Why is Fee only important?
Fee-only financial planners are registered investment advisors with a fiduciary responsibility to act in their client’s best interest. Fee-only advisors do not accept commissions, or any sales-related compensation. They have fewer inherent conflicts of interest and generally provide more comprehensive planning.
What does it mean to be an Independent Financial Advisor?
An independent financial advisor is an advisor that is not tied to the proprietary products of one firm and/or not tied to minimum production requirements of one specific investment or insurance company.
How does Spain & Smith work with their clients?
As a standard, we have annual reviews with our clients at least 1x/year, but often times we meet more regularly than that, especially in the first year.
It’s our clients who set the expectation as to how often they want to hear from us and meet with us. Again, each client is unique and we tailor our connections to those preferences.
We also collaborate with your CPA, estate planning attorney, and other professionals. If you don’t have one, or looking for a second opinion, we also happy to introduce you to professionals whom we know and work with well.
How does Spain & Smith make money?
We are a fee-only financial advising practice, which means we are not paid by commissions. Our clients pay us in one of two ways: either by a fee which represents a percentage of the assets we manage for them or as a flat financial planning fee. That’s it.
What information will I be asked to provide?
The more you share with us, the better we can help you. So, anything relating to your financial situation is important, but we’re also going to ask questions that will help us get to know you more personally. This helps us to meet you where you are and craft our advice in a way that will suit you well.
On the financial side, our question’s will look to better understand your basic financial information, investments, debts, dependents, income, estate planning documents, etc.