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Arnold & Mote Wealth Management is now a flat fee financial advisor.
Our clients have one flat fee, billed monthly or quarterly, for both financial planning and investment management services. That fee does not change based on assets under management, or whether the stock market goes up or down.
Our flat fee for wealth management is $12,500 per year for couples, or $11,000 for individuals. That is billed $3,125 or $2,750 per quarter directly from client Charles Schwab accounts.
Our flat fee for financial planning, our service without any investment account management (also known as “advice only planning”), is $9,000, billed $750 per month, or $2,250 per quarter.
As you know, we have always been a fee-only, fiduciary advisor. That means that we don’t receive commissions or payments from insurance and investment companies if we recommend their products.
This has reduced conflicts of interest and better ensures that the financial advice we give is independent and in your best interest.
Being a flat, fixed fee advisor now takes this one step further. Your cost for advice and wealth management is completely transparent.
Interested in working with a flat fee financial advisor? Get started here
You probably know that the vast majority of the financial advice industry operates under a commission based service model. These fee-based advisors make their money by recommending financial products such as life insurance and mutual funds that pay them a kickback.
Another significant portion of the industry works on a fee that is based on “assets under management”, or AUM. They charge a percentage based fee on your investment accounts. If an AUM advisor charges a 1% fee, and you have $1 million, your fee is $10,000 per year. If your account grows to $1.2 million, or you just deposit another $200,000 into the accounts, your fee is now $12,000.
We at Arnold and Mote Wealth Management are one of only a small number of firms that charge a flat fee for all financial planning and investment management services. That fee does not change based on whether you buy any insurance, invest in specific mutual funds, or deposit more money into your accounts.
There are a variety of fee structures in the financial services industry. We believe a flat fee structure is the most fair and transparent fee for our clients.
You should be able to very quickly see the inherent conflict of interest for any commission-based financial advisor. If the only way to make money is to sell a life insurance policy, you are going to be pitched the benefits of a life insurance policy.
These “advisors” might say they will help with your Social Security strategy, investment asset allocation, withdrawal and other tax strategies, or any other non-insurance related issue. But, we all know their time will be focused on insurance and investment product sales.
Advisors working under a percent of assets fee are generally better aligned with your interests than commission based advisors. However, conflicts still exist. If you have extra cash that you want to save into your investment accounts, that will raise your fee.
In addition, if you ask an advisor billing a percentage fee on your large account balance whether it is best for you to pay down debt, or buy rental property, or do anything to take money out of their management, just know that their compensation depends on convincing you to keep money invested under their management.
These examples highlight why we believe a flat fee model from a fee-only advisor is the best choice for our clients.
It allows us to work with only your best interests in mind. We are paid no more, or no less, based on what you want to do with your money. You are welcome to move money in or out of your accounts for car and home purchases, paying down debt, or purchasing bank CDs, without worrying that our advice could be clouded by a fee based on the assets in the account.
At Arnold and Mote Wealth Management, our comprehensive planning services cover every aspect of your financial life. Our services will cover:
A retirement income plan gives you the confidence to use your investments to achieve your goals. Using Monte Carlo analysis, we’ll test how likely it is you can accomplish everything you want in life with your portfolio and savings, under a few different spending scenarios.
We’ll also provide retirement guardrails, so that you know how changes in the plan or the stock market will impact your retirement income.
Tax-efficient retirement planning is the cornerstone of a successful financial plan. Roth conversion plans, withdrawal strategies, and tax loss harvesting are just a few of the tools that we use to reduce your tax liability in retirement.
Our wealth management service includes help with all aspects of managing your investment accounts. We will perform all trading, rebalancing, withdrawals, and other administrative tasks for your accounts.
Our financial planning advisory service still includes investment advice, however it will be up to you to implement the advice and manage your accounts going forward.
We are strong believers in low cost investment strategies. Using low cost, passively managed index funds, we’ll help create an investment portfolio and asset allocation that is right for your plan.
Proper insurance coverage ensures that you and your family are protected. We’ll help determine the amount of coverage you need, evaluate the best options available, and will even tell you when you can feel comfortable surrendering a policy.
Our insurance analysis covers:
Health care expenses are one of the most significant expenses for a retiree. Having the right Medicare supplemental policy and prescription drug plan are some of the best ways to reduce unexpected costs in retirement.
We’ll help with:
We’ll identify tax-advantaged options for gifting money to loved ones and charities you care about. We help process Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), set up a Donor Advised Fund, and plan for large gifts through Charitable Remainder Trusts.
A proper estate plan ensures that your wishes are met at the end of your life. Taking the time to do an estate plan ensures your money goes where you want, your heirs have less hassle, and taxes and fees are minimized.
Visit our Service Page here to see more details about our levels of service.
Our flat management fees are debited from client investment accounts directly, each quarter.
Clients are provided with quarterly reports showing recent investment portfolio performance, their current investment allocation, and our fee that was deducted from the account.
We provide flat-fee financial advice for clients across the country. If you are interested in working with a flat fee advisor, please schedule a free introductory meeting with us to see if we are a good fit.
We are members of two great organizations:
NAPFA – The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors.
Both groups are made up solely of fee-only financial advisors. Though, very few are flat fee.
Financial planning and quality investment management make a tremendous difference in the lives of our clients. We are proud to take this next step to offer financial plans at a fair, transparent price to you.