FAQ’s

We try to make this process very easy for you. The first step is an initial meeting in which we get to know you, and review your goals. We ask you to complete a confidential questionnaire in advance. We will then determine the best mix of investments for your situation and prepare the documents. If you’re transferring assets, such as an IRA, we take care of all the paperwork for you.

The minimum to open an account is $150,000. We’ve set this minimum in order to establish a properly diversified portfolio for you.

Yes, we manage many IRA accounts. We would prepare the necessary paperwork for your signature so that we can do a direct transfer of assets from your present custodian to your new one.

Yes, in some cases we can manage a client’s 401(k) or 403(b) account. It all depends on how your plan administrator at work set up the plan.

That’s no problem at all. Many of our clients live in different parts of the country. You still get all the benefits of our services via the telephone, fax, regular mail or e-mail.

Our business revolves around you. We work directly for you, not some Wall Street Bank seeking to maximize its own profits. We are totally independent and as a fee-only advisor we have no financial ties to any other custodian, product producer, or service provider. We never receive commissions on any assets we recommend. This leaves us free to pick the very best products and providers for our clients with no outside influence or conflicts of interest.

Retirement Planning Solutions never holds client assets. Registered Investment Advisers are actually prohibited by law from taking custody of your assets. It is therefore necessary to utilize a third party custodian. We have an agreement with T D Ameritrade discount brokerage to provide custody, record keeping, and reporting services for our clients. Accounts are titled in the client’s name, and disbursements from that account may only be made to the client at their address of record or the client’s bank account. If the client authorizes, the custodian may deduct our fee directly from the account. The custodian will also provide the client with confirmations of each purchase, sale, or disbursement, a monthly statement, and consolidated tax reporting at year-end.

Note: We are not employees of the custodian, and receive no compensation from them for placing trades through them. We are free to select any discount brokerage house to provide custody for client accounts. It is our belief that T D Ameritrade offers the most complete service with the lowest costs.

In addition, TD Ameritrade maintains a combined SIPC and commercial insurance of $150,000,000 per customer against loss shares or failure of the brokerage.

We internally monitor accounts on a weekly and monthly basis. We also review all client accounts frequently for rebalancing, tax loss harvesting, or other tax management opportunities. Additionally, every cash flow provides an opportunity to rebalance your portfolio to its original weighting.

We want to have a long close personal relationship with you. However, not all clients want regularly scheduled meetings. In addition to our detailed monthly reports, our clients have virtually unlimited access to their advisor whether by personal visits, phone, email, or web conferencing. We are here to serve you. You set the number of visits you are comfortable with or that your situation requires.

Please let us know right away about any major changes in your life that might affect your needs. Examples are marriage, divorce, a change or loss of your job, a major change in your health or a major new financial obligation that you may have encountered.

Yes, we can usually transfer money into your bank account within 24 – 48 hours. However, we recommend that you maintain a separate emergency fund, so that you don’t have to unexpectedly sell long-term investments.

Generally no, we make trades in each account according to the discipline on which we have agreed when we set up your account. When we are trading, our job is to get it done in a timely fashion, and we would not be able to do so if we consulted with clients ahead of time.

Yes we can, and in most cases there will be no cost to you for this service.

You will receive a statement each month from our custodian, TD Ameritrade.

Yes. Your account can be viewed right on our web site since we have a link to TD Ameritrade

Your privacy is a primary concern of Retirement Planning Solutions. We will never share financial or personal information with anyone else without your express written permission in advance.

Each quarter we have our management fee taken directly from your account. This way you never have to write us a check for our services.

Our fees are based on a percentage of your account balance, and they are graduated depending on the size of your account. The following rates are quoted as annual percentages, so ¼ of the annual fee will be billed quarterly.

Most brokerage firms charge commissions on the products they sell. Under that scenario, your broker would get paid all of their fees up front, even before they invested a dime of your money. With them getting paid up front, one has to ask, how much incentive do they really have to make your account grow on a long term basis, and how closely are they going to watch your account?

With Retirement Planning Solutions, we charge NO commissions or up front money and we monitor your account continually. We charge only a small management fee. This means we get paid on the value of your account and it’s performance. Hence, we have every incentive to make your account grow.

In some cases, our fees are deductible. However, we are not tax professionals, so you should see your tax advisor for details.