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Fiduciary, Independent, Fee Only Financial Advisors
ASSETS UNDER MANAGED (AUM) SERVICE:
Optimized investment and complementary services
- We provide “Basic,” “Premium,” or “Executive” level services to these clients depending on the size of the assets we directly manage (Please see ONGOING FINANCIAL CONSULTING ARRANGEMENTS below). This may result in a much lower fee for clients in certain situations. Annualized fees are shown to the left. Suitable for those who want robust investment management service that is also tailored for tax optimization. We may make discretionary trades that are time-sensitive in the interest of tax optimization or take advantage of short-term volatilities.
- Under this service, We replicate the asset allocations of 3, 4, or 5-star mutual funds by Morningstar using exchange-traded funds. We use ultra-low expense exchange-traded fund products to keep fund expenses well under 0.07%. (ESG portfolios have slightly higher expenses.)
- We provide objective performance comparisons in an effort to match or exceed these top-performing mutual funds. Schwab, the custodian, produces these performance reports, abiding by Global Investment Performance Standards – GIPS®. We objectively compare our performance with the leading mutual funds using a net-of-fee basis in the most transparent and verifiable way for our clients.
- Optimized Diversified is different than Diversified Enough to be Legally Compliant. Many low-cost target-dated or allocated mutual funds follow barely compliant models to keep the expenses low. Such low-cost index-allocated mutual funds would not be allowed in institutions or corporations. This is because they are not optimally diversified, and they have concentrated risks in a few asset classes.
OUR FEES vs the INDUSTRY AVERAGE fees
Our fees are competitive and we avoid products that enrich broker dealers. We use low expense investment products often used by institutions.
Average Financial Planner's All In Fee (Management + Product Expenses): Mutual funds and Annuities enrich advisors' employers, broker dealers.
Ongoing Financial Consulting Arrangements (1 yr contract)
This service is for clients with investable assets that cannot be transferred to Schwab for our portfolio management. These assets could be an irrevocable trust account, 401 (k), or any other employer-sponsored asset. Pricing will be dependent on individual circumstances. Please schedule an appointment to discuss details. Fees are typically paid in two-thirds upfront and one-third halfway through.
Basic Service:
- Recommended for investable asset sizes less than $750K with a majority in tax-qualified accounts.
- Initial full comprehensive financial planning and ongoing updates as needed. In this service, we examine your finances in their totality. The assessment normally takes four months to complete, with 4 meetings in total expected. You will receive a detailed report of where you stand, a list of steps to take moving forward, and an assessment of how close you are to obtaining your financial goals. High-level assistance in strategy implementation included.
- Ongoing consultation on major financial topics (for example, mortgage refinancing, giving plan).
- Quarterly portfolio review, account maintenance, and recommendations (rebalancing and tax harvesting).
- High-level advice on held-away assets. Limited assistance in implementation on these accounts.
Premium Service:
- Recommended for investable asset size of less than $1.5M with some in unqualified taxable accounts. Or for those with mid-to-upper senior management-level compensation arrangements
- Includes all the services from Basic Service.
- Judicious investment management of existing investment portfolio. In complex situations, we recommend transferring as is to Schwab for us to execute trades more efficiently. Investment funds can be transferred to Schwab Brokerage Services without altering or creating complications. The changes could sometimes occur over several years to mitigate significant taxable realized gains.
- We provide fully diversified exchanged traded fund solutions that mimic top mutual funds. Using exchange-traded funds, we replicate the asset allocations of 4 or 5-star mutual funds by Morningstar. We provide objective performance comparisons to match or attempt to exceed these top-performing mutual funds on a net-of-fee basis.
- High-level tax strategies.
- Employee Benefits Assessment
- Insurance Policy Review or planning
- Budgeting – High-level strategy
- Monitor and advise on investment accounts that are held away (401K, Trust, or other restrictive accounts) up to 3 accounts.
Executive Service:
- Suitable for investable asset size greater than $1.5M. Or for those with executive-level compensation arrangements, Executive Deferred Compensation, Stock Options, Stock Grants, an executive-level employee of a private company with profit sharing, or other bespoke award arrangements.
- Includes all the services from Premium Service
- Complex financial planning strategies geared towards making generational wealth transfers or charitable giving involving trust or LLP creations or maintenance.
- Individual tax return strategy consultations by a CPA firm in Saint Paul MN, Lethert, Skwira, Schultz & Co. LLP, or other equivalent firms.
- Budgeting – more involved implementation strategy if the client wishes.
- More thorough monitoring and advice on investment accounts held away (401K, Trust, endowment fund, or other restrictive accounts) up to 7 accounts.
Discovery Advisory service:
Limited Time Engagement:
- This engagement will last 2 or 3 months to help you discover if we are the right financial advisors for you. Pricing (as a flat fee) depends on the complexity and intensity. However, we will refund the entire amount if you choose to hire us as an ongoing investment advisor before the engagement is over.
- This may be the option for those who are unsure of hiring us as an ongoing investment advisor but want to find out how we work and what we would do should they choose to hire us.
- At the end, you will receive a detailed report of where you stand, a list of steps to take moving forward, and an assessment of how close you are to obtaining your financial goals.
- By the end, we believe you should be able to tell if we would be a good fit for ongoing investment advisory services.