FAQ
How is hourly financial planning different from a traditional financial advisor?
We charge for our services just as attorneys, doctors, or any other professionals do. Traditional financial advisors may have asset minimums to work with them and require you to move all your assets to their firm so they can charge you an ongoing asset-based fee (referred to as assets under management (AUM)). Some other advisors may be compensated by selling you products and earning commissions. We are very unique among financial advisors, with less than 1% of Registered Investment Advisors charging by the hour.
Are you a fiduciary? Do you receive any commissions* or referral fees?
As CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERs™ we are a Fiduciary. We are completely independent and objective when providing financial advice to clients. We do not earn investment commissions on the sale of investment products. We don’t earn referral fees. Financial analysis and professional advice are what we ‘sell’ – our goal is to help you achieve your goals. *
Many financial advisors will provide a free financial plan. Your plan seems kind of expensive.
It would be best if you thought of financial planning as an investment rather than an expense. A good financial planner should save and earn you far more money than what you pay the planner in fees. This investment may be accomplished by improving cash flow through better budgeting, reducing your tax liabilities, boosting investment returns, or even preventing a costly financial catastrophe through the application of insurance or navigating tax pitfalls. There are also intangible benefits such as peace of mind, time saved, and a better focus on one’s financial life.
What types of clients do you typically work with? Do you have any specialties?
We work with people from all walks of life. Our clients typically fall into a few categories:
– Growing families – those who have children and are juggling working, saving for retirement, saving for children’s educations, meeting lifestyle expenses and other goals
– Accumulators – folks who may have older children and want to plan for the next chapter of their lives be it retiring, changing careers, or starting a business.
– Potential retirees – people who are planning to retire shortly and need to make sure they are on track
– Retirees – those who have already retired but need assistance with managing their income and expenses or planning for required minimum distributions from retirement accounts.
We consider ourselves financial generalists – we understand most financial issues ‘5 miles wide and 1 mile deep’. Our specialties include helping folks achieve their personal financial goals, budgeting and cash flow planning, investment analysis (review/rebalancing portfolios), and stock option planning. Some unique specialties are being a Certified Tax Preparer (although we do not prepare taxes), to understand and run tax projections for clients’ issues. We also understand rental real estate and help clients with 1031 exchanges and DSTs.
Do you share my information with anyone?
No. We understand the sensitive issue of sharing one’s personal financial situation, and we hold your information in the highest confidentiality. We liken our role to that of a doctor or lawyer and do not ever share or discuss your financial situation with anyone. Please see our privacy policy for more information.
What makes your firm different from other advisors? Why should we choose to work with you?
That’s a great question! We do things differently here than most firms. First, we are among 1% of advisors nationwide that charge by the hour and do not require that we manage your money or that you move your accounts to us. We do not have any asset minimums for our clients.
Second, we are extremely detailed in the advice we provide. We work from a cash flow perspective. This means we take a detailed look at your income, expenses, taxes and savings to understand the cash flows in and expenses going out.
For example, we include specific items like 401k contributions (pre-tax and Roth), healthcare and other pre-tax items deducted from your paycheck to understand your true net take-home pay. We break out your mortgage, which is a fixed payment, from variable expenses like food, transportation, and entertainment, which increase with inflation over time. We also account for time-specific items like childcare costs for children under 5, after-care and summer school costs for elementary and middle school children, including any private school K-12 tuition.
From there we can make recommendations and develop a plan based on your unique situation.
How do you give me specific advice for my portfolio?
We understand every client is unique and every portfolio is different. Unlike many other advisors, we do not use model portfolios. We review and analyze all the investments you currently own in each of your accounts. We also work with the exact menu of investments available in your 401k/403b/457 plans to provide very specific investment advice. Then we incorporate your specific goals, risk tolerance and current/expected market conditions to develop recommendations that meet your unique needs.
*Julie Scates (Asti) is a licensed Life and Health Insurance Agent with California State (license #OE67228). She may receive commissions from insurance-related products that clients decide to purchase. Clients are under no obligation to purchase any insurance products and may choose to implement insurance product recommendations with another agent of their choice.
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