Frequently Asked Questions

Are you a fiduciary?

Absolutely. As fiduciaries:

• We will always put our clients’ best interests first.
• We will act with prudence; that is, with the skill, care, diligence, and good judgement of a professional.
• We will not mislead clients, and will provide conspicuous, full, and fair disclosure of all important facts.
• We always try to avoid conflicts of interest. But if they ever exist, we will fully disclose them and mitigate them as best we can, in our clients’ favor.

How do you get paid?

We get paid a fee based on the assets we manage. The fee schedule is here. There are no commissions, retainers, or separate planning charges.

How do I pay?

Most clients have us deduct the management fees directly from the investment accounts held at Schwab. Others prefer to receive a quarterly invoice and pay by check. We are happy to accommodate your preferences.

Are we locked in for any length of time?

No. We are confident the value we provide our clients far exceeds the fees we charge. And while we can’t guarantee specific returns, we can guarantee that we will act as fiduciaries and provide exceptional service and guidance throughout the course of your retirement. If at any point you decide the value provided does not exceed the expense, we will part ways as friends and waive our fee for the final quarter of billing.

What are your qualifications?

Every client will work with a team of Certified Financial Planners® that specialize in the needs of retirees.

What is your area of specialization?

Broadly, we focus on retirement planning for client families in the Houston area who are retired or very close to it (typically 5 years or less). For a more detailed look at who we work with, check out the About Us page on our website, and the section “Who We Serve”.

How will our relationship work?

We are flexible. We meet in-person at our Houston office, over Zoom, or by phone. We invite you to schedule quarterly meetings. For our clients that prefer to meet less often, we have a minimum requirement of at least one meeting per year. While we extensively leverage technology and do most things electronically, we are flexible and can easily adapt to your preferences. We send out a weekly email on a relevant planning topic, we host regular in-person and online seminars, as well as regular social events for our clients in and around the Houston area. If you have questions in between scheduled meetings, your team of advisors is always available to answer questions.

Do you just do investments?

We are a comprehensive wealth management firm that will evaluate income, investments, insurance, taxation, and estate planning with regular updates throughout the year.

What asset allocation will you use?

Every client is different, and the allocation will be driven by evaluating the client’s spending needs, goals, account types, and tax bracket.

What investment benchmark do you use?

While outperforming a benchmark is far less important than being on track to achieve your financial goals, we still use a variety of blended benchmarks, aligned with the client’s target allocation, for monitoring portfolio and manager performance over time.

Where will my money be held?

We custody all our assets with Charles Schwab.

Do you do tax planning?

Yes. While we don’t prepare tax returns, we will evaluate tax returns on an annual basis for planning opportunities and work closely with our client’s tax preparer to make sure the plans we execute are properly accounted for on the tax return. Learn more about our tax planning →

Do you do estate planning?

Yes. Every client receives complimentary estate-document creation — wills, trusts, financial powers of attorney, and healthcare directives — through our partnership with Wealth.com, at no cost. If you already have documents, we will review them to make sure they are aligned with your goals. For more complex needs, we will work with your estate attorney, or refer you to one we trust, to make sure nothing falls through the cracks. Learn more about our estate planning →

Do you sell insurance?

No. We will review insurance policies to make sure they are appropriate for the client’s needs and make referrals to trusted insurance professionals when updates are required.