SERVICES & FEES
Planvesting is a full-service, fixed-fee investment advisor. Our process begins by working with you to develop an investment plan which takes into account your entire portfolio (not just the assets that we directly manage). We do not rush this process: we want you to be perfectly comfortable with the reasoning behind our recommendations.
Once the plan meets your approval, we will implement it – sometimes in steps and sometimes all at once. We do not take custody of your accounts (we currently use TDAmeritrade as our primary custodian) and we will never place trades in your account without your explicit approval (usually via email).
We view our services as those of an expert consultant, much like the services provided by a C.P.A. or estate planning attorney. As such, we charge a flat quarterly fee based approximately on the total number of hours we required to manage your portfolio. Our minimum fee is $2,500 per year (or $625 per quarter). That fee does not grow as your account grows. We believe that fees based on “assets under management” (AUM) are unfair and exploitative when pursuing passive investment strategies. AUM fees are a carryover from the realm of active management and the mistaken belief that active managers can add value by outperforming the markets over the long-term.
In addition, advisor fees based on a percentage of AUM penalizes affluent investors. All else being equal, it takes no more effort to prudently manage a $500,000 portfolio than it does to manage a $5,000,000 portfolio. Our recommended account minimum, by the way, is $500,000.