Questions
The things worth asking any adviser, answered in writing.
Yes, and it is written into the engagement letter rather than implied. We are a registered investment adviser, which means the fiduciary duty applies to every recommendation, not only to the ones made while wearing a particular hat. We accept no commission, revenue share or referral payment from any product provider.
An independent custodian, in accounts registered in your name. We are authorised to trade and to deduct the agreed fee, and nothing else. You receive statements directly from the custodian, which means you can verify every figure we report without going through us.
$500,000 for the ongoing Private client relationship. There is no minimum for a one-off plan, and we waive the threshold for the adult children of existing clients — the pattern of who needs advice most rarely follows account size.
No. We build low-cost, broadly diversified portfolios and spend our effort on the things that reliably add value: cost, tax, asset location, rebalancing discipline and stopping clients from selling at the bottom. Any firm promising consistent outperformance is describing luck as though it were process.
You hear from your adviser within the first week, before you have to ask. Your plan already assumes several bad years, so in most cases the answer is that nothing changes except rebalancing and harvesting losses. Where the plan genuinely needs adjusting, we say so and show the working.
Any time, with no exit fee and no notice period. Because the assets are held in your name at the custodian, transferring away is a form you sign with the receiving firm. We will help with the paperwork and flag any tax consequences of selling positions, even on the way out.
Every household has a second named adviser who attends at least one review a year, so somebody who knows the file is always available. Plans, notes and decisions are documented centrally rather than living in one person's head.
First ninety days, then every year after
Nothing is charged until the plan is presented and you have decided to go ahead.
Introduction
An hour, usually by video. You describe the situation, we say plainly whether we are the right firm for it. Roughly one in four conversations ends with a referral elsewhere.
Discovery and document gathering
Statements, tax returns, trust deeds, benefit summaries. We build a single balance sheet, which for most households is the first time everything has appeared on one page.
Plan presented
Cash flow projection, tax analysis, recommended portfolio and a short list of the things that would genuinely hurt. Two rounds of revision are included before anything is signed.
Implementation
Accounts opened at the custodian in your name, transfers coordinated, positions moved with the tax bill modelled first. We stage large transitions rather than doing them in one day.
Monitoring and annual review
Rebalancing to bands, loss harvesting where it clears the wash-sale rules, and a full plan refresh each year. Between reviews, you email your adviser directly, not a service desk.
Start with a conversation
An hour, no charge, and an honest answer
Tell us the situation and we will say plainly whether we are the right firm for it. If we are not, we will point you to someone who is. That happens often enough that we plan for it.