Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I get more information?
A: If you have any additional questions or would like to talk to an advisor, please contact us by going to our Contact Us page.
Q: Where is my money held?
A: While you grant ALWM Limited Power of Attorney (LPOA) to execute transactions on your behalf, you remain in control of your assets. Your individual account is held in your name at a quality custodian such as Schwab Institutional or Fidelity Investments.
Q: Who do you serve?
A: We provide our services to individuals, families, businesses, trusts, partnerships, not-for-profit organizations and retirement plans who wish to pursue long-term goals based on our strategic approach to managing wealth.
Q: What are your primary investment advisor services?
A: You can view an overview of our services by clicking here: Andrews, Lucia Wealth Management Services.
Q: How much does it cost to hold initial planning meetings with your firm?
A: There is no cost for our initial Discovery and Investment Plan meetings. We feel it’s time well spent to first get to know one another – before we seek mutual commitment and before we begin charging a fee.
Q: How do you charge for your services?
A: We are a fee-based advisor, with our fees based on a percentage of your assets that we manage. We feel a fee-based approach best aligns our interests with yours, helping us meet our fiduciary obligation as a Registered Investment Advisor firm. Our fees are on a sliding scale; as your portfolio grows, the percentage decreases. In addition, we take a family approach to investing. Aggregating assets to determine your fees (while still managing each portfolio according to its distinct policies) enables favorable rates for your immediate family.
Q: If I am a evidence-based investor, why should I pay a fee?
A: Many people misunderstand evidence-based to mean “do nothing.” Rather, an evidence-based investor is one who recognizes the fallacy of trying to pick winning stocks and time the market. This does not mean that portfolios do not need to be managed. For example, market moves provide the need for portfolios to be rebalanced. Or perhaps there are tax-loss harvesting opportunities available. A good financial advisor assists clients with these complicated strategies.
Q: Do you require me to liquidate my assets to join your firm?
A: You are not required to liquidate your assets if you decide to work with us. However, you may find out during our discovery process that your current portfolio needs to be rebalanced to account for your unique ability, willingness and need to take risk. When you first begin to work with us, it may make sense to immediately begin rebalancing your portfolio, which may require selling some assets to buy others.
Q: How do I become a client?
A: We recognize that to best serve you, we should get to know you. Conversely, you should get to know us so you feel comfortable with the relationship.
When you first meet with us, we spend some time (at no cost) in a discovery process to get to know each other. We also learn about your goals and objectives with your money and about your ability, willingness and need to take risk. We then come up with a plan for best achieving those goals and objectives. If you agree with the plan and that working with us would be beneficial to your wealth management planning, you would then decide to be a client.
If you would like to speak with one of our investment advisors, click to contact us now.
Q: What if I need a bond (fixed income) portfolio or other special holdings?
A: Our philosophy is that equity investments are for growth; fixed income investing has a vital mission all its own: to control overall volatility in a portfolio and provide a stable financial base. It should act as the vehicle for steady, reliable income and contingency reserves. We address your fixed income needs as an integral part of your overall portfolio as well as by considering the special needs, characteristics and (often hidden) costs inherent in the bond market. If a custom bond portfolio makes sense for you, we build one for you based on analysis of each bond’s full range of characteristics (sector, maturity, credit rating and more). Through our relationship with BAM Advisor Services, LLC, we have access to strategic fixed income resources and a network of local and national bond dealers that help ensure a wide range of security availability as well as fair and competitive institutional level pricing for you.
Q: I am contacting you because I have heard you offer access to Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) funds. How do I learn more about DFA? What is your relationship with them?
A: If you have already heard of DFA, you may be aware that it seeks to protect the reliability and manage the costs of its funds by requiring investors to access them via a select group of financial advisory firms.
Our firm is proud to be among the select firms who have access to DFA funds. We often find that they provide the best vehicles for building portfolios that can be cost-effectively designed and managed to target your unique objectives through all types of markets. However, we receive no commissions for using DFA funds. Whenever we feel there is a better investment option for your particular needs, we use it.
