Yes. We have a legal, fiduciary duty to put your interests ahead of our own. Without the financial incentive to generate more trades or sell higher margin products or the limitations of only having the firm's approved investment offerings. In addition, Daniel Shub holds Accredited Investment Fiduciary® Designation.
Are my assets safe?
As an independent advisor, we use a third-party custodian (TD Ameritrade) to serve as the safe keeper of your investments. TD Ameritrade is responsible for ensuring that your money is in a separate account under your name, with us only having limited authority to manage the account on your behalf. You have full access via website and phone and receive correspondence about your account directly from your custodian.
TD Ameritrade Institutional and Schwab Advisor Services are merging and becoming Schwab Advisor Services. The united platform will offer a best-of-both technology platform and new and improved products and services that will benefit all advisors and their clients. We're excited to announce the transition is expected to take place Labor Day weekend 2023. Until then, TD Ameritrade and Schwab Advisor Services continue to operate as separate custodians.
Charles Schwab & Co, Inc. has more than 30 years of experience serving independent advisors. Schwab was a pioneer in the business of exclusively serving independent, fee-only investment advisors and their clients.
As of October 31, 2022 Schwab has $7.00T total client assets. Total client assets and brokerage accounts based on combined data for Schwab and TD Ameritrade as of October 31, 2022, using company reports.
Communications
We work with an intentionally limited number of clients, so we can know everyone and give you all the time you need - because the details matter, and people matter. You can expect a response to your inquiries from Daniel Shub personally on the same day or, on rare occasions, the next day at the latest. We work virtually and in person. We will meet regularly to revisit your financial plan and make adjustments as needed, considering changes in your circumstances, tax rules, regulations, and other factors that may affect your long-term plan.
Consolidated reporting tools
In addition to having access to your accounts at TD Ameritrade via the website and an 800 number, we will give you access to a Financial Planning Portal where you can monitor the progress toward achieving your goals and a Client Portal to view the performance of your accounts.
What is Financial Planning?
Dynamic income planning that is continuously tested against current conditions and allows for adjustments as circumstances change
Tax-smart distribution planning
Asset location
Proper coordination of all income sources in retirement
Advise on Social Security and Pension Benefits, stock options, Medicare, Life and Long-term care insurance, and other topics.
Proactive, forward-looking tax planning
Retirement planning
Expense budgeting
Comprehensive modeling of your net worth to provide you with a framework for quantifying financial decisions
Do you provide Tax Planning?
Most advisors aren't willing or able to provide tax planning. We offer annual tax planning as part of our comprehensive financial planning service. While often overlooked, robust tax planning is one of the most valuable pieces of a complete financial plan.
How do you invest?
We align your portfolio with your goals and risk profile, incorporating advanced tax management techniques. The investments used in the portfolios are low-cost institutional mutual funds and ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds). We strategically place the funds across your household's accounts to optimize tax efficiency monitoring for rebalancing and tax loss harvesting opportunities. Our investment approach is grounded in Nobel Prize-winning academic research. See Philosophy for more information.
What if something happens to you?
TD Ameritrade holds your accounts. You can reach out to TD Ameritrade directly via phone, email, or website. TD Ameritrade has thousands of employees and a client service department ready to assist you.
What are your fees?
Our flat fee is simple and transparent. The amount generally ranges between $1,000 and $2,500 per quarter based on the complexity of your financial situation and the services we provide, not on your assets. Our advisory fee is deducted quarterly from the accounts we manage on your behalf. We know from experience that it does not cost a firm more to manage a portfolio of $4,000,000 than a portfolio of $2,000,000. Why, then, should clients pay more to receive the same services?
Working with an intentionally limited number of clients, keeping our overhead low, and being independent (not having the layers of management in the firm), we can offer most clients a substantially lower advisory fee than the large Wall Street firms. Although our fees are lower than traditional providers for many of our clients, we do not restrict client interactions and provide the same level of services, support, and technology as the larger firms.
The difference between a typical 1% investment advisory fee and a flat annual retainer fee over a long period can be overwhelming. If we assume a 7% return on a portfolio, a 1% advisory fee can cost an investor with a $2,000,000 portfolio over $3,000,000 in lost returns over thirty years compared to a flat annual retainer fee of $8,000.
*This is a hypothetical example. Actual results will vary. Investing involves risk, including a loss of principal.
