Ask Gugle

This is the single most important question you can ask a financial advisor. Sadly, very few clients of advisors can answer it correctly about their own advisor. And too few advisors have good answers.

Here is my answer: from my flat advisory fee, and only from my flat advisory fee. I benefit not a penny from any investments, products or insurance policies I might recommend you purchase. No matter how much money you have, no matter where I might recommend it go, my fee is the same.

My fee is based on the time, energy, and expertise I deliver to a typical client in a typical year. That typical client requires 20 to 30 hours per year of my time. Some years, some clients require less. Some years, some clients require many more. But that amount of time, over time, multiplied by a wage that I deem fair for my service, experience and expertise, is how the $10,000 per year is determined.

I have also examined the fee schedules of my closest competitors and found that my fee is below the typical cost for their minimum sized client. My goal all along has been to cut out the non-essential costs and deliver the savings to my clients compared to what other comparable advisors are charging.

My fee will go up annually in line with the Consumer Price Index annual increase, so I keep pace with inflation.

Typically I deduct client fees directly from your investment accounts at Charles Schwab. However, I do also have the ability to collect fees from a credit card if that is your preference. I can also accept personal checks if you so choose.

The major conflict of interest problem other financial advisors have is that they get paid some percentage of their clients’ assets, either smaller percentages annually, or large percentages up front as commissions. Because I only get paid my flat advisory fee, I have none of those conflicts. I am free to advise the client on what is in the client’s best interest, because I don’t get paid more or less for however much a client invests anywhere, whenever a client invests, or whatever a client buys.

My clear conflict of interest is prior to our relationship. If you ask me if I think you should become my client, clearly I stand to benefit financially from having you as a client. So I cannot give you advice on that decision without a big conflict of interest. Once you are my client, my only incentive is to do excellent work to make you happy so that you continue to work with me.

So yes, all advisors have conflicts of interest. Mine exists prior to our working together and ends when you sign up with me.

Yes, I am a fiduciary. And, yes, I will sign a Fiduciary Oath. In everything that I do, I put my clients’ interests ahead of my own. That is a major reason why I have made the switch to being a flat-fee advisor. I believe strongly that charging a flat fee commensurate with the work performed is aligned with being a fiduciary.

This is a great example of a very candid and fair question more people should ask of financial advisors. The security you have is that I cannot steal what I never possess. Clients NEVER send me investment money.

The only client money I can direct to my personal account is for fee billing. But before I am able to transfer it from my clients’ accounts, Charles Schwab must approve my billing requests. It will not allow any request that is not in line with my regular flat fee bill amounts. If it would settle the question for you, I am happy to call Charles Schwab with you and review all of their safeguards of your money.

You’ll find me on the SEC’s website HERE. You’ll find Gugle Wealth Advisory on the SEC’s website HERE. You can read GWA’s latest Form ADV Part 2 HERE. You’ll find me on the CFP Board’s website HERE. You may search for my firm (Gugle Wealth Advisory LLC) on the South Carolina Secretary of State’s site HERE.

As you will read in my contract paperwork, either of us can end our relationship at any time for any reason. I do not use investments or recommend insurance products that have any penalties or early surrender charges. My quarterly advisory fees are charged in advance, so in the event either of us severs our relationship, I would owe you a refund of the unused fees from the date of severance to the quarter end. Therefore, your risk in signing on is comparatively very little.

Fortunately I am a good planner and I try to plan for every eventuality. First, you may become a client of a local advisor that I have in place to take over my business in case of my demise. Or, you may elect not to have an advisor at all and simply become a retail client of Charles Schwab. But nothing would change with your money and investments. It will be in the same accounts and investments as right before I left the Earth.

Yes. I work virtually with clients across the United States. Gugle Wealth Advisory is regulated by the South Carolina Securities Commissioner and offers advisory services in South Carolina and in other jurisdictions where exempt.

Charles Schwab is the financial custodian for my clients’ accounts.

No, not all of your accounts can even be moved to Charles Schwab. Accounts like 401(k) and 457 plans must remain with your employer plan while you still work for your employer. However, I would prefer that brokerage accounts, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), and trust accounts be consolidated at Charles Schwab for me to do my best work and provide you with the quality of service you expect. I have worked with Charles Schwab for many years and consider them the best custodial platform.

It’s “just paperwork.” The total time required of new clients to deal with it is typically just a few minutes. There are infrequent cases that require more, but those are always due to a new client’s existing financial custodian requiring its own paperwork before transferring accounts. And typically, no, you do not need to speak with your current advisor before moving.

Especially at the beginning of our relationship, in setting up your plan, we will speak frequently and often at length. Once your plan is established and you are settled about it, you will hear from me at least five times per year: on your birthday and after the end of each quarter (April, July, October, and January). My preference is for us to meet twice per year, every six months, to go deep on your financial issues and make sure you are on track.

One thing I stress to all clients is: don’t let unanswered questions or unsettled concerns bother you. Call me, or email me. You are paying me to be your advisor, so let me advise.

My WHY is to guide clients toward financial success, earning their trust, and helping them live their best lives with purpose and joy.

It started at thirteen, with money from a paper route, buying stocks. That turned into a Finance degree from the University of Notre Dame, a decade in New York City and Tokyo, and ultimately the work I do today.

A year at a large brokerage firm showed me the pitfalls of product-pushing and settled who I did not want to be. A mentor taught me what an outstanding client experience looks like, which prepared me to open my own firm.

The 2008 financial crisis tested my resolve and reinforced how much safeguarding a client’s assets matters. The firm grew on referrals, and I sold my interest in it at the end of 2019.

Working in other fields for a stretch confirmed that this is the work I want to do. The time away also gave me room to think critically about how it could be done better, which is where the flat fee came from.

My greatest joy is understanding clients deeply and guiding them toward their financial goals. People need a trusted advisor to piece the financial puzzle together. I am glad to be back doing the work I am best suited for.