FAQ’s
Below are some of the common questions we receive from investors. It’s important for you to know what to expect from your advisor and how the advisor will meet your individual needs. We want you to make the very best possible decision. For additional details on how we work with clients, Contact Us
Setting Up An Account
Account Maintenance
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 Charles Schwab 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 Charles Schwab offers the most complete service with the lowest costs.
In addition, Charles Schwab maintains a combined SIPC and commercial insurance of $150,000,000 per customer against loss shares or failure of the brokerage.
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.
Our Fees
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.
| Account Size | Annual Fee |
|---|---|
| $150,000 – $250,000 | 1.40% |
| $250,001 – $500,000 | 1.20% |
| $500,001 – $1,000,000 | 1.00% |
| $1,000,001 – $2,000,000 | 0.75% |
| $2,000,001 – $5,000,000 | 0.50% |
| $5,000,001 – $8,000,000 | 0.35% |
| $8,000,000 plus | 0.25% |
When you work with Retirement Planning Solutions, you will receive the following advantages:
- Full-time commitment to managing your money
- Higher expected returns while taking less risk
- 100% objective in our financial guidance
- Access to institutional index funds
- Free advice on other assets
- Advice for family members
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.