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Empowering you to invest in more than just college

College Financial Planning for Millennial Parents in Washington, DC

What a Flat Fee Financial Advisor Means For You

A Flat, Fixed Fee Shows You Upfront Exactly How Much You're Investing In Your Future

A FLAT FEE Tells YOU UPFRONt HOW MUCH YOU'RE INVESTING IN YOUR FUTURE

I encourage Millennial parents to think about their payment for flat fee financial advisor services as an investment. So I purposefully don't structure the payment like a monthly subscription or student loan bill. Instead, you invest in your financial future: you make one contribution of $3,475 when we start. Then you make a second, final contribution of $3,475 at the end of month #3, after we've begun to put your financial plan into action. That's it for the first year. And for most clients, the annual cost decreases in following years.

I encourage the Millennial parents with whom I work to think about their payment for flat fee financial advisor services as an investment. So you make one contribution of $3,475 when we start. Then you make a second, final contribution of 3,475 at the end of month #3, after we've started putting your financial plan into action. Now you're done for the first year.

AS FEATURED IN

"Thanks to Kevin's advising, I now feel more confident and knowledgable making financial decisions for my family."

– Meg M.

(17)

"Kevin is calm, non-judgmental, and excellent at asking questions that help you drill down to core goals."

– Laura F.

The financial planning profession began as an afterthought. You certainly couldn't find a flat fee financial advisor with any ease. Instead, "financial planning" most often came from insurance salesmen and bank employees. They had financial products to sell, on which they earned a commission. In considering those products, their customers might ask for financial advice. As you might imagine, many salesmen were more than willing to offer advice. And that advice often included a recommendation to buy their company's products.

The Less-Than-Ideal Origins of Financial Planning Fees

The financial planning service model improved slightly when advisors began to receive compensation based only on a percentage of the investments they manage. You may see this compensation structure identified as "Assets Under Management," or AUM. And the most common AUM fee for investment management is 1% of the assets you invest with the advisor.

"AUM" Fees Pave the Way for A Flat Fee Financial Advisor

Are you ready to Take Control of Your Financial Future?

But I operate as a flat fee financial advisor rather than charging based on AUM. From my perspective, the amount of work that I do as your financial advisor does not change in step with the stock market. This is particularly true for Millennials, whose investments (as we'll work on) should be straightforward and low-maintenance. I don't think you need to pay me more money just because the global economy grows.

In addition, an inherent conflict of interest arises if I stand to benefit from your investment growth. In that case, I'd have an incentive to focus to heavily on your investments. And I might prioritize that aspect of your finances over other equally or more important areas to you, such as student loans, home ownership, or college savings.

Ultimately, I believe that working as a flat fee financial advisor offers the simplest, most transparent fee structure possible for Millennial parents.

Even so, I get it – financial planning is still expensive. It's up there in price with home furnishings and long-awaited vacations. In fact, I typically don't accept new clients who want to pay for financial planning out of their monthly budget. Why? I'd rather see you build up your savings account first.

But after that point, waiting can start to work against you. I recently devoted an entire podcast episode to how this idea, as with financial planning, applies to investing. Starting as soon as possible with prudent investing can make a huge difference for your long-term finances. To paraphrase Nick Maggulli, the author who created the chart here: the more a personalized financial strategy can benefit you, the more costly it is to delay starting.

The Role of Time in the Financial Planning Process

Source: Nick Maggulli

But I operate as a flat fee financial advisor rather than charging based on AUM. From my perspective, the amount of work that I do as your financial advisor does not change in step with the stock market. This is particularly true for Millennials, whose investments (as we'll work on) should be straightforward and low-maintenance. I don't think you need to pay me more money just because the global economy grows.

I once asked a client about the feeling of investing money in her individual retirement account (IRA). "I don't feel like I spent the money," she said. "I feel like the decision will benefit me over time." And that's a great summary of how I encourage clients to think about Illumint and my work for you as a flat fee financial advisor.