Our Services

We provide a variety of services that help you answer questions.

Goal Setting - how do I clarify my financial goals such as getting out of debt, buying a home, paying for college, or retirement?

Retirement Planning – when will I be able to retire? What should I do with my 401k and IRA plans? What are the most tax-advantaged strategies to withdraw from my retirement funds?

Portfolio Review – can I have an objective second opinion on my current investments, IRAs and retirement accounts?

Investment Planning – what is asset allocation? What role do mutual funds, stocks, bonds, REITs and alternative investments have in my portfolio?

Insurance Review – do I have sufficient life, disability, homeowner and auto insurance? Am I paying too much? Do I have the right types of insurance for my situation?

Saving For College - how much do I need to save for my children’s college education? What tax credits and deductions are available? What steps can I take to maximize financial aid?

Estate Planning – do I have appropriate legal documents to insure my life, assets and children will be handled according to my wishes at my death or incapacity?

Tax Planning – are there additional strategies to help me reduce my tax bill?

Our Process

Initial Meeting - The first meeting allows us to listen to your concerns and goals. There is no fee for this session. We will explain our services and answer your questions about the financial planning process. By the end of the meeting you will have a clear idea of how we can serve you and what our fee will be. If we mutually decide to proceed, we will schedule the information discovery meeting.

Second Meeting - We conduct the information discovery phase of financial planning during our next meeting. By reviewing previous tax returns, bank accounts, insurance policies and other documents, we will get an idea of your current financial position. We help identify your specific goals. We will also establish an agreement or retainer for services. Typically, half of the planning fee is paid at this meeting.

We then research options, make financial projections and develop a custom financial plan including specific recommendations for you to achieve your goals.

Third Meeting - We explain your financial plan and our recommendations during the next meeting. You may choose to implement the recommendations on your own but many clients prefer to retain our services to help them implement their plan. We will explain in detail how to best reach your goals and objectives.

Regular Reviews - If we are managing your assets as part of a yearly retainer, throughout the year we will meet with you to discuss your investments and asset allocation to examine how your portfolio is progressing and if necessary, make any changes. Some clients like to meet quarterly, while others meet on an "as needed" basis. It is up to you.

Our Fees

We are an independent, fee-only financial planning and investment management firm. Unlike many financial firms, we do not accept commissions or compensation of any kind based on the solutions we recommend. Instead, you pay us for objective advice. We offer services by the hour, by the project or as a percentage of assets under management. Fees are explained in writing before any services are rendered.

By the hour - we provide financial consulting for specific topics such as but not limited to: college funding, debt solutions, investment advice, tax planning, financial checkups and portfolio reviews. The fee is $125 per hour.

By the project - Developing a comprehensive financial plan is perhaps the most important step to achieving your goals. We will help you identify you goals, assess your current status and provide specific recommendations. Refer to our planning process for additional information. The financial planning fee depends on the complexity of your situation and typically ranges from $500 - $1,000.

Assets Under Management - Many clients hire AAM to help them implement their investment plan.  We can manage your investments so that you can spend your time and attention elsewhere. We meet as needed for additional strategy meetings and to answer your questions. The yearly retainer fee ranges from 0.5% to 1.0% of assets under management depending on services required and the amount invested.

In addition to the fees described above, some of our investment representatives may be also individually insurance licensed and may implement insurance solutions to meet your needs outside of Advanced Asset Management LLC.