Your Guide In a Changing Landscape
Your life is complicated and you need a plan to move forward.
You see the need for sustainability, but you wonder if sustainable investing will reduce your returns.
Together, we will:
- detangle the complexity and organize your finances,
- protect and grow your assets in alignment with your values,
- ensure your peace of mind that you are on your best path,
so that you can focus on what you do best and what matters most.
As Seen In
✓ You are in your peak earning years or heading into retirement (when the complexities of your financial life are greatest.)
or
✓ You want your investments to reflect your values and concerns about environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and corporate governance.
or
✓ You are or were a Federal Employee, serve or have served in the US Military.
or
✓ You receive deferred, equity, or other non-salary compensation (when tax planning is critical.)
? You are not comfortable sending information electronically and meeting virtually some of the time.
or
? You seek help with speculative investments such as cryptocurrencies, frequent trading, or market timing.
or
? You are so worried about the short term that you find it impossible to prioritize your long-term financial strength.
or
? You think planning can be done once and then left on auto-pilot for years.
Our Services
“Independent research has shown that clients benefit most from an upfront financial plan followed by help implementing and managing a portfolio designed for them.” *
The financial plan serves as the foundation for our work together by establishing goals and identifying key issues. The next step is implementing a suggested portfolio and adopting other recommendations.
We know there are clients who do a good job managing their investment accounts, and we are happy to work with those clients who value outside guidance but prefer to manage things on their own.
Many clients, however, benefit from our investment management service, which ensures the efficient adoption of an appropriate portfolio. During times of market turmoil, it will help avoid costly mistakes and reduce stress and anxiety.
Research by Vanguard has found that clients who delegate investment management can realize significant value over the cost of the service. The sources of this value identified by Vanguard include cost-effective implementation, rebalancing, tax efficiency, and behavioral coaching.
* Putting a Value on Your Value: Quantifying Vanguard Advisor’s Alpha®, Francis M. Kinniry Jr., CFA, Colleen M. Jaconetti, CPA, CFP ®, Michael A. DiJoseph, CFA, Yan Zilbering, and Donald G. Bennyhoff, CFA, September 2016.
- Client Engagement Options
- Investment Management Details
- Sustainable Investing
Three Tiers of Service
Your Best Path, LLC offers prospective clients a range of financial planning and investment services, from one-time plans to ongoing investment management and financial planning. Listed below are our most common types of services. Customized engagements may be offered for those with unique or complex circumstances at an hourly billing rate of $300.
Investment Management and Comprehensive Financial Planning
Starting at $4,500 per year (0.9% of $500,000)
- An ongoing service that allows you to delegate oversight of your portfolio, freeing up your time and reducing anxiety about when and how to invest.
- Ensures implementation of investment recommendations developed during the financial planning process.
- Provides support during times of market volatility when investors tend to make the biggest mistakes.
- Appropriate for clients of any age.
- The entire Core Financial Plan above and annual plan updates are included.
- Utilizes low-cost mutual funds and exchange-traded funds held at an independent, third-party custodian.
Core Financial Plan
Starting at $3,900 for the first year
- A detailed financial plan designed to organize your finances and set you on the path to achieving your financial and life goals.
- Most appropriate for clients in their mid-40s and above.
- Includes fund selection for all accounts, including workplace retirement savings plans.
- Seeks to ensure your investments are helping you reach long-term goals rather than hindering your efforts.
- Covers your overall financial health, including estate planning, insurance, tax planning, and education funding.
- Results explained in Presentation Meeting and recommendations outlined in a Summary Report.
- Included at no additional cost for clients who choose Investment Management services.
- Annual updates at a negotiated rate
Real-time Planning: a Limited-Scope Engagement
$900
- A single 90-minute meeting with me. I will review your information ahead of time, provide a summary of the recommendations and reasoning after the meeting, and provide limited follow-up to bring the total of my time spent to a maximum of 3 hours.
- Not appropriate for most people.
- We can tackle one of the following: investment strategy and recommendations, retirement readiness review, Medicare planning, college savings planning, or debt management.
Investment Management
- Our Investment management service includes your comprehensive financial plan and continuous financial planning support. Appropriate for anyone who seeks ongoing assistance and wishes to delegate investment oversight.
- Includes creation of an investment policy statement, ongoing portfolio reviews, periodic rebalancing, as-needed financial planning updates, assistance with employer-sponsored retirement plans, and more.
Annual Cost
| Assets Under Management | Charge |
|---|---|
| First $500,000 | $4,500 |
| Next $500,000 | 0.80% |
| Next $1,000,000 | 0.70% |
| Next $1,000,000 | 0.60% |
| Next $5 Million (from $3M to $8M) | 0.50% |
| Any Amount Above $8 Million | 0.40% |
Quarterly Billing Examples
| Portfolio Size | Amount |
|---|---|
| <$500,001 | $1,125/Quarter |
| $937,500 | $2,000/Quarter |
| $1.5 Million | $3,000/Quarter |
| $2.0834 Million | $4,000/Quarter |
| $3.5 Million | $6,000/Quarter |
Sustainable Investing
“More than ever, investors are seeking investment options that incorporate their concerns about environmental, social, and governance issues.”
Socially responsible mutual funds have been around for decades, but until recently, they remained a small niche within the investment universe. Now, growing public acceptance of climate change is leading to a spike in demand for the next generation of socially responsible funds, usually called ESG funds.
ESG funds incorporate environmental, social, and governance criteria in the investment selection process.
There are several approaches to the investment selection process within the ESG category. Some ESG funds may exclude categories of companies with low ratings on environmental, social, or governance issues, while other ESG funds use an inclusionary process that favors owning the companies doing a better job on these issues relative to their competitors.
To meet the growing interest in ESG investing, Your Best Path offers sustainable investment options for clients who wish to incorporate such factors in part or all of their portfolio. We utilize ESG funds offered by a variety of investment firms, including Vanguard, Fidelity, iShares, Calvert, Parnassus, TIAA, Nuveen, Green Century, and others.
Let us know if you’re interested in this type of investment approach. And for investors not ready to leap into ESG investing, we will continue to offer our traditional approach. Either way, all portfolios emphasize low-cost options, proper asset allocation, and taking a long-term view.
My Affiliations:
I hope you enjoy exploring my site.
When you are ready, you can click the button below to access my calendar and select a time for us to talk on the phone or meet over Zoom.
There is never a fee or obligation for our time getting to know if we are a good fit to work together.
A nationwide, virtual business.
At Your Best Path Financial Planning, we are fully capable of meeting all your client needs via web-based video meetings, secure cloud-based file sharing, and other solutions that have been in place since the foundation of our business. We will never compromise on cyber security and take the utmost care to safeguard your data.
We have been delighted to serve clients from many states, including Alaska, California, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and our neighborhoods of Virginia, DC, and Maryland.
We are happy to meet potential clients for coffee or lunch in Virginia, but business meetings are typically conducted virtually.
