frequently asked question

Wealth management, also known as private wealth management, is the overall management and advice of your financial affairs. Wealth management includes financial planning, management of your investments, tax and estate planning, insurance/risk management, advice on important financial decisions, and removal of emotions from the investment decision making process. For a more detailed explanation of ongoing wealth management, please click here. 

A one-time financial plan is a finite engagement. Once the plan is completed, we meet (in person or virtually) to go over our findings and recommendations, but you are responsible for implementing the plan. Click here to find out more about what is included in a one-time financial plan.

With an ongoing wealth management relationship, we prepare the same financial plan for you to start, but when it comes to the implementation phase of the plan, we take that over for you. The recommendations are unique to each individual client, but in general implementation includes placing trades in your accounts, consolidating your accounts, tracking your overall progress toward your goals, and managing your portfolio on a daily basis. For more information about the benefits of having an ongoing relationship with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ see video here.

Yes, we are fiduciaries and adhere to a fiduciary oath.

Every single portfolio we manage is customized for those clients. Therefore, we do not have an average rate of return for each client because each portfolio we manage is custom tailored to our client’s specific needs and adjusts as our client’s risk profile changes. In addition, some clients have legacy holdings or investments they do not want to sell. Therefore, no two clients will have the same portfolio even if they have  similar risk profiles. As a result, the rate of return on every portfolio differs. 

We will reach out to you at least quarterly for a regular check-in; however, we encourage you to contact us anytime you have financial and/or tax related questions. Common subjects include: estate planning, home refinance, home purchase, car purchase/lease, insurance review, etc. While we are happy to meet with you in our office, we can also communicate with you via video call, phone, or email, whichever medium is convenient for you.

The cost for wealth management starts at 1% per year on the value of the assets under management (AUM) and the percentage decreases with larger asset balances. You can obtain more details about pricing by visiting our pricing page.

Our pricing is based on assets that we manage, also known as Assets Under Management (AUM). AUM includes accounts such as IRAs, 401ks, brokerage accounts, trust accounts, and other marketable securities. While we advise our clients on all types of assets and financial matters, not all assets are included in the calculation of the fee. For example, real estate, cash, and college 529 plans are not included in the calculation of the AUM, even though we advise our clients on such assets on a regular basis. 

Once you decide to work with ACap, we will send you a Welcome Package which will include three documents: engagement letter, New Client Questionnaire (NCQ), and Financial Documents Checklist. The NCQ is a 7-10 page document with many open-ended questions for you to complete regarding your goals. We will also create a secure online folder for you to begin uploading your financial documents (using the financial documents checklist as a guide) to avoid sending sensitive items through email. Once we have collected all the documents, we will begin reviewing everything and follow up with you as needed with additional questions. 

Investing is a long-term endeavor and not a sprint. At ACap, we believe in investing, not speculating. Our goal is not to time the market or gamble with your money to pick the next hottest stock. We invest in low cost index funds that track segments of the overall market. For example, we will buy an index fund that invests in the S&P 500, NASDAQ, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and other widely known indexes.

Generally, the time to start working with a financial advisor is when your life becomes too busy and you don’t have the time or the inclination to ensure your financial and tax situation is optimized. Sometimes there are not enough hours in the day to balance work, family, and community responsibilities, leaving very little time to manage financial and tax matters.

You may be a dual income family with children and your financial situation has become complicated because you have accumulated various accounts throughout the years, have stock options you want optimized, have to save for college, plan for retirement, maybe care for an elderly parent, and you want a professional who can oversee these for you. 

For some, this could be a major liquidity event such as an inheritance or sale of business. In such instances, your goal may be to find someone to help you preserve and grow the capital or help you optimize your tax strategy. they no longer have the time or the inclination to ensure their investments and financial affairs are optimized. 

A qualified financial planner can create a financial plan that is tailored to your goals and personal circumstances. In addition, a financial planner is a trusted resource who provides you with unbiased advice and guides you in making important life decisions. A qualified financial planner is one who is a CFP, adheres to a fiduciary standard, is independent, has relevant experience, and is always working in your best interests.

Refer to our pricing page for more details.

A one-time financial plan is a very detailed analysis of your financial situation, including a review of your investments, insurance, taxes, and estate planning documents. It is highly customized to address your goals and concerns. For more details, click here to learn more about the components of a financial plan.

The financial planning process is a very thorough review of all of your financially related documents.  Because we leave no stone unturned in reviewing everything from your insurance policies to the specific investments in your retirement accounts, the whole process takes approximately 5-6 weeks, on average, from start to finish. Once we collect all of the documents requested, we begin our review. We will be in regular communication with you throughout the financial planning process and will keep you updated with any pertinent information or requests for additional items we may need in order to complete your financial plan.

Each financial plan is customized for you; we do not believe in a one-size fits all strategy by giving you a template plan and just changing the names. Therefore, we do not offer sample plans because each plan is specifically prepared for you. Some of the key areas we cover in a financial plan include: retirement planning, investment accounts, diversification, insurance, risk management, taxes, college savings (if applicable), among other things.

We are happy to answer any clarification questions about your financial plan for up to 10 days upon completion of your plan; however, additional analysis or changes in any of the variables will entail a new engagement. For this reason, many of our clients prefer to work with us on an ongoing wealth management basis to ask us questions throughout the year.

We take security very seriously and make every effort to safeguard your financial data. Therefore, we always ask that you never email us sensitive financial/tax documents. Instead, we will create a very secure online folder for you to share documents with us. This repository allows you to safely share and store document without the risk of transmitting such files by email.

A CPA understands tax and audit, but they are not trained to give financial advice because the CPA exam curriculum does not cover financial planning. CPAs who are also Certified Financial Planners (CFP) are capable of providing financial advice because the CFP curriculum focuses specifically on providing comprehensive financial advice. 

No. While a CPA has a strong understanding of tax, accounting, and audit, they are not trained to provide financial advice. A Certified Financial Planner (CFP) is trained specifically to give financial advice because the CFP curriculum includes topic such as investments, insurance, asset allocation, estate planning, risk management, stock options, employer benefits, some tax, and anything providing comprehensive financial advice.

Yes, as a full-service CPA firm, we can prepare your individual and business tax returns; however, we only prepare individual taxes for our existing wealth management or business tax clients. We do not prepare tax returns for one-time financial planning clients.

Yes, we can form an LLC, S-Corporation, or C-Corporation for you as well as educate you on the differences among the different entity types.

Yes, we are very familiar with both residential and commercial real estate taxation.

You can obtain current pricing by visiting our pricing page.

A CPA license is issued by each state whereas an EA license is issued by the IRS. A CPA has taken extensive courses on accounting, audit, and taxation whereas an EA has mastered the intricacies of individual and business taxation, including any regulatory issues. Below is a chart comparing a CPA vs an Enrolled Agent (EA). 

A fiduciary financial advisor is independent and someone who puts your (the client) interests ahead of their own at all times. The true definition of a fiduciary is someone “held or founded in trust or confidence.” And according to the Cornell School of Law, a person with a fiduciary duty is held to a higher standard and has a duty of care, loyalty, good faith, confidence, prudence, and disclosure. All of these combined ensure that a fiduciary financial advisor will always work in your best interest and not have any conflicts of interest. Should your financial advisor be a fiduciary? The answer is yes! When searching for a financial advisor, always make sure they are acting in a fiduciary capacity and not in a suitability capacity, which is significantly less stringent. Insurance companies and investment banks act in a suitability standard whereas a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) is held to a fiduciary standard.

Whether you are already working with a financial advisor or are searching for a financial advisor, the first question is to simply ask the advisor: “are you a fiduciary advisor?” If the advisor claims to be fiduciary, insist that they sign a fiduciary pledge (or oath) to always put your interests ahead of their own and to avoid all conflicts of interest. You can find a sample one here. A true fiduciary financial advisor is also independent, meaning they are not connected with any investment bank or insurance company where they may be financially incentivized to sell you products you do not need. All Fee-Only financial advisors are fiduciaries. You can also search the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) website to see if your advisor is an RIA. Once on the site, you can search by the advisor’s name, the name of their firm, or their CRD/SEC number. The SEC website will also let you know if the advisor has had any complaints filed against them.

A Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) is an investment firm or person who advises and manages money on behalf of their clients. RIAs must act in a fiduciary capacity. The term RIA is a federal law from the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 which gave rise to the RIA industry. An RIA must be registered either within their state or with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). RIAs who manage assets of $100 million or more are registered with the SEC whereas RIAs who manage less than $100 million are registered within their home state. A state registered RIA may also have to register in other states if they have clients in that state.

First and foremost, fiduciary advisors are only paid by you, the client. This ensures that they only work for your benefit and that they have your best interest in mind. Most fiduciary advisors are paid by a percentage of the assets they manage, also known as AUM (Assets Under Management). The cost for a fiduciary financial advisor starts at 1% a year on the assets they manage and declines with larger portfolios. Fiduciary financial advisors may also do one-off engagements such as a one-time financial plan, investment review analysis, or insurance review.

It depends. The CFP Board updated their Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct on October 1, 2019 to state that CFPs must act in a fiduciary duty at “all times when providing financial advice to a client.” Therefore, the answer depends on if the CFP is “providing financial advice to a client.” If the CFP is providing financial advice to a client, then the CFP has a fiduciary duty to the client; however, if the CFP is not providing financial advice to the client, then the fiduciary standard does not apply.

A financial advisor must be independent to give you unbiased financial advice for your best interest. If a financial advisor is paid by you and is also financially incentivized to recommend certain products or services, then their independence is compromised. A Fee-Only financial advisor is only paid by the client and as a result is independent from any bias. There are three ways a financial advisor is paid: (1) commissions from the sale of a product such as life insurance or a variable annuity; (2) commission and fee-based where you pay the advisor for their service, but they also receive money from recommending certain products or services to you such as a home equity line of credit through their bank or some affiliate; and (3) Fee-Only where advisor is not paid by anyone except for you the client. In addition, a Fee-Only advisor adheres to a fiduciary standard. Do not be confused by the term Fee-Based which was created by insurance companies and investment banks to confuse the public. Fee-Based advisors may also earn a commission and/or income from other sources, but only a Fee-Only advisor is only paid by you.

The difference is significant and it is important to fully understand what type of a financial advisor you are working (or plan to work) with.