Inc. (see ifacanada.com).
Index Funds Advisors (IFA) is a fee-only independent financial advisor that provides wealth management
by utilizing risk-appropriate, returns-optimized, and tax-managed
portfolios of index funds. IFA founder, Mark Hebner and the team
at IFA have done extensive research as shown on this web site
and the #1
ranked book on index funds. This research leads our
clients to the optimal money management strategy, net of our
advisory fees and taxes. IFA completely avoids the futile, speculative, and unnecessary
cost-generating activities of stock, time, manager,
and style picking.
Instead, our investment strategy employs a disciplined, quantitative
approach, emphasizing broad diversification and consistent exposure
to the structural trends of
publicly traded markets around the world, with an overweighting
of small and value priced companies. In short, we invest in capitalism.
The IFA advice is based on the highly respected research
indexes designed by Eugene Fama and Kenneth French and documented
in their empirical and peer-reviewed publications. The two
professors rank
high on total downloads per paper among 30.5 million downloads on the Social Sciences Research Network. Our current and independent
advice incorporates 80 years of IFA Indexes and Indexfolio risk
and return data, third generation index fund designs and
25 years of refined passive trading techniques employed by
Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA.)
IFA does not accept payments from DFA or from any other recommended
investments. IFA is exclusively paid by its 2,000+ clients
for its advice on the optimal wealth management of their assets.
IFA plays several roles in the process of providing investment advice. They may be summarized with these seven roles:
The Expert: You need an advisor who can provide expertise in assessing the state of your finances and developing risk-appropriate investment strategies to help you meet your goals.
The Independent Voice: The global financial turmoil of the past two years has demonstrated the value of an independent and objective voice in a world full of product pushers and salespeople.
The Listener: The emotions triggered by financial upheaval are real. IFA will listen to your fears, seek out the issues driving those feelings and provide practical long-term answers.
The Teacher: Getting you beyond the fear-and-flight phase of investing often is just a matter of teaching you about risk and return, the power of diversification, the importance of asset allocation and the virtue of discipline.
With IFA's extensive investor education program, we have a unique set of tools to be your teacher.
The Architect: Once these lessons are understood, IFA becomes an architect, helping you to build a long-term wealth management strategy that caters to your own risk capacity and lifetime goals.
The Coach: Even when the strategy is in place, doubts and fears will inevitably arise in your mind. At this point, IFA becomes a coach, reinforcing academic investment principles and keeping you on track.
The Guardian: Beyond these roles is a long-term role as a kind of lighthouse keeper or guardian, scanning the horizon for issues that may affect you and keeping you informed.
IFA adds value through matching people with portfolios by carefully qualifying and quantifying 5 dimensions of an investor's Risk Capacity and matching it to 5 dimensions of a portfolio's Risk
Exposure. This process produces investor-specific optimal
returns by applying the IFA proprietary concept of 10dRisk™.
IFA obtains academically identified capital market rates of returns
for its clients from about 17,000 public companies in the U.S.
and about 40 other countries around the world. IFA then designs
highly tax-managed and low cost trading strategies, maintains
ongoing proper risk exposures through rebalancing, manages cash
inflows and outflows, and provides online monthly
and inception to date detailed measurements of client performance
relative to the IFA Indexes and other traditional benchmarks.
This ongoing reporting on performance, gains, income and tax reporting
is exclusively available at IFA and adds significant value since
measurement is essential to improvement.
This process positions our clients for an investment experience
that optimizes the trade off between risk and return, based on 81 years
of historical index data.
IFA manages brokerage, IRA, 401k, 403b,
profit sharing, and all other investment accounts. We also facilitate IRA
rollovers from 401ks and 403bs. IFA also provides investment advice to
individuals, trusts, corporations, non-profits, and public and private
institutions. For institutional accounts, please see our Institutional
Division website: ifa-i.com.
The chart below shows IFA's growth of assets under management since inception
in 1999.
IFA Clients Across This Great Land
IFA assists clients in creating and purchasing diversified
portfolios of index funds, primarily from Dimensional Fund Advisors (see The DFA
Brochure -- also see Transparency in Mutual Funds), Vanguard, Fidelity and Barclays Global Investors (iShares). Dimensional Fund Advisors strives to deliver the performance
of capital markets and add value through portfolio design and trading.
The firm departs from the rules and rigidity of traditional index funds
and avoids the cost-generating activity of stock picking and market timing.
Instead DFA focuses on the dimensions of capital markets that reward
investors and they deliver them as intelligently and effectively as possible.
Their indexes tend to overweight small cap and value stocks, where expected
returns are greater. Over 1,000 Investment Advisors rated DFA as
the best overall company in the mutual fund business in several
surveys. We primarily use their funds to create globally diversified
portfolios of index funds. DFA funds are only available
to individual investors through DFA approved investment
advisors. IFA is approved for the purchase of DFA funds, but receives no
compensation from DFA or any other investments. For institutional investors, we design diversified index manager portfolios to minimize vendor concentration risk.
You may select Charles Schwab & Company (Asset Protection), Fidelity Investments
or TD Ameritrade as the custodian for your account. (see SIPC)
If you already have an account with any of these firms, you
can easily assign your account to our Master Account to become one of
our clients.
We also have an IFA Advisor Network program,
where select financial advisors license the information and tools on
our web site for their prospective clients and existing clients. These advisors have a license agreement
with IFA and are approved to use the materials on this site. Advisors
without such an agreement are not authorized to use any of our materials,
including but not limited to, the investor education and asset allocation
tools. If your advisor is using these tools without authorization, please
take note of their ethics.
Top Row Left: Jackson Lin, Mike Auchterlonie, Martin Ortiz, Cindy Mason, Robert Bray, Dan Gleason, Ben Brinkerhoff, Brad Von grote, Venkat Yarlagadda, Roger Trinwith, Laura Gomez, Rajiv Patel, Eddie Wong, Jay Franklin, Michelle Atkinson, John Resurrecion, Gordon Shuler. Bottom Row Left:Anne Page, Brendan Connelly, Cheri Franklin, Denise Delaney, Mark Hebner, Becky Vasquez, Ted Fischer, Mary Brunson, Dave Mertz. Dan and Patricia Solin are not shown.
Mark T. Hebner
President and Founder
Mark Hebner is the
founder and President of Index Funds Advisors, Inc., author of
the ifa.com and indexfunds.com web sites, and the book, Index
Funds: The 12-Step Program for Active Investors. He has been
nominated as the author of one of the three all-time greatest investment
books, along with Warren Buffett and John Bogle. He does a weekly radio program, is a frequent
lecturer and has attended over thirty investment conferences and
is considered the leading internet provider of information on index
funds and especially information on Dimensional Funds Advisors
mutual funds and portfolios of the research indexes used by DFA.
He is an Investment Advisor Representative (Series 7 and 65) and
has a Masters in Business Administration from the University of
California at Irvine and a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from
the University of New Mexico with a specialization in Nuclear Pharmacy.
Mr. Hebner was a member of the Young Presidents' Organization for
over 20 years and is currently a member of the Worlds' President
Organization and the Chief Executives Organization.
From 1975 to 1985, Mark was President, CEO and co-founder of Syncor
International (previously a public company - SCOR). In Jan. 2003,
Syncor was acquired by Cardinal Health for approximately $850 million.
As a Cardinal
Health division, Syncor is the world's leading provider of nuclear
pharmacy services. Through an integrated network of over 150 nuclear
pharmacies, Syncor compounds, dispenses and distributes patient-specific,
unit-dose radiopharmaceuticals to more than 7,000 hospitals and outpatient
clinics. Through his experience at Syncor, Mr. Hebner gained
insight as to how public companies operate, raise capital, and promote
their securities.
Mr. Hebner has been the Chairman of two Global Financial Seminars,
is a respected speaker and is a frequent attendee of investment conferences
so that he can keep up with the latest research for his books and
web site. He has met and learned from some of the brightest minds
in the business. He has attended lectures by William Sharpe, Paul
Samuelson, John Bogle, Warren Buffett, Eugene Fama, Sr. and Jr.,
Kenneth French, Rex Sinquefield, Roger Ibbottson, David Booth, Burton
Malkiel, Jeremy Siegel, Terrance Odean, Brad Barber, Robert Arnott,
Campbell Harvey, William Bernstein, Larry Swedroe, Paul Merriman,
Michael Mauboussin, James
Surowiecki, Daniel Solin, Sunil Wahal, James L. Davis, Weston
Wellington and many more.
Corporate
Office
19200 Von Karman Ave,
Suite 150
Irvine, CA 92612
Toll Free: 1-888-643-3133
Local #: 949-502-0050
Fax: 949-502-0048
Advisor Assistant:
Laura Gomez
949-428-0458
laura@ifa.com
Professors Eugene Fama and Kenneth French, DFA Conference 2006. See Step 2: Fama and French
Warren Buffett - who says
"the best way to own common stocks is through an index
fund." - 2000
Jack Bogle, Founder of Vanguard, at the Super Bowl of Indexing - Dec
3, 2007 (Book) See Step 2: Bogle
Professor William Sharpe (Nobel Laureate) at Schwab Impact Conference
- 2007 (Book) See Step 2: Sharpe
Professor Harry Markowitz
(Nobel Laureate) in La Jolla, CA - IFA is pleased to announce that Harry Markowitz
is a member of IFA's Advisory Board. See Step 2: Markowitz.
Bob Pisani of CNBC on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange - May
2007
David Booth, CEO of Dimensional Fund Advisors
(DFA) visits IFA Irvine on July 24, 2009. See Step 2: Booth
Dan Solin
Senior Vice President
Patricia Solin
Investment Advisor Representative
Dan and Patricia Solin work
as a team to provide investors with superior investment education
and service.
Dan has appeared on CBS’s The Early Show, Fox
Television’s The O’Reilly Factor and Fox
and Friends, MSNBC’s Weekend Economic Review,
CNN’s Money, and Bloomberg Television. Dan is
a frequent speaker on investment-related topics and presents
before large corporate audiences and topic-oriented interest
groups. He has testified
before a congressional subcommittee investigating the fairness
of the mandatory arbitration system imposed on all investors
by the securities industry.
Dan is a Senior Vice President for Index Funds Advisors (IFA).
Dan is a Registered Investment Advisor Representative (Series 65),
and he resides in Bonita Springs, Florida.
Patricia is a graduate of California State University, Fresno. She
also has Certificate of Legal Studies from U.C.L.A. Her employment history includes serving as a Manager with Price
Waterhouse in San Francisco and as President and Chief Operating
officer of a manufacturer. Patricia is a Registered Investment Advisor Representative (series
65). She resides in Bonita Springs, Florida.
Corporate
Office
19200 Von Karman Ave.,
Suite 150
Irvine, CA 92612
Advisor Assistant:
Anne Page
949-428-0438
anne@ifa.com
Gordon Shuler
Investment Advisor Representative
Vice President
Gordon Shuler has been
an investment services professional for over 10 years and is an
Investment Advisor Representative (Series 65). He has completed
two Dimensional Fund Advisors Conferences for Investment Advisors
and is an expert in Index Funds investing.
He has presented a variety of investment topics to hundreds of seminar
attendees and has periodically provided commentary and interviews
on local radio stations. Previously in the computer industry for
25 years, his experience provides a solid background for the highly
technical investment methodology offered by IFA.
He was previously employed at large high technology
firms including General Electric Co. and Hewlett-Packard, as
well as several small start-up firms in the high technology area
of computer-aided engineering.
He has a B.S. Degree in Production Management
from the California State University, Long Beach, with a specialization
in Operations Research & Statistics.
Corporate
Office
19200 Von Karman Ave.,
Suite 150
Irvine, CA 92612
Toll Free: 1-888-643-3133
Local #: 949-502-0050
Fax: 949-502-0048
Advisor Assistant:
Laura Gomez
949-428-0458
laura@ifa.com
Dave Mertz
J.D., CFP®
Investment Advisor Representative
Vice President
Dave Mertz is an attorney licensed
in Arizona and a Certified Financial Planner.
He has published over fifty articles on insurance, savings,
and investing.
He has served on the faculty at The University of California at
San Diego, Extension Education Department of Business and Management
where he has taught ‘Risk Management’ and ‘Managing
Your Money’.
He has consulted for the City of San Diego Retirement System,
has been a designated expert witness on insurance in civil court
and consulted on securities regulatory matters for investment advisers.
He has been offering financial advice to clients since 1983.
Corporate
Office
19200 Von Karman Ave.,
Suite 150
Irvine, CA 92612
Toll Free: 1-888-643-3133
Local #: 949-502-0050
Fax: 949-502-0048
Advisor Assistant:
Anne Page
949-428-0438
anne@ifa.com
Brendan Connelly
Investment Advisor Representative
Vice President
Brendan's varied financial services
industry experience began in 1989 as Wall Street District Manager
for Dale Carnegie & Assoc., Inc. He now manages our Midwest
regional office in
Madison, Wisconsin.
At Allen Capital Markets he helped initiate the effort to create
a secondary market for private equity through Offroad Capital and
the NYPPe. With Green Cay Asset Management, a hedge fund headed
by a Sir John Templeton protégé, he led business
development functions. He also served as an advisor with estate
planning firm Legacy Financial, specializing in small to medium-sized
business owners. This direct experience with the folly of active
money management led to his conviction in risk quantification through
globally diversified index funds as key to proper investment strategy.
Brendan lives in Madison with his wife and four children, three
of which were adopted in
2008. He received a B.A. from Connecticut State University
and today is an avid triathlete, sailor and
advocate for worthy causes such as the DuRunRun,
now a nine-event State-wide duathlon for kids as a fundraiser for
Special Olympics that he started from scratch in 2003.
Midwest
Regional Office
2918 Marketplace Drive,
Suite 111
Madison, WI 53719-5328
Advisor Assistant:
Martin Ortiz
949-428-0450
martin@ifa.com
Denise Delaney
CFP®
Investment Advisor Representative
Vice President
Denise Delaney has been a Certified
Financial Planner® since 1992 and has served in the financial
services industry since 1988. Denise specializes in serving
high net worth investors. She enjoys the challenges and works
to create investment solutions for the often complex situations
that high net worth investors must consider including all
aspects of investing. Areas of focus range from personal
portfolio construction to company 401(k) plans, and planned giving
through charitable organizations such as an Endowment or Foundation.
Denise’s experience in dealing with these issues has given
her the ability to navigate through the overall process to create
well thought out investment solutions using a “globally
diversified portfolio of index funds” tailored to each
individual’s specific and unique circumstances such as
minimizing unnecessary costs due to high fees and taxes which
often result with an active management strategy.
She strives to create lifelong relationships with her clients
and their families to create the most optimal investment solutions.
Los Angeles/Pasadena, California
Regional Representative cell: 626-506-6066 direct: 626-698-1889
Corporate
Office
19200 Von Karman Ave.,
Suite 150
Irvine, CA 92612
Advisor Assistant:
Martin Ortiz
949-428-0450
martin@ifa.com
Becky Vasquez
CFP®
Investment Advisor Representative
Vice President
Becky has 23 years of experience in the financial services industry. She received her Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation from University of California, Irvine. She is also an Investment Advisor Representative (Series 65).
Becky specializes in advising high net worth clients. With her expertise in asset allocation, retirement planning and tax efficiencies, she is able to assist investors in achieving their investment and retirement objectives.
Becky also has many years of experience in advising Investment Committees for Endowments, Foundations, and Pension Plans. Through IFA Institutional, Becky enables trustees and fiduciaries to fulfill their responsibilities by adhering to the principles outlined in the Prudent Investor Rule.
Becky works with companies to construct globally diversified, low-cost 401(k) solutions for their employees. High management costs and mutual fund fees erode employees’ returns and retirement security. Becky strives diligently to ensure that employees are offered the best investment choices.
Becky lives in Huntington Beach, California with her husband and two teenage children. She volunteers in her community, at her church, and at her children’s schools.
Corporate
Office
19200 Von Karman Ave.,
Suite 150
Irvine, CA 92612
Toll Free: 1-888-643-3133
Local Phone: 949-502-0050
Fax: 949-502-0048
cell: 949-300-2267
Advisor Assistant:
Anne Page
949-428-0438
anne@ifa.com
Ted Fischer
Investment Advisor Representative
Vice President
Ted Fischer manages IFA’s Westlake
Village, California office. With more than 17 years of experience,
Ted advises clients regarding risk-appropriate investments for
long-term wealth management. Prior to joining IFA, Ted assisted
private clients in the formation of financial strategies to maximize
their investments. Additionally, he served as a Senior Investment
Consultant and a Life/Health agent for both Charles Schwab and
Wells Fargo Securities.
Ted has particular expertise in retirement planning, estate
planning and investment analysis. He is devoted to learning the
unique needs of each client and providing them with an individualized
investment plan to achieve their personal goals.
Ted graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor
of Science in Marketing, with a minor in Finance. Ted is an Investment
Advisor Representative with a Series 65 license.
Ted is an avid sports enthusiast who enjoys mountain biking, snow
skiing, coaching soccer, and spending time with his family. He
lives in Newbury Park with his wife and two daughters.
Westlake
Village Office
920 Hampshire Road
Suite A9
Westlake Village, CA 91361
Toll Free: 1-866-502-1737
Local Phone: 805-494-1737
Fax: 805-494-8130
Advisor Assistant:
Anne Page
949-428-0438
anne@ifa.com
Brad
von Grote
Investment Advisor Representative
Brad has been in the investment industry
since 1999 as a traditional stock broker and as an Investment Advisor
Representative. Brad started with American Express Financial Advisors.
Then as the owner of VON GROTE Financial & Insurances services
in Huntington Beach, CA acquired extensive experience with all
forms of stock market investing and financial planning. As a former
active trader and stock broker, “I have seen first hand the
wrong way to invest in the stock market. Index investing provides
appropriate risk and long term return on a very low cost platform.”
Brad is married with two teenage boys and lives in Huntington
Beach, CA. He is the past Event Chair and current Registration
Chair for “The Relay for Life” which benefits the
American Cancer Society. He says, “Please check your local
area for a Relay near you - it will truly do your heart good.
Corporate
Office
19200 Von Karman Ave.,
Suite 150
Irvine, CA 92612
Toll Free: 1-888-643-3133
Local Phone: 949-502-0050
Fax: 949-502-0048
Ben Brinkerhoff, Chief Operating Officer,
began his career as a quantitative and economic consultant for
Fortune 500 firms, most recently for the Qatar Economic Zones in
the Middle East. It was Ben’s love of economics and statistics
that attracted him to IFA.
Ben excels at helping clients from all backgrounds understand the key concepts
embodied in IFA’s investing approach. While he works to expand and enhance
IFA’s strategic vision, his primary goal is to ensure all IFA clients receive
wonderful customer service and have their all their investing needs addressed
promptly and thoroughly.
Ben graduated Magna Cum Laude with B.A. degrees in both Economics and History
from the University of California at San Diego. He became an Accredited Investment
Fiduciary AIF® in 2008 in order expand the pattern of fiduciary excellence
offered by IFA. Ben is currently working on the CFP accreditation and is active
in his community and church. He lives in Tustin, California with his wife Elissa,
their son Ari, and twin daughters Ahava and Asha.
Corporate
Office
19200 Von Karman Ave.,
Suite 150
Irvine, CA 92612
Toll Free: 1-888-643-3133
Local Phone: 949-502-0050
Fax: 949-502-0048
Advisor Assistant:
Martin Ortiz
949-428-0450
martin@ifa.com
Venkat Yarlagadda
Investment Advisor Representative
Venkat Yarlagadda is an Investment
Advisor Representative (series 65) and is located in IFA’s
Manhattan branch office. A seasoned financial professional, Venkat
is committed to servicing the financial services needs of the New
York tri- state area. Venkat specializes in offering customized
and personalized investment advisory services to individuals, 401(k)
plans, pensions, profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable
organizations, corporations and other business entities.
Venkat was previously employed and consulted at Fortune 500 firms,
including Bell South, Honeywell, McGraw-Hill and Oracle, as well
as several technology start-up firms. Venkat has a B.S. Degree
in Computer Sciences & Engineering from Bangalore University,
India, with a specialization in Operations Research & Statistics.
Manhattan,
New York Office
Index Funds Advisors
641 Lexington Avenue,
14th Floor
New York, NY 10022
Advisor Assistant:
Laura Gomez
949-428-0458
laura@ifa.com
Cheri Franklin
Investment Advisor Representative
Cheri Franklin is
an Investment Advisor Representative (Series 65) and is located
in IFA’s Irvine, California office. With more than 20 years
of experience in the financial services industry, Cheri applies
a dedicated focus to offer customized retirement planning advisory
services to a small select group of clients, including company
401(k) retirement plans and affluent private investors.
“By maintaining my focus on retirement solutions for companies
and select individuals, I am able to deliver a high degree of personalized
service that is required for clients to enjoy a rewarding investment
experience. My goal is to ensure that my financial services team
and I work in sync on behalf of my clients. In doing so, I can
eliminate anxiety and confusion and facilitate the proper organization
of the financial futures of those who matter most -- my clients
and their valued employees.” - Cheri Franklin
Cheri lives with her husband and two Miniature Pinschers in Laguna
Hills, California.
Corporate
Office
19200 Von Karman Ave.,
Suite 150
Irvine, CA 92612
IFA President, Mark Hebner, acquired a 1937 First Edition copy of Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich. This is an amazing book, with an estimated 60 million copies sold since 1937. This makes Think and Grow Rich the #20 best selling book of all books (the Bible is #1) and the #1 selling business book of all time.
When he opened the cover, he found a loose piece of paper, presumed to be owned by the businessman who originally bought this book. This typewriter created document from approximately 1937, spells out a timeless code of business ethics that resonated with the standards and policies Hebner instills in all IFA employees. IFA has adopted it as a policy of conduct and wanted to share it with you.