Frequently Asked Questions
You've got questions; we've got answers.
Why do you believe my family or company should work with PP&W?
At PP&W, we work closely with our clients to build relationships, build solid financial plans, advise through important financial decisions, and deliver high-quality service while never forgetting the focus of our relationship together: for your wealth to bring enrichment, confidence, meaning, and satisfaction to the people and initiatives that are important to you.
Are you a Fiduciary?
Yes – we serve under a fiduciary obligation to our clients when providing financial advice. This means we must put your interests ahead of our own in our financial planning, wealth management, and corporate retirement plan work for you.
What are your qualifications and credentials?
A primary tenet of PP&W is that our professionals are credentialed, primarily Certified Financial Planner® Professionals, as well as Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisors® for our corporate retirement plan clients. Our other qualifications include nearly 3 decades of experience in financial planning and wealth management to busy, successful families and companies.
Do you require a specific minimum investment?
We enjoy taking on new clients, and we are certainly accepting new relationships, while working to make sure we maintain the high standards that our current clients have come to love (and we hope you will too!). To provide the best advice and service to our clients, we believe it is important to limit the clients we serve to those who have a minimum asset level of $750,000. Exceptions to the minimum are typically made only for households referred to us or that are substantial savers.
Do you have any disclosures on your record?
No, we do not. You may search any advisor that you’re considering working with at https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/ and/or https://brokercheck.finra.org/.
How do you get paid, and how will I pay for your services?
Over 99.5% of our work for clients occurs under our Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). There are occasional times that financial planning calls for work with insurance or with our Broker-Dealer, but it is important to know that we are held to a fiduciary duty in all aspects of our work for you.
We are compensated in an Assets Under Management structure, which means we do better when our clients do better. From time to time, prospective clients may wish to hire us for “financial planning only” work to better get to know each other, which we will consider on a case-by-case basis.
What types of clients do you specialize in serving?
We work with clients from many professions, but we work best with “delegators” who:
· Collaborate on high level strategy.
· Take advice to get and keep their personal finances in the best shape possible.
· Delegate investment management.
· Consider our professional relationship as a long-term endeavor.
· Thoughtfully participate in goal setting.
· Pay reasonable and customary costs for this work.
· Want us to carefully oversee their financial affairs for the future, so they may trust but verify our relationship over time.
How often do you communicate with your clients?
We communicate weekly in video and written form with our clients. We believe you deserve to get our views on markets and the economy when you are interested! You’ll see these videos here on our website, or also @ProPlanWealth on YouTube. We also host semi-annual meetings with you in the first and third quarters of the year, and upon your request.
What services do you provide?
For families, we provide Financial Planning & Wealth Management, which basically means the creation, implementation, and continued management of your financial plan. As of 2024, we’ve done this work for 29 years (1995). Depending on your level of need, PP&W is qualified and equipped to serve in meeting the multi-dimensional aspects of your financial life – see more PP&W Services.
For companies, we provide 401(k) Retirement Plan Consulting. As of 2023, we’ve done this work for 20 years (2003).
How will our relationship work?
To the extent that you want a written financial plan, we will go through this very important work together. We will then implement each aspect of your unique financial plan together (risk, tax, estate, charitable, etc.) in a fiduciary manner. This means that we will discuss each aspect of planning as we implement, and the advantages and disadvantages of any recommendations.
It’s important to note that not all our clients want Financial Planning, and only wish for Wealth Management. That is certainly our clients’ choice. We believe planning is important (thus our company name!) and will always advocate for doing this work – but for the best outcome, this must be a priority for our client as well.
What’s your investment philosophy?
Our investment philosophy is research-driven wealth management seeking long-term market returns with less volatility.
After working with major firms for years, we saw a notable opportunity with PP&W to reinvest dollars that normally would go as profit to the “Home Office” or to shareholders into research with the goal of better wealth management outcomes for our clients. This of course is not a guarantee of better outcomes, but we believe making the effort on our client’s behalf for better results in the long run matters.
The combination of multiple disciplines allows us to develop a more comprehensive risk dashboard for our clients. Learn more about the PP&W Portfolio Management Process.
By combining four different types of research:
· Fundamental (earnings growth and valuation assessment)
· Technical (price trends and patterns)
· Quantitative (assessing an investment on momentum characteristics)
· Global Macro (investing based on global economic patterns)
We believe we can be better equipped to make prudent strategic decisions.
What investment benchmarks do you use?
For stock exposure, we use the MSCI All Countries World Index (a global stock index made up of 60% US and 40% non-US markets). For fixed income exposure, we use the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index.
What asset allocation will you use?
We will work to assess your comfort level with investment risk, as well as discuss your capacity for risk. For example, if you own a business, there is inherent risk in your business – therefore, it would be prudent for us to consider all risks in your planning and wealth management! Once considered, we will invest in a portfolio of stocks, bonds and cash – using either funds or individual stock holdings.
Where is my money held / Who is your custodian?
Our client accounts are at Fidelity (www.fidelity.com )
What are your Core Values?
Integrity: Client interests always come first; respectful candor in all interactions
Knowledge & Execution: Credentialed Professionals serving with compassion & consistent prudence
Curiosity: Willingness to approach all subjects with questions, with an eye toward best outcomes
Humility: Service before self: the universe has a way of taking care of those who take care of others
Optimistic & Fun: Tough times lead us to the next victory
What tax hit do I face if I invest with you?
We work to be as tax-aware and efficient as possible in managing your wealth. IRA’s are not taxed unless you distribute money out of the IRA; non-IRA accounts (commonly referred to as “non-qualified money”) requires more tax awareness. While the “tax tail cannot always wag the investment dog”, we will work to be both aware and efficient.
What are my all-in costs?
Your all-in costs will be our Advisory cost in working with you, and any internal expense from Exchanged Traded Funds (ETF’s). We use ETF’s or a well-diversified collection of individual stocks to manage your portfolio. Individual stocks do not have any extra internal expense. We use predominately low-cost ETF’s which have internal expense; generally, the expense of an ETF portfolio is around 0.2%.