Answers to the most frequently asked questions
Over the years, we've addressed many questions about financial planning. The most common questions clients ask are featured below.
Harbor Light Planning is a fee-only financial life planning firm. In other words, we only receive compensation from you, our client. We don’t sell any products and don’t receive any compensation or commissions on any of our recommendations.
In the financial planning world, there are, unfortunately, many sales people out there who have a goal to sell as many financial products to their clients as possible. While these products may be suitable to a client’s needs and goals, they may not be the best available option. A fee-only advisor ensures that you are working with a professional who is acting in your best interest, and is putting your needs and interests ahead of their own. When conflicts of interest are removed in a fee-only service model, the client can rest assured that their advisor is truly on their side.
Most of our clients have the following characteristics in common:
- A desire to live a more meaningful life.
- A pledge to shift behavior if it furthers long term goals.
- Realistic investment objectives and a willingness to communicate expectations.
- Confidence in our advice and a commitment to ignoring financial noise.
- Willingness to accept investment returns offered by the market, recognizing that there is no foolproof way to achieve above-average performance.
- Recognition that we don’t have all the answers, and that financial planning and investing – like life – is not an exact science.
At Harbor Light Planning, we focus on a holistic approach to financial planning and wealth management. Every client situation is unique, and we focus on the financial roadblocks they're struggling to navigate. Common topics we address in a typical planning engagement might include retirement planning, tax strategy, education savings, cash flow management, insurance review, and more.
Financial Planning Services: We don’t quote annual fees, we quote a monthly fee based on an annualized amount. Fees are based on income, net worth and stage in life. Fees can be charged (monthly) to credit card or (quarterly) from investment account billing.
Portfolio Analysis and Investment Implementation: costs are wrapped within our planning fees. Our overall fees tend to be around 1% of total investible assets.