Trust, but verify.

Q: How do you get paid? What are the actual costs?

A: I'm paid by financial planning fees only. Regardless of which service you select, you'll pay a flat-fee. I don't currently offer hourly billing, subscriptions, Assets Under Management ("AUM"), or anything other than transparent flat-fees. A restaurant without prices on the menu usually involves some sticker shock. I'd rather you know the costs before taking time to reach out. Please see the fee transparency page for current pricing. My fees will always be listed on the website and I'll make sure that you clearly understand the total cost before we decide to work together.

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Q: Who else benefits from the advice you give me?

A: Directly? Nobody. I don't sell products or get commissions. I have no affiliation with banks, insurance companies, brokerages firms, or any other advisors. Indirectly? Large, low-cost brokerage firms and other companies within the financial industry may indirectly benefit simply based on the advice I give. As part of my investment strategy, I believe that keeping fees low is vital. With that, I tend to suggest the use of large, reputable, low-cost brokerage firms. However, I have no affiliation and receive no compensation from any of these companies. 

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Q: Who will I be working with if I move forward with Layered Financial?

A: I'm the sole Investment Adviser Representative at Layered Financial, so you'll be working with me.

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Q: Are you a fiduciary?

A: Yes. As a Registered Investment Adviser, I am required by law to place your interests above my own and base all decisions on this ethical standard. I would do this regardless of the legal requirement, but it's nice for you to know there's a standard that I'm adhering to. I am required to provide impartial, prudent advice that's appropriate for your unique situation. The fiduciary standard includes a duty of care and a duty of loyalty. Here's a good article from Forbes that talks about the fiduciary standard and another from Seeking Alpha discussing fiduciary vs. suitability.

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Q: Will you manage my money for me?

A: No. I'm an advice-only, fee-only financial planner. Under no circumstance will I manage your money or place trades (buy/sell) for you. I will not have custody of your money or discretion to take any action within your accounts. I'm not legally registered to provide that service. It's also not something that I'm interested in doing. I'd rather empower you and provide you with the information to manage your own money.

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Q: Do you sell insurance, annuities, or any other products?

A: No. I'm not licensed/registered to sell products. Not only do I not do sales, I'm also not affiliated with anyone that does. The only service I provide is advice.

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Q: Why are you qualified to help me?

A: In order to register as an Investment Adviser Representative, I had to pass the Series 65, Uniform Investment Adviser Law Exam. I passed the Series 65 exam in October 2022. This was a proctored, in-person test. The tested topics included economic concepts, financial reporting, accounting fundamentals, analytical methods, types of risk, investment vehicles, stocks, bonds, pooled investment vehicles, derivatives, alternative investments, insurance products, portfolio management, tax considerations, retirement plans, education funding, Health Savings Accounts, basic estate planning, laws, regulation, ethical practices, and fiduciary obligations.

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In 2017, I earned the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) designation. The exam for this designation covered topics to include financial transactions, fraud schemes, law, investigation, and fraud prevention & deterrence. This is a globally recognized certification that requires annual continuing professional education credits. Continued education in the areas of fraud detection/deterrence and ethics are mandatory.

 

In addition to the Series 65 and the CFE, I completed several graduate level finance courses in order to earn a Masters in Investigations with a concentration in white collar crime from the University of New Haven. While the CFE and my degree are not directly tied to traditional financial planning, I do believe that there is crossover. Unfortunately, there are a lot of scams, social media influencers, click-bait video producers, and individuals marketing themselves as financial advisors while actually being salespeople. My training, education, and experience will help me work with you to review previous financial investments and thoroughly review investments that you consider in the future. Let me be a second set of eyes on what products, services, and strategies you use in your financial life.

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Q: What services do you provide?

A: I offer three services, all of them are flat-fee and advice-only. The first service is the initial comprehensive plan. This is where you should start if we haven't worked together before. This plan is more in-depth and may address a variety of financial topics, including but not limited to, financial goals, net worth, cash flow analysis, debt management, retirement strategy, risk management, insurance options, long-term investing, and tax reduction. The cost for this service will be a transparent flat-fee that you'll know ahead of time. 50% will be due in advance, and the balance will be due upon plan delivery.

 

After we've done an initial plan, ideally you'll come back and meet with me next year. This follow-up or annual review service. This is not as in-depth as the initial comprehensive plan, but may still cover the same topics above such as net worth updates, a review of your long-term investment strategy, asset allocation, asset location, cash flow analysis, debt payment progress, retirement strategy, tax reduction, and a review of risk management tasks from the initial plan. We need to make sure that your goals, values, and objectives from the initial plan are still accurate. If there are other topics that you want to discuss, that's fine too! Cost for this service will be a transparent flat-fee that you'll know ahead of time. 50% will be due in advance, and the balance will be due upon completion of our annual review/ follow-up call, or delivery of written products if we don't have a call.

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Finally, there's a project-specific service. This service is appropriate for clients who need assistance with individual topics. This is not a detailed financial review and will not result in a comprehensive financial plan. You may select individual topics from the comprehensive plan service, or ask about completely different topics that are on your mind. The cost for this service will be a transparent flat-fee, dependent upon the project size and scope. The fee for the project-specific service will be discussed, agreed upon, and outlined in a written agreement before anything is signed. No surprises!

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Q: How do you think about money? What's your overall philosophy?

A: Good question! For my basic outlook on personal finance, I use the acronym A.R.M.O.R. It stands for: Awareness, Reserves, Mindset, Options, & Risk Management. See an article on A.R.M.O.R. here. More specifically when it comes to investing, I don't think these core tenants will let you down: (1) save/invest more than you spend, (2) keep your fees low, (3) diversify, (4) create multiple paths to success, (5) mitigate risk where you can, (6) understand how time is an asset, (7) know the challenges that come with trying to beat the market, and (8) don't try and time the market. See more about my wealth philosophy here.

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Q: How will we communicate if I become a client?

A: We can communicate by email, phone call, and video call. If we happen to be near each other, we can also meet in person. I do not engage in planning or advice via text message. There are many regulatory rules and compliance requirements surrounding client communications, which is why I communicate with clients solely via email, in person, or through phone/video calls. Documents with personal identifiable information will be shared via secure links using Microsoft OneDrive. When it comes time for a call, we'll use a free video platform such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams.