Transparent Pricing
for Your
Financial Independence
Roadmap
Know what you’re paying and what services you will receive before getting started. Everything is laid out in black and white, and there are no hidden fees.
A Plan for Your Financial Independence
We’ll build you a roadmap so you can master your journey to financial independence. As a fee-only fiduciary financial planning and investment management firm, we have a structured process for creating and monitoring your customized financial plan and managing your investments. There are no hidden fees, and we do not receive compensation from third parties for our recommendations. You’ll set the pace when it comes to our meeting cadences and the amount of work we’ll do together after your financial plan is delivered.
Invest in Your Financial Independence
Our financial planning fee starts at $3,000 annually and rises with the complexity of your current financial situation. This cost reflects the time it takes us to prepare your financial plan and the ongoing work behind the scenes to ensure that your financial independence strategy stays on track while we mind your financial blind spots.
Our comprehensive financial plans include a review of over 60 potential topic areas including: pre- and post-employment (retirement) lifestyle planning, early retirement exist strategies, household cash management strategies, exercise and trading strategies for your stock options and restricted stock, employer benefits review, insurance review, estate planning needs analysis, investment strategy, saving for big-ticket purchases and spending just to name a few.
Financial planning is just one measure of value we bring to our client relationships. We also offer investment management services so you can focus on taking care of what matters most in your life rather than trying to keep track of what’s moving the markets.
Here’s an example of the planning services we offer:
Early Career Launching Pad
Emily is in her 30s, single, and a university professor with no dependents at home. She’s interested in organizing her finances, getting a handle on her emergency savings fund, paying down student loans, and saving to buy her first home.
Emily’s also taking advantage of her employer’s retirement savings program but is wondering if she’s choosing suitable investments for her portfolios and whether she should also contribute to an IRA. Additionally, Emily wants to ensure that she’s maximizing all of the benefits available to her.
A financial plan for someone in Emily’s position starts at $250 per month.
Mid-Career Adjustments
Amanda and Michael are in their mid-40s, married, and have two young children at home. Michael is an operations manager at a local tech firm, and Amanda is a software engineer. The couple wants to ensure they’re making all the right choices regarding saving for retirement and their kid’s college expenses. Amanda and Michael each receive equity awards from their employer but need help deciding what to do with this compensation.
At some point, the couple would like to downshift to a single-income household or stop working before a traditional retirement age. Finally, Amanda and Michael are concerned about what may happen if they lose their income or pass unexpectedly. Ultimately, they want to ensure that their family and finances are covered for an unexpected financial event.
A financial plan for individuals in Amanda and Michael’s position starts at $600 per month.
Later Career Fine Tuning
Janet is in her mid-50s, single, is in upper management at a local tech company, and her kids are grown and have long moved out. She’s amassed a sizeable nest egg and getting close to being able to walk away from her job. While Janet isn’t ready to stop working yet, she would like to downshift her career and income to spend her time working on causes she’s passionate about.
Because she does not plan on remarrying, Janet’s priority is to find the right income balance from her investments and passion pursuit to maintain her current lifestyle while preserving her retirement savings for the long term. Additionally, Janet must have the proper protections in place should her health decline, and continuous care options are necessary.
A financial plan for individuals in Janet’s position starts at $450 per month.
Post-Employment Opportunities
David and Michelle are in their late 50s and are preparing for a traditional path to financial independence. As they transition from accumulating wealth to drawing down on their savings, the couple needs a refreshed investment strategy that reduces Michelle’s concentrated employer stock exposure and aligns with their post-employment lifestyle and cash needs.
The couple has also saved diligently, yet amassed most of their savings in qualified accounts and are looking for ways to reduce their potential lifetime tax burden. And while the couple remains in good health, they want to ensure that they’ve established a strategy to efficiently transfer assets to their loved ones and causes important to David and Michelle while avoiding the costs and hassle associated with probate.
A financial plan for individuals in David and Michelle’s position starts at $850 per month.
Factors that influence the cost of a financial plan include complexity related to income and tax situations, equity awards, plans to retire early, estate planning needs, and the depth of topics we review as part of our planning engagement.
Our Investment Management Fees
Our investment management fees reflect the time, legal, and compliance costs of managing your portfolio. As a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), our clients compensate us directly for our time and services. We do not receive commissions or other compensation from security or product sales. And we won’t charge you hidden costs, like wrap fees.
We also integrate financial planning into our investment management fees together. Clients whose assets we manage may see a reduction in their annual financial planning fee. For households where we manage at least $500,000, we may reduce our planning fee by half after the first year. And for those clients with whom we manage over $1,000,000 the monthly planning fee is waived entirely.
Here are some examples of how fees are calculated:
Jess and Chris ask us to manage their investment portfolio valued at $1,000,000. They would pay an annual investment management fee of $11,000. The annual fee is calculated by applying 1.25% to the first $250,000, 1.15% to the next $250,000, and 1.00% to the next $500,000. In this case, the couple would likely not pay a monthly financial planning fee.
In another instance, Rebecca would like us to manage her investment account valued at $500,000, paying an annual investment management fee of $6,000. This fee is deducted from her investment account, and half of her planning fee is waived after the first year.
