How much does a flat fee financial planner charge annually?
I'm wondering how much I should expect to pay a fee only financial planner to help me move into retirement in the next couple years and work with me to get all of my "order of operations" for 2 pensions, social security, tax optimization, roth conversions, healthcare planning, etc. I know there are hourly advisors but I'm wondering about the cost of someone who I retain on an annual basis. I'm looking at a place called Downshift, btw. TIA
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you can check Hellonectarine.com for fee only advisors per hour basis. it can vary between $150-300.
This isn't directly responsive to your question about annual cost. In addition to Nectarine, mentioned in another comment, Cody Garrett mentioned https://adviceonlynetwork.com on the ChooseFI podcast this week. I have no personal experience with either, but those seem like good places to start. Nectarine appears to be hourly only, and Advice-Only Network seems to vary by advisor among one-time, hourly, monthly subscription, quarterly subscription, and annual subscription.
More shameless self-promotion - I'm on the adviceonlynetwork and specialize in public & private pensions. I'm a former teacher/principal and have Cal STRS, and my husband has MPIHP. I did this interview with Cody: . My rate is $395/1st month & $175/subsequent months. Doing this as an encore career post-FI to stay engaged and help others with pensions.
395 Financial Planning: 395financialplanning.com
Not a recommendation, but the following site has a list:
Morpheus | Flat Fee Advisors | Directory of Flat Fee Financial Advisors
In my searching you are not going to get much for $2500/yr or less. There are some firms that charge a lower flat fee or hourly rate but where you will not get a specific adviser and may have limited meetings. Solo or small practices tend to price more than the lowest because they have to pay the bills. I have not seen much under $4K-$5K/yr. Lots of others charge up to $10K with a few up to $20K. Some are advice only, some require them to manage/control your investments, and others support both models. Some concentrate on the accumulation stage and others target retirement financial planning (aka the decumulation stage). The sweet spot for client AUM seems to be $2M-$5M so the fee percentage is more reasonable than 0.75%-1.0% of AUM.
Not a recommendation, but Chris Mamula who wrote "Choose FI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence" is at Abundo Wealth. They are on the lower end of fees, but I don't know whether you can choose a specific adviser.
I would search online, read their bios and web sites and interview at least a few before deciding if they "fit" your needs. Some advisers target upper income people like doctors and my instinct is they are on the higher end of flat fees. Some advisers have podcasts or blogs or FB groups or other side hustles. Most of them are over-subscribed and not taking new clients. I'm not a fan of the people with the big platforms as I would rather a low-key person whose main business is providing investment and financial planning advice.
Great comment thank you! I have interviewed and went through the free assessment with one advisor group that is small and on the higher end of fees (would approximate 0.5% fee on my current investments). I liked them and their approach a lot but plan on contacting/interviewing a couple more to do my due diligence.
I don't mean to demean any of the fine advisors here or elsewhere, but I wonder if you've tried simply asking Chat GPT? I started playing around with it last week and I was shocked at the level of detail and the quality of recommendations I got from it. I started with the basic question of "am I financially independent" with some explanation of my situation (age, military pension, rough balances in my brokerage and retirement accounts). It gives a ton of detail, it can devise tax efficient strategies for asset location in each account type, risk tolerance, withdrawal strategies, and lots of other detail. It gives caution areas to look out for and recommendations. I'm a 45yo guy, military & Do D experience mostly, i.e. not in the tech industry and not what I consider to be a techy. Just try it, don't have to take my word for it. I'm now convinced that the advisor industry is going to dry up quickly as folks start realizing the power in these tools.
100% agree with Ryan with the small caveat to do your homework. I've noticed Chat GPT has inserted some stock picks that weren't in my portfolio and provided expense ratios that weren't accurate. Overall, amazing tool, but use it as that, a tool, as you continue to build your knowledge outside the platform and always double check numbers on significant decisions. Good luck!
You might consider listening to the Retire With Style podcast Episode 184: Can Tech Replace Your Financial Advisor? ([retirewithstyle.com)](retirewithstyle.com)
In this episode of Retire with Style, Wade Pfau and Alex Murguia talk with John Manganaro, senior reporter at Think Advisor, about the shifting landscape of retirement income planning. They explore how technology is reshaping financial planning, the growing need for holistic advice, and the challenges both advisors and consumers face in finding effective tools. John offers insights into the future of financial software, the value of human advisors, and the behavioral side of planning-highlighting the importance of addressing both financial and lifestyle goals in retirement.
I have no relationship with any of these people, but I do find their information thoughtful although the presentation is a bit boring and dry.
One data point: $750.
For context, my last employer paid for employees to have sessions with a financial advisor. When I left, I asked the advisor how much review sessions would be, even if I didn't see him every year. So, he had already been paid to review my situation and come up with a plan. Going to someone without that history might be more expensive to cover the additional work.