1. What are your company’s values?
2. Are you a fiduciary?
3. How do you get paid?
4. Are there any other fees that I have to pay?
5. What are your qualifications?
6. How often do we meet?
7. Have you ever had any complaints filed against you by past clients?
8. In managing my investments, what is your plan for my money in the event of high market volatility and/or a prolonged bear market?
9. Do you have a formal succession plan in the event something happens to you and/or your team?
10. What cybersecurity measures do you have in place to protect my personal information?

The CFP® marks represent a Certified Financial Planner™ Professional designation. This means that an individual has completed the stringent education, examination, experience, and ethics standards established by the Certified Financial Planners Board of Standards Inc. (CFP Board). A CFP® professional maintains the qualifications to help individuals manage their overall financial picture. This includes strategies for retirement planning, investment management, education funding, insurance needs and tax planning, to name a few. Be aware that anyone can call themselves a “Financial Planner”, so a person who has earned the CFP® marks should be considered separately from someone who hasn’t.

A CFS (Certified Fund Specialist) has acquired this certification from the Institute of Business & Finance (IBF). The CFS provides mutual funds assistance. To obtain the certification, the CFS must complete 2,000 hours of work experience or must have a bachelor’s degree BEFORE taking the exam, and then is required to fulfill 30 hours of education every two years.

The AFC® (Accredited Financial Counselor®) certification requires 1,000 hours of financial counseling experience, three letters of reference authenticating their professional competence and experience, an AFC® Education pathway, and a final exam. An AFC® is required to complete continuing education.

As fiduciaries and fee-only financial advisors, we appreciate transparency and the ability to stand behind the value we provide to our clients. Depending on where you are in your financial journey, we offer various ways to establish a working relationship with the goal of improving your return on life.

Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan Management

Our Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan Management fee is $75/month. This fee covers ongoing guidance and investment management of your employer-sponsored plan (401k, 403b, 457, etc.).  

In most cases, the majority of a family’s savings is tied up in their company retirement plans. That said, companies do not offer the necessary resources for employees to make informed decisions on these accounts. We work to help you gain a clear understanding of how your plan works, to include providing ongoing management of your investment options, and offering guidance on how much and where to contribute (Roth, Traditional, or after-tax).

Employer Health-Savings Account (HSA) Management

This option mirrors that of our employer-sponsored retirement plan management in terms of price and services offered. At $75/month, we provide ongoing guidance and management of the investment portion of your employer-sponsored health-savings account (HSA).

Financial Wellness Plan Package/Subscription Fee

Our Financial Wellness Planning monthly subscription fee is $400-$600/month, depending on complexity. This includes a comprehensive financial plan to aid those working to organize their financial house, prioritize their goals and build their wealth to set themselves up to enjoy life today and also plan for their future.

This planning fee requires a 6-month minimum commitment and includes proactive analyses, guidance and ongoing actionable recommendations to ensure you accomplish the goals you’ve set for yourself and for your family.

Investment Management Fee

Our investment management fee ranges from 0.50% to 1.45% per year, depending on Assets Under Care at ARK. This means that we charge an annual fee based on the value of any accounts you choose for ARK to manage on your behalf. This can include Traditional or Roth IRAs, previous employer retirement plans, Inherited accounts, etc. This fee is paid directly from the value of your account, as is standard in our industry. With this fee structure, we have an incentive to provide more hands-on management in an effort to grow your account values over time.

Note that this differs from many other financial professionals who instead charge a commission each time they recommend the purchase of a new product (annuity, for example), and each time they buy or sell an investment within your account. This type of commission-based fee structure can inherently create conflicts of interest that often cause financial professionals to lose sight of what is important – their duty to serve and do what is best for YOU.

CLICK HERE for a copy of our fee sheet with more detail on the above explanations.

Wondering what fee option would apply to you? Schedule a no cost, no obligation 30-minute icebreaker to learn more!