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:


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:

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:

Your plan may also consist of one or more of the following secondary areas:

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:

What can I expect?

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:

Updating your plan during the annual review may also consist of modifications regarding one or more of the following secondary areas:

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