Fee Only Planning Services

Get Objective, Unbiased Advice

The popular press touts Fee-Only planning as the best arrangement for obtaining financial planning. This arrangement supposedly insures objectivity and unbiased advice for the lowest possible price. In some instances, this is the best arrangement to make. If price is the only concern, then fee-only arrangements make sense for those with at least $750,000 in retirement funds.

Preparing a Financial Plan:

This is the least expensive fee-based service we offer. We meet once to determine your goals and objectives. If you have exposure to various betas (market forces) that are unusual, we can accommodate those in a customized plan. Then, Porter Kickham designs several different portfolios for your approval. We meet again to present different alternatives to you. The final work product is a portfolio of ETF’s (exchange traded funds) or actively managed mutual funds which achieve a Prudent diversification arrangement consistent with your goals and risks. You would decide whether or not you had the expertise to implement the plan by yourself and waive rights to recourse for improper implementation. Plans start at $2,500.

Hourly Fee Schedule

Certified Financial Planning services for individuals are available from Mike on an hourly basis, which would include pre and post prep time and production of the reports required for the plan. Issues he has dealt with in the past include complex estate plans for family wealth preservation, issues related to vesting options in employer sponsored plans and diversification of large single stock positions in order to minimize taxes and increase safety.

Institutional Advisory Services

Guy provides advice and consultations to institutions and hedge funds through the consulting firm of Gerson Lehrman. Issues that Guy has consulted on in the past include volatility arbitrage trading, neural net construction for high speed trading strategies, volatility dispersion trading, active alpha strategies and management of accredited trading strategies. Fees for these services may be hourly or by the project.

Asset- Based Fees Arrangements:

We design and manage a portfolio of actively managed mutual funds, with particular attention to manager skill and sub-asset diversification construction. We use a variety of funds from different investment companies which represent their best offerings in terms of performance against appropriate benchmarks. We determine the best ways to re-balance funds while minimizing transaction costs. AUM fees range from 75 bips to 225 bips depending on the complexity, the amount of assets to manage and the goals involved.

Notice: Some Commission-based Products Cost Less than Fee Based Advice

In almost every case, your goals and needs in retirement will dictate a variety of possible solutions. If you're a prudent investor, you won't ignore any of them. The tenets of the Prudent Investor Act won't let your advisor ignore them either.

You should keep in ming that commission based products may offer you many of the same advantages for less money. You'll need to decide when you see the figures, but don't be fooled by a blanket quote for advisory fees. Many investment advisor accounts come with transaction fees of $25 or more per trade. Many have fees for custodial services. When you compare alternatives, be sure to look at all the costs as closely as you can.

Fee Only Planners Have a Duty to Examine Commission Products

The Uniform Prudent Investor Act won't allow your advisor to exclude the use of commission based products from consideration. Since some products cost less than advisory services and the associated costs, ignoring such products is in itself a conflict of interest and represents its own bias.

Most people prefer products or services with lower costs, other issues being equal. In most cases, we agree that low costs are best. In all cases, you have the final say.