Services
Services & Fees Overview
Getting Started: To properly advise you and manage your investments, it's important to start with a plan. It can be simple or more involved. It's your choice. Our goal is to build a longer-term relationship with you based on trust, service, and performance. However, we are flexible. If it meets your needs and preferences, we can develop a financial plan that you manage yourself or we can work with you on an hourly basis to address a specific task or goal for you.
Full Service
This includes investments for retirement, education, general, and other purposes. This also includes cash flow and debt management assistance, tax & estate planning assistance, and evaluation of insurance needs. Full service advisory services are split into two components:
Financial Plan - A full individualized plan is the initial step and includes two comprehensive meetings and provides specific investment and financial recommendations. If appropriate, a simpler financial plan may be used that involves a single meeting at a lower cost.
Ongoing Investment Management & Financial Planning - This includes implementation of your initial financial plan and managing your investments for you. It also includes annual review meetings with you, quarterly portfolio reviews, concise quarterly summary statements & newsletters, and annual account rebalancing.
Hourly (a la carte)
If you find that you want independent and unbiased help answering specific questions or addressing specific tasks or goals, then receiving financial advisory assistance on an hourly basis might be a good option for you. Everything is fully-customized to fit your needs and fees are very predictable.
Fees
Our fee structure is clear, fair, and allows your investments to flourish without unneeded extra costs. We have lower fees than most other companies because our overhead is extremely low and we don't have hefty management, administrative, or marketing fees. Yet, we provide personal, expert, and trustworthy service--a great value for you!
We are a fee-only (not a fee-based) advisor, so are not compensated based on sales or commissions. This is a very important distinction and can profoundly affect the quality of service you receive and the costs you incur. Please click the link for an explanation of the difference between fee-only and fee-based advisors.
Our fees differ in structure depending on the service(s) you want:
A financial plan has a flat fixed fee.
Ongoing investment management & financial planning is charged quarterly based on the total size of your investment accounts (i.e. assets under management). The fees increase as your account increases, which means our incentive is to help your account grow--a very good thing! However, as your account grows, our fees, as a percentage of your account balance, actually decrease. You benefit from the efficiencies of your larger investment account.
Hourly financial advisory services are, of course, charged at an hourly rate.
Services & Fees in Detail
Full Service - Financial Plan
Typical Fee: $1,500 (May be subject to discount -- contact us for details. We are a fee-only, not fee-based advisory firm.)
If you are interested in considering beginning a relationship with Silver Maple Financial, we would be happy to discuss this with you. The first step is a brief conversation or two and/or some exchange of email communications, after which, if you are interested in proceeding further, we get to know you better and gather more information about your goals.
A more extensive sit-down meeting is scheduled, at which the details of your goals, finances, and investments are discussed along with ideas and potential plans. During approximately the next 3 to 6 weeks, we develop and refine a plan to best suit you and your goals and needs. A second sit-down meeting is scheduled at which the plan is presented, explained, and discussed. Unless further refinement is necessary, this ends the initial planning portion.
What can you expect from the plan that is developed for you?
Your plan will include specific account type and securities recommendations and may consist of one or more of the following primary areas:
Investment review, and general investment planning
Retirement investment planning
Education funding planning
Your plan may also consist of one or more of the following secondary areas:
Cash flow & debt management
Tax planning
Estate planning
Evaluation of insurance needs
If extensive needs exist in the secondary areas, in addition to our recommendations, we may also refer you to an appropriate professional such as an accountant, estate-planning attorney, or insurance professional.
Full Service - Ongoing Investment Management & Financial Planning
Fees from $600/year ($50/month) (For details, see Fee Schedule, below. May be subject to discount. We are a fee-only, not fee-based advisory firm.)
After the initial financial plan is complete, we would be pleased to assist you with implementing the plan, managing your investments, assisting you as your needs dictate, and sitting down with you for annual "financial physicals" or "check-ups".
These advisory services form a complete package that includes:
Implementation of your financial plan (developed using a previous Financial Plan advisory service).
Ongoing management of your investments & financial plan.
What can I expect?
We implement the financial plan, which may involve establishing new accounts, account transfers, and/or setting-up contribution or withdrawal schedules from these accounts.
We manage your investments on an ongoing basis, including:
Many types of accounts: IRA, Roth IRA, 401k, 403b, general, Education 529, trust, etc.
Quarterly investment portfolio reviews, including customized investment summary statements & newsletters
Ongoing occasional consultation as your needs dictate
Annual sit-down reviews (or remote if you prefer) and rebalancing of investment accounts
Other financial planning: cash flow & debt management, evaluation of insurance needs, estate & tax planning assistance
What would an annual review be like?
An annual review is typically a sit-down meeting, but it can be held remotely if this is more convenient for you. During the annual review, adjustments are made to your financial plan as your life changes, and as your life circumstances dictate. Your investments are also rebalanced annually (at a minimum) to keep them on-track with your plan.
Updating your plan may consist of modifications regarding one or more of the following primary areas:
Investment review, and general investment planning
Retirement investment planning
Education funding planning
Updating your plan during the annual review may also consist of modifications regarding one or more of the following secondary areas:
Cash flow & debt management
Tax planning
Estate planning
Evaluation of insurance needs
If extensive needs exist in the secondary areas, in addition to our recommendations, we may also refer you to an appropriate professional such as an accountant, estate-planning attorney, or insurance professional.
What would these services cost?
All of these services are covered according to the fee schedule below. Fees are assessed on a quarterly basis (every 3 months).
Fee Schedule
Silver Maple Financial is a fee-only (not fee-based) financial advisor. The advisory fee is made up of a fixed base fee and an Assets Under Management (AUM) fee that is based on your total account portfolio value. Note that as your assets increase, the percentage of the AUM fee decreases.
Annual Advisory Fee = Annual Base Fee + Annual AUM Fee
Annual Base Fee: $600 (may be subject to a discount or waiver – see “Starter Fee Provisions,” below)
Annual AUM Fee: 0.50% for the First $1,000,000 of AUM
0.40% for the Next $4,000,000 of AUM
0.35% for Additional Amounts Over $5,000,000 of AUM
Starter Fee Provisions:
1. Clients that have no more than one investment account (under management, or under advisement for planning & consulting purposes) and a total portfolio balance of less than $50,000, with no individual stocks, will receive a 50% discount off of the base fee. The AUM fee shall remain the same.
2. Clients with only (a) high-interest savings account(s), will enjoy a waiver of the base fee, and will only pay the AUM fee.
Clients that no longer meet the criteria for any of the starter fee provisions, above, will revert back to the standard fee schedule.
Fee Discussion/Rationale
A smaller investment account portfolio typically has less overall complexity and requires fewer options and less time & effort to manage it well. A larger portfolio is typically more complex and also has more options that may be prudent to consider and therefore requires more time & effort to manage it well.
However, while the amount of fees is higher for larger portfolios, the effective fees, as a percentage of assets, are actually lower. This represents efficiencies of working with larger portfolios. These efficiencies increase as the amount under management increases. We feel it is therefore prudent, fair, and in your best interest, that the fees as a percent of assets be smaller for larger portfolios.
Even with larger portfolios, many other advisors cannot compete with the low effective percentage that Silver Maple Financial’s fees represent as a percent of assets. Bottom-line, we offer you expert management and customer service at a price that gives you a superior value, and most-importantly, is consistent with your best interests.
Hourly Financial Advisory Services -- Investment & Financial Consulting
Fee: $200/hour
If you find that you want independent and unbiased help answering specific questions or addressing specific tasks or goals, receiving advisory assistance on an hourly basis might be a good option for you. Everything is fully-customized to fit your needs and fees are very predictable.
Quick Reference Fee Table
Click here for a 1-page snapshot of SMF fees: SMF Table of Fees for Services