Financial Solutions is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor (RIA). We do not generate commissions from any product or service that we recommend to our clients. That fact is extremely important in eliminating conflicts of interest.
Our clients pay us an initial hourly-based fee for the creation of a comprehensive financial plan and a percentage of the assets under management for investment services. Our graduated portfolio management fees begin at 1% per year for a stock/bond portfolio and .50% for an all-bond portfolio.
We have many differentiating factors, including:
Because of the highly customized nature of each client relationship, the frequency of formal reviews or meetings varies from client to client. After the initial discovery meetings and comprehensive planning, we maintain an ongoing dialogue with our clients in all aspects of financial decisions. We recommend that progress on all plans be reviewed at least annually.
Our advisors communicate with all clients throughout the year whenever there is a need, but at least quarterly. Each client receives a quarterly report about one week after each quarter begins.
To ensure the level of service that our clients deserve, Financial Solutions requires new clients to have a minimum portfolio of $500,000 to be managed by our firm as the primary investment advisor. We also require that clients have:
To help reduce overall portfolio volatility we use sophisticated methods of diversification to help limit overall volatility within durable, long-term investment portfolios. We provide the most appropriate solution for each client using “best of breed” opportunities, regardless of their source. We will look at several avenues for implementing client portfolios based on each client’s needs, including:
Yes, we believe U.S. investors should seek opportunities internationally. The U.S. stock markets today represent less than half of the world’s total stock value. We believe that by ignoring international markets, investors deprive themselves of the opportunity for higher long-term returns.
Furthermore, by diversifying into international markets, investors will generally experience lower portfolio volatility over time. For these reasons, we include appropriate levels of international exposure for each client consistent with their return objectives and tolerance for risk.
Often it is not possible to buy the same funds on your own. Some of the funds we use to implement portfolios are institutional, or are restricted by large minimum investment requirements, or are open to qualified advisors only.
But this is just one very small part of the wealth management process. The value we provide includes the integration of our comprehensive wealth planning services combined with our discretionary management of investment portfolios.