The best advice I received while starting in the financial industry will stay with me, and now us for the rest of our lives - “the relationship is what’s most important.''
Trusting a Financial Advisor
Trust is the foundation of building a strong, long-lasting relationship. As financial professionals, we are inherently at a disadvantage to better serve our communities because of past mistakes made on a larger scale, i.e. Bernie Madoff. The industry as a whole has failed to make pricing transparent to consumers. Most clients do not know the annual dollar figure they pay to their financial professional, whether charged on a commission or a percentage of their account balance. Do you know how much you pay?
Your financial professional may have sold you an insurance policy and hasn’t talked to you in several years or may manage your investment account, but you meet at most once a year. What differentiates us is as a fee-only financial planning firm, we charge a monthly subscription in order to provide value to our clients every single month. Our relationship doesn’t stem from a ‘product’ being sold to you, it stems from building a relationship as your fiduciary.
How Financial Advisors Charge
Most financial professionals charge an assets under management fee. This fee ranges from .50% to 2% annually. For example, if you have $500,000 invested and your financial professional charges 1%, then you are paying $5,000 per year. The problem with this pricing model is that it’s catered toward individuals with large savings which are readily available to invest. The assets under management pricing structure does not allow others to receive advice until later in life, which is why we price the way we do - so you can start earlier.
Fee-Only and Fiduciary Financial Planning
As a fee-only financial, fiduciary planning firm, our clients pay a monthly subscription, similar to how we pay for the majority of our lives today. This allows for a fee for service offering, in which the consumer is not obligated or locked into a long term contract. It also allows for younger households to afford financial guidance at a very crucial time. Young professionals have the cash flow to pay for financial advice. What we typically lack are the investable assets to get started. Our pricing model is the solution to this problem.
By charging monthly you see the consistent value we provide in your life rather than hearing from us once a year or selling you a product. We act as your fiduciary. We do not solely focus on your investments or the stock market. We provide ongoing comprehensive financial planning. Financial planning by definition includes several areas - education planning, insurance planning, investment planning, tax planning, retirement planning, and estate planning. As individuals, Natalie and I have earned the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(™) professional designation. We are obligated to cover these topics with our clients. It is essential for us not only to educate our clients, but also tailor these areas into your specific life events. A sole practicing CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(™) professional will typically charge at a minimum $150+ per hour for these services - with us you get two.
Financial Planning for Couples
Now, let’s get into what truly makes us different. Our unique value proposition is that we ourselves are a couple. Couples must talk about money. If finances are not discussed then it will lead to greater problems later in life. Why is it so difficult to talk about? Because money is not natural. We were brought into this world with no need for money, but at some point we were introduced to it. Since that point we have developed habits and tendencies from our background with money.
Think about…
These events accumulate over time and are a part of what we bring into our partnerships. We provide behavioral exercises and structured dialogue to help couples align their vision to one. It’s at this point that it doesn’t matter if one spouse is making more money because a shared vision doesn’t keep score. The faster couples find a shared vision, the more likely they are to reach their goals and financial freedom.
Our offering is structured to build a long term relationship, after all that is what our business is all about. We are your trusted partner, helping you understand your financial life, and guiding you on the path toward your shared vision. Our industry has been negatively impacted by poor decision making from larger institutions and product based selling. Fyooz Financial Planning is your fiduciary, meaning we always put you and your relationship first.
- Dan
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation of Fyooz Financial Planning, Natalie Slagle CFP®, or Daniel Slagle CFP®. Past performance may not be indicative of future results and may have been impacted by events and economic conditions that will not prevail in the future. Therefore, it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific security, investment product or investment strategy referenced in the article, either directly or indirectly, will be profitable or equal to the corresponding indicated performance level(s). No portion of the article shall be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any specific security or investment product or to engage in any particular investment or financial planning strategy. Any reference to a market index is included for illustrative purposes only, as it is not possible to directly invest in an index. Indices are unmanaged, hypothetical vehicles that serve as market indicators and do not account for the deduction of management fees or transaction costs generally associated with investable products, which otherwise have the effect of reducing the performance of an actual investment portfolio.
