FAQs

Whether you realize it or not, each of us has life goals. A well-crafted financial plan will help you to articulate your goals, protect you against unforeseen risks, and ensure that all of your “financial oars” are in the water and pulling in the same direction. Your financial plan is an acknowledgment that it’s easier to PREPARE than it is to REPAIR.

Professional financial advice has traditionally focused on helping you make and save more money. But lost in the shuffle was, “What’s the money for?” The Return on Life™ (ROL) philosophy says money is still important, but it shifts the focus to put your life at the center of the conversation. It’s about helping you live the best life possible with the money you have.

Having a solid understanding of your goals and financial condition enables us to design highly customized investment strategies for our clients. We believe what you keep after taxes, is more important than what you make. A financial plan helps to ensure that you are taking a more global view of risk management, rather than focusing exclusively on market volatility.

Engagements begin with the signing of a Management Agreement. Our Agreement spells out mutual responsibilities, as well as our fee schedule. You will also be provided with our SEC Advisor Disclosure Form and Privacy Statement.

New clients can typically expect to have six meetings over the course of a year. Meetings can be held remotely or in our office. We have targeted agendas for each meeting. You can expect each first year meetings to last no longer than 45 minutes. Thereafter, we like to schedule quarterly meeting or conversations. We respect your time and try to limit these meetings to no longer than 30 minutes. We are always available to answer your questions by phone or email should something come up between meetings.

Yes. We view your 401(k) as an integral part of your investment portfolio and financial plan. Through our portfolio management software, we are able to receive daily position downloads from your employer’s retirement plan. When it comes time to make trades in your account, our investment professionals will handle that task for you.

Typically we manage a client’s money on a discretionary basis. That means you give us the authority to make trades to your account without asking for your permission ahead of time. Your assets (except for employer based retirement plans) will be held at independent 3rd party custodian Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Schwab will provide you with monthly statements, trade confirmations and Form-1099’s for your taxes. We thoroughly review new client’s existing portfolios, and design an investment strategy that takes into account capital gains ramifications, as well as your risk tolerance and capacity measures. We will provide you with quarterly summary reports and periodic investment updates when we make trades of any significance. You will have access to your secure client portal (and app) where you can view all of your accounts, updated on a daily basis, as well as important documents.

We bill on what is known as an AUM (Assets Under Management) model. Accounts that we manage on your behalf are billed quarterly, based on the average daily balance for the prior quarter. Fees are debited from your account, and provide an accounting of our fees as part of our quarterly reporting to you.

In our experience, clients with liquid investable assets of at least $500,000 (including your 401(k)), who value long term relationships, and embrace our Return on Life approach are most likely to benefit from our services.

We charge 0.95% on the first $1 million we invest. 0.8% on the next $3 million, and 0.65% on assets over $4 million. Fees may be negotiable based on the particulars of your situation.