Frequently Asked Questions
Q: If you don't take possession of my assets, how is my portfolio allocated?
A: Clients maintain direct ownership accounts where they choose to keep their money. After we make our portfolio recommendations we will work with you to make sure you implement the proper allocation among all of your accounts.
Q: Wouldn't it be easier if you took possession of my money?
A: It would be easier for us to make money, but it isn't better for you. Our primary value is giving advice, not making money on transactions or maintaining assets. Our focus is in lowering your total investment costs. Maintaining assets is expensive for a small firm. You can lower your overall expenses by keeping your money in low cost fund families such as Vanguard. Also, in the unlikely event that you wish to stop working with us, you don't have to worry about transferring your money. You simply stop our service and are done.
Q: Do I have to use certain fund families or brokers to work with you?
A: No. It doesn't matter to us, though we generally recommend that our clients use Vanguard for their mutual funds.
Q: Are there any other advantages to this approach?
A: Peace of mind for one: since we don't control your money you don't have to worry about us taking it. Also, this allows us to give you recommendations on your entire portfolio, including 401k assets that you can't transfer to a broker.
Q: Are there any disadvantages to this approach?
A: Yes, no model is perfect. With this model the onus of implemenation falls on the client. We will work with the client every step of the way, but we cannot execute implementation ourselves, it is up to the client. It is also harder to monitor our clients' portfolios since we don't maintain the asset accounts but we are often given third party viewing rights to accounts in order to monitor our client portfolios.
Q: Do I need to have a minimum net worth or income in order to work with you?
A: No. Since we don't earn fees by managing assets or selling expensive products, we don't have any net worth or income thresholds. Our only criteria is that someone sees value in our service and be willing to implement our recommendations.
Q: So will you work with anyone then?
A: No. If we feel someone will not follow our advice or believes in frequent trading, or trying to "beat" the market, we will not work with them.
Q: Who is your typical client?
A: We don't have one typical client. Many clients start working with us when they get married and plan to have children since that is when many start to think about the future and the planning complexities that arise. Therefore, a large portion of our clients are young married professionals with children. We also have single clients and experience working with people near or in retirement.
Q: What is a CFP®?
A: CFP® stands for CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM. In order to qualify to become a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM Professional (CFP®) a candidate must complete an approved educational curriculum that normally takes at least a year, pass a two-day ten hour exam covering five different financial planning areas, have at least three years experience in the field and agree to a Code of Ethics. In order to maintain certification, a candidate must complete 30 hours of continuing education every 2 years including a 2 hour Code of Ethics course and must adhere to the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER BOARD OF STANDARDS' Code of Ethics. More information can be found at the Board's web site.
Q: I see that your firm is registered with the state of NJ as an investment advisor. Can residents of other states work with you?
A: Yes. Most states require a certain number of clients before they require registration. If we surpass that threshold, we will simply register in that state. As of right now NJ is the only state where we meet the requirement to register.
Q: You recommend that clients invest their money with Vanguard; do you have fee sharing or any other arrangement with them?
A: No. We don't receive a penny from any third party. We recommend Vanguard to our clients because we believe it is the best fund family to use.
Q: Do you prepare taxes for clients?
A: Inner Circle Platinum Advisors does not prepare taxes but our parent company Inner Circle Advisors does. Clients can consolidate their tax preparation and financial planning in one place if they desire, but it is not a requirement.