How We Are Compensated

We are compensated in one of three ways listed below. Most of our clients choose the Advisory Services route, but we offer multiple ways we can show our value. The One-Time Service option is for those who would prefer to manage their accounts and would just like us to do a review of their current financial status in a one-time experience.

Path 1

One-Time Service

Hiring, or changing, advisors is a big deal. You took your time, did some research, and now recognize some of the advantages of working with Investment Planning Advisors. You might be surprised how many people read our blogs and website and call us to ’open accounts’. But we recognize most people want to try us on first. And quite frankly, we are not a fit for everyone. That’s why we created the One-Time Service path. It has a known cost, with a known deliverable. And, because most new clients who hire us for this learn enough to hire us for ongoing Investment Advisory Services, we make it extremely affordable.

The cost ranges from $750 to $3,000 depending on the complexity of your plan. You will have a definitive price after our complimentary initial meeting so that you can move forward with no surprises.

Here’s how it works:

  • Are you on the right path to accomplish your goals?
  • Are you on track to retire when you want to?

We address the above questions and many more in our planning process. We will take you through a two-meeting process that brings together all aspects of your financial life: savings need, debt management, retirement, education, survivorship, taxation, estate planning, etc. This is an opportunity for you to experience Investment Planning Advisors’ high-level planning process with a minimal obligation.

Path 2

Investment Advisory Services

We believe in transparency. Most of our clients choose to pay for ongoing investment advisory services instead of a one-time or annual fee.

Our fee schedule for ongoing investment advisory services is charged on the weighted average of assets as follows:

ADVISORY FEES

Total Portfolio
Annual Advisory Fee
$0 – $250,000
1.00%
$250,001 – $1,000,000
0.80%
$1,000,001 – $2,500,000
0.60%
$2,500,001 – $5,000,000
0.50%
$5,000,001 – $10,000,000
0.40%
$10,000,001+
0.30%

Our fee begins at 1% which is well below the industry average of 1.2%, based on a report done by Michael Kitces in 2020. While .2% might not seem like a large difference, working with an advisor whose fee is high will not only hinder returns, but possibly affect your retirement as well.

For ongoing investment advisory services, we have a total account minimum of at least $100,000 managed by Investment Planning Advisors. However, we know from past experience new clients referred from the Dave Ramsey program, referring professionals, and clients make excellent clients. For this reason, we offer a Hybrid path seen below.

Path 3

Hybrid

For early investors that do not meet the minimum portfolio size, our Hybrid path combines a low flat fee with on-going investment advisory fees.

  • For the development of a financial plan, we charge an initial $250 fee.
  • Investments under our management are applied to the standard Advisory Fee schedule listed in Path 2.
  • We charge an annual fee of $100 until the client’s portfolio reaches $50,000. Once the portfolio under our management reaches $50,000 or greater, the $100 annual fee no longer applies.