Fee Only Certified Financial Planner

Pillar Wealth Management LLC is a wealth management firm that works with affluent clients who are worth between $5 million and $500 million in liquid assets. If you need expert advice to help you plan your investment portfolio, you can schedule a free consultation call with the co-founders of Pillar Wealth Management LLC, Chris Snyder, and Hutch Ashoo.

Fee-Only vs. Fee-Based  Financial Planning: What’s the Difference?         

Fee-only financial planning

Fee-only financial planners are compensated only by the fees paid by the client. They do not accept commissions. As an annual fee, most fee-only financial planners charge a percentage of the value of the assets under management, which can range from 0.50% to 2.00%. So, the more assets, the higher the fee. However, some planners charge a flat annual fee.

For a fiduciary fee-only advisor, the fiduciary duty is to always recommend what’s best for the client, and conflicts of interest must be disclosed to the client.

Fee-based financial planning

A fee-based compensation model allows the advisor to charge fees, paid by the client, while also earning commissions. This may create conflicts of interest, and the planner should disclose those conflicts.

Fee-based advisors may be fiduciaries under the suitability rule, which allows them to accept a commission as long as the product is suitable. A competent, trustworthy advisor will fully disclose how they are paid, as well as any conflicts of interest.

Financial planning fees

While fee-only financial planners are compensated solely by client fees, a fee-based planner accepts both fees and commissions.

For investments, fees are based on the value of the assets. In some cases, the annual advisory fee may be a flat fee that does not fluctuate with the assets’ value.

Mutual fund commissions may be as high as 5.75% of the invested amount. Annuity commissions range from 1% to 10%, depending on the product.

Either type of financial planner may charge an hourly fee for services, ranging from $200 to $500, or charge a flat fee for a service such as preparing a retirement plan, ranging from $2,000 to $8,000. 

In choosing a financial planner, the key is to make sure that you know what fees you will pay, as well as what commissions the planner receives. 

Fee-only or fee-based financial planner: Which is best?

Because fee-only advisors do not earn commissions, their advice can be unbiased, and they can recommend the products they feel are best for the client, which makes their financial plans more comprehensive. They can concentrate on helping you meet your financial goals.

Moreover, many fee-only advisors are fiduciaries, which means they can focus on your interests, not theirs. There is more transparency in fees and charges, so you can see the impact on your returns.

Yet, if a fee-only advisor lacks experience or skill, they may not be the best advisor for you. Because they don’t earn commissions, they can be more expensive. They may not be free to recommend certain products, which means you would have to go elsewhere for that service.

Choosing The Best Certified Financial Planner

Financial management is an especially important subject in everybody’s life. Whether your assets are worth $100,000 or $100 million, your finances must be managed appropriately so that you can achieve your goal with ease. Money, after all, makes most of those goals possible.

As you transition through various life stages, your goals will change. This is why you should work with a certified financial planner that can oversee your finances, look at your goals, and give you expert advice on the actions that you should take.

If you need more information about how to choose a financial advisor, our team at Pillar Wealth Management, LLC, created this valuable resource for you. Receive your copy of The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Financial Advisor: For Investors with $5 Million to $500 Million in Liquid Assets.

You need to ensure that you select the best certified financial planner for your finances. Selecting a financial advisor that is not right for you can be harmful to your finances long-term, and you might not even know it.

Bad financial advice can cause you to lose money, and the loss can be more significant if you own a large portfolio. As a high net worth individual with $5 million to $500 million in liquid assets, you will require specialized help to manage your investment portfolio. You can schedule a free consultation call with the co-founders of Pillar Wealth Management LLC, Chris Snyder, and Hutch Ashoo. They’ll work closely with you to protect your investment portfolio.

If managing wealth were easy, everyone would be a billionaire by now. It is even more of a challenge when you have considerable wealth or a large portfolio to manage. Questions like how much should you invest and how much should you spend can prove problematic to answer. When investing, you also must consider what asset classes to invest in and how you should allocate your assets in the most efficient manner.

As you can see, managing your portfolio to create long term wealth can be difficult. The process, however, becomes easier when you choose a certified financial planner. The first thing that a certified financial planner will do is to develop a comprehensive financial plan specifically tailored to your unique financial needs.

When you with a certified financial planner, they will hold a meeting with you to determine what your financial goals are. The crucial things that you want to accomplish with your investment portfolio will be noted, and then the certified financial planner will use that information to build a comprehensive financial plan.

That plan would cover your budgeting, taxes, estates, inheritances, and of course, investments. Your financial planner also will let you know which of the financial goals you chose are realistic and which are not. Basically, your financial advisor will do their best to ensure that your finances are managed to the best of their abilities, and all your goals are met.

If you want professional advice on how to manage your finances, you can book a free no-obligation call with the co-founders of Pillar Wealth Management LLC, Chris Snyder, and Hutch Ashoo who have been in the industry for decades, managing unique circumstances like yours, and creating holistic financial plans in the process.

How to Find The Best Certified Financial Planner

As a high net worth or ultra-high net worth individual, having a financial professional that handles all your financial needs is a blessing. A certified financial planner puts all your needs into consideration. Let’s talk about the things you should look out for when searching for a certified financial planner.

If you do a quick google search on “how to plan my finances,” several options will pop up, starting from managing your finances personally to hiring a financial advisor. Managing your finances personally might seem like a cheaper and easier alternative. After all, no one knows your needs and goals better than you.

However, as a high net worth or ultra-high net worth individual, managing your finances is more complicated than it seems, especially if you are a wealthy investor that owns $5 million to $500 million in liquid assets. Managing your finances and achieving your goals will require extensive knowledge and skill in several areas, including financial planning, tax, and estate planning, to investment management, insurance, and so many others.

You need to be familiar with investment vehicles that can help you maintain your wealth, such as 401(k), health savings accounts, stocks, bonds, and so on. Creating generational wealth takes certain expertise and extensive knowledge. Unless you are dedicated to the profession, you may want to consider experienced advice.

Many people, and probably including you, do not have the required skills. Nor do they have the time to acquire them without impacting their lives significantly. Therefore, it is not in your best interest to manage your finances by yourself.

If you would love to know how your estate can be better managed, be sure to receive your copy of our book The Art of Protecting Ultra-High Net Worth Portfolios and Estates: Strategies for Families Worth $25 Million to $500 Million. Our team at Pillar Wealth Management, LLC. will send this to your home for free.

Understand the Types of Financial Advisors

When it comes to managing your finances, there are different financial professionals that you can hire to provide you with financial advice. Many of these professionals bear the title of a financial advisor, but there are some significant differences between the various professionals that can be called financial advisors.

Robo-advisors

One of the options for managing your wealth is to use a Robo-advisor. A Robo-advisor is a software that uses computer algorithms to manage your investment portfolio. The Robo-advisor takes your financial goals, risk appetite, and a host of other factors into account and then manages your investment portfolio as best as it can.

From the information that you provide, the algorithm will determine how long you need to invest, how much you should invest, and the asset classes and vehicles that you should invest in.

However, Robo-advisors are not for everyone, especially those with complex financial needs, or a large investment portfolio. This is because high net worth clients will often require personalized attention, and your investment account may need active management instead of the passive management that Robo-advisors provide.

Financial Planners

Financial planners are another type of financial advisor you can work with. The job of a financial planner is to review your financial position at any given moment. A financial planner will look at your lifestyle, how you spend your money, and your goals in other to create a comprehensive plan for your finances.

They will ask questions aimed at discovering your goals, access your income level, current assets, and expenses. After then, they would produce a plan of action that will guide your future savings, expenses, and probably investments. This plan will include several things, such as the kind of insurance that you should get, how to diversify your investments to minimize risk, and so on.

 There are, however, downsides to working with only a financial planner, even if they are certified. One of the downsides is that while they can create the plan for you, they cannot sell you the investments and securities in that plan.

Also, the financial planner might not even be aware of all the investment options you can access, which suits your financial needs. Many financial planners are also not skilled or experienced enough to work with huge portfolios, especially clients looking to invest $10 million or more. Often, decades of experience in this niche will provide much greater insight than certification ever could.

Investment Brokers

The major issue with financial planners is that they can’t help you implement your plan, especially when it comes to buying and selling securities. This is the advantage that investment brokers provide. An investment broker, also known as a stockbroker, is the finance professional that is knowledgeable about investment solutions that can help you achieve your investment goals. They suggest and purchase certain investments for you, and they earn a commission when they conduct a transaction.

If you are a high net-worth or ultra-high net worth individual, you’ll need the services of a financial planner and an investment broker at the very least to achieve your investment goals.

This combination will help you create a financial plan, and work on an investment portfolio that will follow the plan and bring it to reality. If you want to improve your portfolio’s performance, get our guide, Improving Portfolio Performance: The Shifts Multi-Millionaires Must Make to Achieve Financial Security and Serenity.

Combining the services of a financial planner or an investment broker might seem like a good plan, but it has a disadvantage. The major issue is that you will have to do double the work to find two professionals that can work together. You have to find a financial planner and an investment broker that you feel comfortable working with and feel comfortable working with each other.

If any one of these factors is missing, then the whole team can break down – that is not a situation you want to find yourself in.

This is where a financial advisor comes in. A financial advisor, which could also be a certified financial planner, will perform financial planning services in addition to managing your considerable portfolio.

If you want to know how a financial advisor can help you manage your portfolio and achieve your investment goals, book a free consultation call with Chris Snyder and Hutch Ashoo, the founders of Pillar Wealth management. Pillar Wealth Management specializes in provided financial advisory services for affluent clients with $5 million to $500 million in liquid assets.

Finding the Best Certified Financial Planner

A financial advisor works with affluent clients and offers the services of both financial planners and investment brokers. They work for companies that are established as Registered Investment Advisors (RIA), but their added advantage lies in prioritizing your needs while making decisions. That’s why it’s best to turn to a financial advisor when looking to manage a sizable portfolio.

One problem that arises when working with a stockbroker is a conflict of interest. Investment brokers are paid on commission, which means that they get paid every time you buy or sell a security. On the surface, this does not look suspicious, but when you consider the regulations put in place on investment brokers, you realize that there can be a conflict of interest.

According to the regulations, a broker can recommend any security to you, if it falls within the scope of what you need. This does not compel them to act in your best interest, and as a result, your broker can recommend securities to you that would net them a bigger commission, even if it is not in your best interest.

This is not the case of a financial advisor because they are bound by fiduciary duty. It means that they are obligated by law to act in your best interest. It means that you can expect a certified financial planner to give you the best financial and investment advice that they can, irrespective of if it will result in lower commissions for them. This is a crucial distinction, and it becomes more advantageous if you have a large portfolio.

If you need a financial advisor with proven experience in managing investment portfolios for clients, then Pillar Wealth Management is your best bet. With over three decades of experience managing portfolios for affluent clients, you are sure to achieve your portfolio goals.

If you are a high net worth individual with $5 million to $500 million and professional advice on managing your investment portfolio, schedule a free consultation call with Pillar Wealth Management LLC’s co-founders, Chris Snyder and Hutch Ashoo.

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