Why Fee-Only Planning?
I offer Fee-Only financial planning and advice on an hourly, as-needed basis, providing as little or as much help as the client may need. Much like seeking expertise and services from an attorney or tax professional -- or even your dentist or family physician -- clients seek out and schedule my financial planning expertise when they need it. Once I have provided the financial advice and services requested, the engagement concludes until the client needs us again. Just like your dentist, we do recommend periodic check ups, but the client is in charge of calling back to schedule those checkups and update meetings.
Only 1% of the nation’s financial planning firms are structured as Fee-Only firms. Most financial advisory firms are fee-based, which means they earn both fees and commissions, or commission-based, which makes the firm more of a sales organization than a true consulting organization.
Traditional fee-based firms typically charge the client’s account an annual fee or a percentage of assets under management. This type arrangement usually works best for wealthy clientele who need ongoing advice and can afford to pay an ongoing fee. Commission-based sales organizations often have rather high account minimums of, say, $100,000 to get started. These types of limitations dismiss the majority of the population -- regular working class Americans or people just starting to build their asset bases.
As you can see, with fee-based wealth management programs and traditional commission-based services there is quite a disparity between what most people need -- and can afford to pay -- and what help is being offered.
My firm is a Fee-Only financial planning firm. This means that instead of paying commissions or a percentage of assets under management, my clients pay us an hourly fee for the specific advice and financial services they receive. In addition, unlike some other Fee-Only firms that charge retainers and fees based on the client’s income and net worth, we have no retainers or tiered fee structure. We offer our type of Fee-Only financial planning and advice on an as-needed basis, at the same hourly rate, to all clients, regardless of their income or net worth.
Because we are Fee-Only, we receive no third-party commissions. This means there are no conflicts of interest to color our recommendations. We work strictly for our clients, empowering them to make the best financial decisions possible.
With all these advantages, it is easy to understand why our type of Fee-Only financial planning is becoming highly popular with middle Americans nationwide. Our type of as-needed, by-the-hour, Fee-Only financial planning makes unbiased, professional advice available to people from all walks of life. My type of Fee-Only can help the majority of the population, and that of course is Middle America, to reach their most important life goals. Now, anyone who desires professional financial planning and advice, and can afford to pay our reasonable hourly fee, has access to as much or as little services as needed.
According to Investment Advisor magazine and many other respected industry periodicals, Fee-Only financial planning is the wave of the future. According to Bob Veres, an editor at Inside Information, the Fee-Only movement is "revolutionizing" the financial planning industry.
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