The goal of my practice is to provide financial and investment planning assistance to those who either wish to control their own investments or need help with some specific financial objectives or events. Although some individuals may wish to delegate most of the responsibility for their investment programs to professionals, there are many others, who because of desire, aptitude or opportunities for cost savings, wish to be more involved. There are others who need help in handling the financial aspects of specific events, such as job changes, retirement, divorce or widowhood and are not interested in a long-term financial relationship for various reasons. My personal experience as a private investor for over 30 years as well as professional training and experience as a financial advisor, give me insight into both sides of these relationships.
As an hourly fee only investment advisor, I do not sell securities, hold clients assets or earn fees from those assets. I also have no professional relationship with any broker dealer and will work with any client’s broker or assist them with a discount broker. I will also provide second opinions on current or proposed investment plans.
In the investment area, brokerage representatives can only sell proprietary or exchange listed products. In the insurance and annuity areas, however, an advisor can provide a client the most appropriate insurance or annuity products generally available. Since I believe I can provide very competitive products in these areas, I have chosen to operate in a fee offset mode for insurance products where the commissions earned often exceed any hourly charges, and so eliminate them.
As an example of my investment approach, I believe that the keys to successful portfolio investment management are the determination of a portfolio’s specific goals, asset allocation, diversification, cost control and an informed balancing of the objectives, risks and rewards of specific investment opportunities. The realization of these cost efficient portfolios can utilize a mix of exchange traded index funds, closed end funds, no-load mutual funds and real estate with the addition of specific common and preferred stocks and bonds as required. This approach, often called core-satellite, is frequently used by institutions. The combination of these low cost investment options together with specific hourly fee advice can provide significant cost savings as well as risk reduction and improved performance to investors.
Good examples of the hourly fee approach are in the areas of pre- and post-retirement planning. The selection of a diversified, low cost, no-load fund family in the most appropriate retirement plan for a sole proprietor or small corporation can significantly reduce the burden of accumulating retirement assets. Professional help can make this decision and plan set up easier. During retirement the appropriate use of fixed and immediate annuities together with no-load mutual or exchange traded funds, can significantly increase the regular cash flow needed by retirees, while reserving equity assets to generate income growth to offset future inflation.
