Frequently asked Questions

Yes. We are always a fiduciary to our clients, but we believe it is much more than what we call ourselves.  It is how we conduct ourselves.  Always providing advice that is in our client’s best interest requires us to actually know what is in their best interest.  It requires ongoing education on our part and spending a lot of time getting to know them on a personal level.  It requires us to research alternative courses of action and weigh the pros and cons.  It requires disclosing and managing conflicts when they arise, even when it’s not convenient.  It’s more than a marketing term, it’s a commitment to our clients.    

There is no charge for the initial meeting and often the 2nd meeting while we are mutually considering if our services are a fit.   

A lot of folks come to us who are already working with a financial advisor. If you are exploring other financial advisors it could mean that you are missing something from your current relationship. Ask yourself these questions:

Do you have confidence they are always delivering advice that is in your best interest rather than theirs or their firm’s?
Do they take an interest in you and your family and develop personalized recommendations based upon your goals and values?  
Are they providing planning and strategies for your entire financial life (ie. cashflow, tax, retirement, estate, charitable giving) or primarily just investments? 
Do they communicate well and have availability to meet multiple times per year?
Do you understand how they are being compensated and what the all-in costs of your investments are?  

If the answer to any of these questions is anything other than a resounding “YES” then you would likely benefit from a meeting.

We don’t have a strict account minimum.  We tend to provide the most value to those that are retired or within 5 years of retirement, or who own a business.

Absolutely!  We have clients on both coasts as well as in-between.  Technology empowers us with online meetings and client dashboards so we can communicate effectively over any distance. 

We are affiliated with Visionary Horizons, LLC (VH) an SEC Registered Investment Advisory firm.  We receive access to software, billing, compliance, and other services.  This creates economies of scale that can lower our cost of doing business and allow us to operate more efficiently.  You can think of VH as a co-operative of independent financial advisors.

We have a formal succession and continuity plan with the Registered Investment Advisory firm we are affiliated with (Visionary Horizons).  With a deep bench of advisors including five CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals, another advisor would be available to assist you.

We are happy to work with children and other family members of our existing clients. We are strong advocates of intergenerational planning.

If you are looking for someone to help you pick stocks or time the market, then we are not for you.  We believe in a disciplined, long-term approach to investing that focuses on aligning your investments with your goals.  Our strategy uses broadly diversified and low-cost investments to stack the odds in your favor in order to pursue better investment results.

We tend to favor investments that have shown consistency in outperforming relative benchmarks and utilize a team and/or process-based approach to managing your money.  We wouldn’t recommend any investment that we wouldn’t personally own or recommend for a family member.  We believe in eating our own cooking and are happy to share our own personal investments if you would like.    

While we pay attention to third-party ratings such as from Morningstar, we believe that focusing too much on star ratings will often lead to underperformance.  We are focused on the investment results of our clients rather than choosing what did well last year.  You shouldn’t give an advisor a high five for investing your money into a 5-star fund just in time for it to become a 1-star fund (however this is what research shows most investors and even many advisors do).  We believe a sound portfolio of 3 and 4-star funds that stay 3 and 4-stars is likely to outperform the vast majority of investors.

We customize client portfolios based upon individual needs and circumstances.  We do NOT just place your money into a cookie cutter portfolio and call it a day.  We will evaluate all of your current holdings and make individual recommendations to (buy, sell, hold).  This could be based on a number of factors, (ie. tax consequences of selling an appreciated investment or the current investment is already very similar to one we would recommend).  

We will evaluate your portfolio relative to your tax situation to determine if you would be a good candidate for tax-efficient strategies such as asset location (locating less tax-efficient investments like bonds inside of tax-deferred accounts and more tax-efficient investments such as Exchange-Traded Funds or ETFs in taxable accounts) as well as if tax-exempt municipal bonds and bond funds are appropriate for you.