Our Fees
- Tier One (Comprehensive Financial Plan)
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Tier One (Comprehensive Financial Plan)
The first tier includes developing your comprehensive written financial plan (for which there is no minimum asset requirement). The fee starts at $3000 for an individual or couple depending on the complexity of the client's financial affairs (plans entailing advice on businesses owned by a client are available for an additional charge). After our first (complimentary) meeting you will be provided a written fee estimate for this plan based upon the scope of services you need. You are billed 50% before we commence work, and the remainder on completion (in the event you choose to retain us for ongoing portfolio management as well, we discount the second 50% of the planning fee by $500 in consideration of our time saved by bundling the two services). The plan addresses all the topics as listed on the "Our Services" page under the Financial Planning tab, and also includes a recommended portfolio specified by type of asset such as stock vs. bond, large cap vs. small, value vs. growth, domestic vs. international (specific investment recommendations are included in our Tier Two/Asset Management Service). Clients will also have online access to our dynamic planning tool's "what if" scenario feature for 90 days after completion of the initial plan (the option of continuing access is available as part of our Teir Two (Asset Management) service and our annual "portfolio tuneup" service).
- Tier Two (Asset Management Service)
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Tier Two (Asset Management Service)
After we develop the plan, the second tier of services is the option of obtaining our portfolio construction and ongoing portfolio management service (for which a minimum invested asset requirement of $500,000 applies, so as to ensure the service is cost effective for all of us). Our asset management fee is a fixed fee calculated as a percentage of assets under our management, not to exceed 1% per year, billed quarterly in advance, as detailed in our written fee agreement provided to you at our first (complimentary) meeting. There is an additional fee payable to our professional portfolio managers, not to exceed .65 of 1%, which decreases on a sliding scale based on the size of the account and the total number of accounts they manage for our firm (as disclosed in more detail by our written fee agreement). Our fee varies by size of account, declining below 1% on a sliding scale as the account value exceeds One Million Dollars. This fee includes an annual review and rebalancing of the portfolio as well as an annual update of the other financial matters included in the initial financial plan. We conduct our annual client review by face-to-face meetings with our clients (or by teleconference, as preferred). In addition, we review the portfolio quarterly and provide detailed quarterly portfolio reports, including an update on personal finance and investing topics. For this fee, we are also available throughout the year for up to five hours of consultation time on any financial matters of concern beyond the investment portfolio.
For your protection, clients' funds that we manage under our Tier Two service are held by an independent custodian (typically, Charles Schwab) and clients are afforded direct access to their account information in four ways:
- Online through their Client Web Portal on our Clients' Entrance web page available 24/7;
- Online access directly to the custodian's website available 24/7;
- By paper and/or email, receiving periodic account statements the custodian provides clients directly.
- Online and by email or paper statements provided by our professional portfolio administrators.
We have no ability to draw upon client funds held by the custodian, other than to deduct our advisory fees as per our written client agreement. We are not affiliated with the Custodian. For more information on how this protects you from a Madoff-type fraud, click here or go to our FAQs page.
- A La Carte service (either hourly or fixed fee as agreed)
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A La Carte service (either hourly or fixed fee as agreed)
Clients for whom we have developed a comprehensive financial plan, but who do not meet the minimum assets requirement to qualify for our Tier Two (asset management) service may manage their own portfolios on an ongoing basis (and are free to incorporate our recommended portfolio design included in their comprehensive financial plan). These clients also may choose to consult with us thereafter about their portfolios and other financial concerns on an hourly "as needed" basis, at our current hourly rate, which will be billed monthly, as per our written fee agreement. Alternatively, our Tier One clients may choose to receive our "portfolio tuneup" service for a fixed fee on an annual basis, as agreed.
Our fees are totally transparent and disclosed to you in writing before you choose to hire us.
- Free Services
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Free Services
All clients, whether utilizing our Tier One or Tier Two level of services, receive at no extra charge their own personal financial web page, called the Client Web Portal, featuring:
- Online Document Vault - store critical documents such as wills, trusts, tax returns, birth certificates, passports, insurance policies, etc. Save time and stress by being able to locate what you need at a moment's notice, even if you are away from home, so long as you can access an internet connection. This is especially critical in the event of a crisis, such as a lost passport, the death of a loved one, earthquake or fire damage to your home, etc.
- Account Aggregation - single and secure login to all your accounts to view balances - not only investment accounts (managed by us, or not) but also checking, savings, retirement plans, mortages, credit cards, etc. Know where you stand in an instant by viewing your personal "balance sheet" . The Client Web Portal is protected by a high-level password and the latest online security (ask us for more information).
- Collaboration Tools - with client permission, other key advisors such as CPAs, attorneys and insurance agents can access your financial plan online to facilitate our team work when we collaborate with them on your financial matters.
Clients who also engage our services for ongoing portfolio management or for the annual financial plan and portfolio "tuneup" service will continue to receive access to their online financial plan and the "what if" scenario tools (clients not continuing with our firm after the initial financial plan will retain access to the online planning tools for the first 90 days after plan completion, and will continue to receive the free benefits listed above so long as our firms continues to utilize the existing vendors who offer those services).