Services & Compensation
Our Services
Our services are based on a process that has proven successful in assisting our clients chart a course to their desired future. It starts with our Realizing The Dream™ comprehensive financial plan. This is outlined in the What is Financial Planning? section in more detail. This plan starts with typically two meetings lasting two to three hours each where we get to know who we are serving and what is important to them. This comprehensive goals and objectives setting exercise explores a lot of areas most folks haven't thought of. Once this is completed, we provide a written summary back to you for your review to ensure everything communicated is captured correctly. We also provide you with some draft numbers to ensure we have captured everything and it is accurately reflected on your personal financial statements. After your confirmation, we begin to draft the plan, run alternate scenarios, etc. We will provide you with a sample financial plan to review if you choose to introduce yourself .
Once the financial plan is completed, we offer a Pathways Through Life™ annual retainer service. This includes implementation of your plan, implementation of an investment strategy, tracking of your net worth and on-going monitoring/updating of your financial situation. We also offer tax preparation services on a limited basis to our clients.
Many "financial planners" earn all or a significant part of their compensation from commissions generated from the sale of mutual funds, annuities, insurance and various other financial products. This creates an inherent conflict of interest in upholding their fiduciary responsibility to you. A fiduciary relationship is one where the appointed agent has a special relationship of trust and confidence towards the obligations of the other. In our experience, it is difficult for these "financial product salespeople" to recommend no-load mutual funds, low-cost term life insurance, etc. even though their purchase may be in the best interest of their clients. As a matter of fact, in working with a broker-dealer, they are restricted to selling ONLY the products their broker-dealer has on their list or face regulatory inquiries. We believe the fiduciary relationship is compromised at the outset of the relationship.
We are paid by you alone and do not receive any commissions or trailers from the sale of financial products nor any "kick backs" from any third parties. Our fee is made known up front and put into an agreement that we both sign. The fee is then fixed until the work we agreed to is fulfilled, giving you peace of mind that there are no hidden fees or expenses to surprise you later. As you can appreciate, calculating a fee is unique to each client's situation. If you desire a fee estimate, please contact us and we would be happy to have a discussion with you.
To align with our philosophy of comprehensive financial planning , we base our fee on a sliding scale percentage based on your total net worth. "Why charge a fee on personal property and/or home instead of a percentage of investment assets?" In our view, we may render advice on the tax implications of selling your home, turning it into a rental or assist you in getting a mortgage in the US (your debts reduce your net worth yet debt management is a part of what we do). Besides, the IRS calculates estate taxes on your entire estate, including your home and the value of your life insurance.
The implementation of your plan may require additional fees to be paid to other professionals or providers and are not included in our fees. For example, we may recommend seeking legal counsel but since we are not attorneys and do not draft legal documents or render legal advice, additional fees may be required for this legal counsel. Likewise, there may be expenses in setting up and implementing an investment allocation based on our recommendations. The financial institution may require these fees and are in addition to the fees you pay to us for your planning.