Fee Rates
We benchmark our fees periodically to make sure we believe this statement to be true:
We are not expensive and you do not want cheap.
Given the breadth and depth of our expertise, the attentiveness of our service staff, and ever-present fiduciary duty to our clients, we believe our fees are more than fair.
With cheap, you get what you pay for – typically superficial financial planning, conflicted implementation, cookie cutter approaches, a lack of proactivity, limited responsiveness, limited scope, limited depth of thinking, limited expertise, and people who often don’t really know you and usually owe their allegiance to a third party, not you.
Each client is unique, so fees must be determined by each situation, however, they are not a mystery. There are no surprises or hidden fees. Prospective clients receive a written outline of the services to be provided and the associated fees. Clients receive a detailed written fee calculation before being billed. Once charged, the fees are shown clearly and prominently on client statements.
Clients with more than $2,000,000 in investment assets under our management, regardless of what types of accounts are owned (IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, brokerage, trusts etc.), pay us less than 1% per year. “Investment assets” do not include real estate holdings, household banking accounts or personal assets like furnishings, cars, and jewelry.
Given the depth and breadth of our services, surveys of industry fees indicate our charges are an exceptional value for families with more than our $1,000,000 minimum. Exceptions to the minimum are typically made only for households referred to us or that are substantial savers.
Typically, we are engaged on an asset based fee, although alternate arrangements such as a flat project fee, an annual fee, or hourly consulting fee are available if better suited to the work and other criteria are met.
When we say "we work for you," it is not a marketing slogan. It is a literal fact.
