1.       Q: What is your process for working with clients?

A: Our process typically begins with an introductory meeting where we learn about your current financial situation and understand your goals and aspirations, your personal values, your key relationships, and anything else that may be relevant to constructing a holistic plan for your financial future.

After the introductory meeting, we will draft an investment plan and Investment Policy Statement (IPS) incorporating all the information we gathered from the introductory meeting.  We will meet again to review the drafted investment plan, walk you through the details, and get your feedback to see if any changes are required or additional information is needed or discovered.

There is no cost to you for either of these meetings.  If, after the second meeting we have presented a compelling case for you to hire us, we can begin a formal relationship as your financial advisor.

Once hired, we essentially become your personal/family Chief Financial Officer and are available to help you plan through any financial event in your life — minimizing taxes, saving and investing effectively in your retirement plan, planning for children’s and/or grandchildren’s educational expenses, evaluating insurance needs compared to your current coverage, creating a retirement spending plan, Social Security and Medicare planning, creating and updating the appropriate estate planning documents, etc. 

The complexity of your situation, and the goals and objectives determined by our prior meetings will determine how often we meet and what we spend the most time discussing. 

​

2.      Q: Will you coordinate with my other professional service providers (e.g. accountant,
              estate attorney, insurance agent)?

A: To the extent you want us to, we will coordinate with your other professional service providers.  Although we are experienced in tax, estate, and insurance issues, we are extremely collaborative and will incorporate experts whenever appropriate. 

We will advise on tax management strategies, but we do not prepare returns and would defer to your tax professional for final approval on tax issues.  We can raise questions, make suggestions, and discuss the pros and cons of various estate planning strategies, but we will defer to your attorney to draft legal documents.  We will analyze your current insurance policies and help you purchase (if needed) any new policies, but we do not sell insurance.

Our value is to uncover and identify planning opportunities, and then ensure they are addressed and implemented. 

3.       Q: What is your investment strategy?

A: Our core investment strategy utilizes low-cost, passively managed Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), closed-end and no-load mutual funds, and various fixed income products.  Your portfolio will be a low-cost, globally diversified portfolio that is designed to provide the after-tax, risk-adjusted market returns needed to reach your unique goals. 

Market performance is unpredictable and largely out of your control.  Therefore, you should focus on those elements which you can control — keeping costs low, diversifying, and staying disciplined through both up and down markets. 

History shows that almost every decade has a market ‘surprise’ of some kind.  Working with Consolidated Wealth Management will help ensure that you stay focused on what matters — the long-term plan — and avoid making critical mistakes during periods of market volatility.

4.       Q: What if I want to buy some individual stocks on my own?

A: Part of our introductory meeting will be spent learning about your interest in financial markets.  Many clients have a long history of investing on their own, and are hesitant to give up any control of their portfolio.  If this is applicable to you, we are happy to find a solution that works for everyone. 

Typically, that would be for you to maintain a separate account specifically for your own stock picking activities.  Our goal would be to ensure that whatever you are doing in your separate account is not at risk of upending your overall financial success (e.g. having too much of your net worth tied up in one stock).

​

5.       Q: Are you going to immediately sell all my current holdings?

A: We will not indiscriminately sell your current portfolio holdings if you decide to work with us.  We find clients often have holdings that can be kept and built around.

A key step in developing your individual investment plan is to analyze your current holdings to ensure we understand what (if any) tax consequences would result from selling any positions. Conversely, we also want to make sure you understand the risk/reward for every one of your remaining positions, and that they are appropriate for your long-term goals. 

We would only sell a position (and often do it over a multi-year period for tax purposes) after thoroughly explaining our reasoning and receiving your approval. 

6.       Q: Will you ever buy or sell something without my permission?

A: At Consolidated Wealth Management, we do not take ‘discretion’ of your account(s).  Therefore, we will never buy or sell anything without your express consent.

7.       Q: How much does your service cost?

A: We are a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor (RIA).  Our fee is a flat fee and is not a percentage of assets. Our fee will not continuously increase as your account increases in value, as many of our competitor’s fees do. 

After our introductory meeting, we will assess the complexity of your planning needs and quote you an annual fee, which is paid quarterly. This is a rolling annual agreement and cannot be changed without your consent.

In addition to the advisory fee, there are two separate third party fees:  transaction fees from the brokerage firm, and ‘expense ratios’ of the investment products. 

The transaction fee is charged by the brokerage firm whenever we buy or sell a position. The fee schedule for these charges can be found HERE. However, our core investment strategy is low turnover and is designed to minimize the number of transactions incurred, and remember—we will never make a buy or sell without your consent. 

The ‘expense ratio’ is charged directly by the managers of the investment products we use. Each of the low-cost Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) or mutual funds we utilize have a built-in expense ratio which is deducted directly from the investment and is paid to the fund creators (e.g. iShares, Vanguard, etc.).  The overall expense ratios for our portfolios are typically less than 50 basis points (one half of one percent; or $5 per $1,000 invested).  The expense ratio for any investment in your portfolio can be found on the fund issuers website or prospectus.

8. Q: Where are my accounts held, and will I have access to them?

A: Our primary custodian is RBC Clearing & Custody (RBC C&C).  You maintain full authority over your accounts at all time, as well as 24/7 online access for real-time data, as well as free check-writing and debit card, if desired.

Accounts that aren’t transferrable (e.g. your current company 401(k) account) will stay with their current custodian and we will link to them via third party software and/or get duplicate quarterly statements provided to us so that we can maintain accurate account balances.

​

9. Q: How do I get started?

A: Simply call or email us to get a meeting scheduled at your convenience.

​

​