What I do, and what it costs.
My full fee schedule is right here on this page, with a few examples worked out, because you shouldn’t have to pick up the phone just to find out what something costs.
How it works
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A free first call
It takes about 30 minutes, by phone or video. You tell me what you have and roughly when you’d like to stop working, and I’ll tell you whether you need a full plan or just an answer to one question.
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Your written plan
Delivered within 90 days of receiving your documents, it covers Social Security, your pension choice, which accounts to spend from and when, Roth conversions if they make sense, and a separate survivor plan for each of you. It comes to you digitally, and I’m happy to print a copy if you’d like one.
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Putting it in place
If you hire me to manage your investments, I help move the old accounts, set up the investments, and get the paperwork filed. This is usually where plans stall, so I don’t hand you a PDF and wish you luck.
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Every year after
If I’m managing your investments, we meet once a year for a review, to make sure you’re still on track.
What’s included
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Retirement income planning
How much you can spend, which accounts to draw from each year, and when to start Social Security and any pension.
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Tax planning
Withdrawal order, Roth conversions, required withdrawals, and the other choices that affect how much tax you pay over your lifetime.
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Investment management
Rolling old employer plans into one place at Schwab, closing what should be closed, and investing to match the income your plan calls for.
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Estate and beneficiary review
Checking what your beneficiary forms really say right now, which often isn’t what people remember choosing, and putting together questions for your estate attorney.
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A survivor plan for each of you
What happens to the income, the pension, and your taxes if one of you passes away first. There’s a simplified example on the home page.
Fees
You can hire me for a one-time plan, for ongoing investment management, or for both.
Option 1
A one-time written plan
$250 an hour
Most plans come to about $5,000, and it usually only goes higher in very complex situations. It includes:
- A written retirement plan
- Social Security timing
- Tax and Roth conversion planning
- Investment recommendations
- Estate and beneficiary review
- A plan that’s yours to keep, whatever you decide to do next
Before any work starts, you’ll get an estimated plan fee in writing. The fee is billed in advance, and plans are delivered within 90 days of receiving your documents.
Option 2
Ongoing investment management
Tiered, going down as your balance goes up
| Assets I manage | Yearly rate |
|---|---|
| First $500,000 | 1.25% |
| $500,001 to $3,000,000 | 0.75% |
| Above $3,000,000 | 0.60% |
Each rate applies only to the dollars within that tier. The fee is billed every three months, in advance, and deducted from your Schwab account, and every deduction shows on your Schwab statement. Your first bill covers only the days left in that quarter after your assets arrive at Schwab.
Ongoing management includes a yearly review to make sure you’re still on track. The minimum is $250,000 in investable assets, and there’s no minimum for a one-time plan.
What that looks like in dollars
Tiered pricing is easy to describe and a little bit harder to picture, so here’s what it works out to at three portfolio sizes.
| Your portfolio | Quarterly fee | Effective yearly rate |
|---|---|---|
| $750,000 | $2,032 | 1.08% |
| $1,500,000 | $3,438 | 0.92% |
| $4,000,000 | $7,750 | 0.78% |
Common questions about fees
How do you get paid?
I’m paid only by you, in two ways: the hourly fee for a written plan, and the yearly percentage for investment management. I don’t earn commissions, I don’t sell insurance, I don’t have any products of my own, and I don’t take referral fees from attorneys or CPAs.
Where is my money held?
Your accounts are held at Charles Schwab, in your own name. I manage the investments and deduct my advisory fee, and beyond that fee, the only place I can send your money is your own bank account, using an authorization you sign with Schwab ahead of time. You can log in to your Schwab account any time to see everything.
Can I hire you just for the plan?
Yes, and a good number of people should. The plan is yours to keep, and if the right answer turns out to be carrying it out yourself, or staying with an advisor you already have, that’s a perfectly good outcome. Some people come back a year or three later when something changes, and some never do, which is completely fine either way.
Why is there a $250,000 minimum?
It really comes down to math. Below about $250,000, the yearly fee is either too small to pay for real ongoing work or too large a share of your savings to be worth it. A one-time plan doesn’t have that problem, which is why it has no minimum, and if you’re under $250,000, I’ll tell you so and help you find something that fits better.
What makes a plan cost more than $5,000?
Planning is billed by the hour, so the fee depends on how much work your situation takes. Most plans come to about $5,000, and it usually only goes higher in very complex situations, like a business, rental properties, stock compensation from an employer, a complicated estate, or a lot of accounts to sort through. Either way, you’ll get an estimated fee in writing before any work starts.
Can I hire you just for investment management?
Yes. If you have $250,000 or more to invest, you can hire me just to manage your investments, without paying for a separate written plan. Ongoing management includes a yearly review to make sure you’re still on track, and if you ever decide you’d like a full written plan later, we can add one then.
Who this is a good fit for
This is usually a good fit if you’re within a few years of retiring, recently retired, or getting through the loss of a spouse, and you’d like one person looking at the whole picture: your income, your taxes, your investments, and what happens to whoever is left.
It’s probably not a good fit if you’re looking for someone to pick individual stocks, trade around the news, or sign off on a decision you’ve already made. Most of what I’m worth shows up in the two years before a big decision and the twenty years after it, not in the week you make it.
Questions about any of this?
Ask them on a free 30-minute call. If the numbers on this page don’t work for your situation, it’s better for both of us to find that out early.
Schedule a free call