Frequently Asked Questions
Are you a fiduciary?
Yes! We act as a fiduciary at all times and are obligated to put your interests ahead of our own. One of the primary drivers in breaking away from the “big firm” environment was to eliminate conflicts of interest involved in our recommendations. And yes, it has been an absolute pleasure serving clients in this capacity!
What is fee only?
Some firms are known as fee-based, which makes things extremely confusing. In the fee-based model, firms can charge an advisory fee (typically a percentage of your assets), and collect commissions from products they sell you or transaction fees. Fee-only advisors (like ours) can never receive compensation from any third party, period. This means we don’t sell insurance, or any other commission based investment products, period.
We believe this allows us to focus on financial planning and advice, rather than what the commission is on a life insurance policy.
You can check out our page about fees here.
I'm not located in the Jacksonville, FL area, can you still work with me?
Absolutely! We have clients in six different states and the list is growing. We have high class technology that will support the process from start to finish, while making sure all of your confidential information is secure. Even our clients who live in the Jacksonville or St. Augustine area really appreciate that we can service them virtually. They always tell us they appreciate the check ups over Zoom as they would much rather lounge in the comfort of their home, than sit in Jacksonville traffic!
Do you have an asset minimum?
The short answer is “No.” We don’t charge based on assets under management, but visit our fee structure page to see which of our three models you fit under.
Are you just going to sell me insurance or annuities?
As a fee-only advisor, we don’t sell insurance, annuities or any commission based products. As a fiduciary, we absolutely will help you understand what you have and how it works. In fact, I started my career with an insurance and annuity background, so I have an in depth knowledge on how these products work. We can evaluate your current life insurance, disability insurance, long-term care insurance and annuity products to see if they still fit within your financial plan. If they don’t, we can help you replace them or just simply get rid of them. Furthermore, if there is a need to purchase a new product, we have partners that can assist in that process, and we will be with you every step of the way!
I like that you are independent, but where are my actual funds being held?
We selected Charles Schwab to serve as our custodian. You can access your accounts online or via their mobile app, and you will receive monthly statements from Schwab. We are not employees nor are compensated in any way by Charles Schwab, but they provide extensive resources to our firm to optimally manage your accounts.
How exactly do you help with Estate Planning?
We are not a law firm. However, we believe Estate Planning is much more than just the documents you have in place. It’s much more about your family, your heirs, your tax situation, your beneficiary’s tax situation, and other complexities that allow us to understand your unique situation. Clients often joke with us that we know more about their family than their best friends! The reason we dig so deep in this topic is so we can understand potential complexities and challenges. This allows us to partner with your attorney and CPAs to create the optimal estate plan for your family. Furthermore, it allows to to advise on what assets should be left to the next generation, and what assets you may want to spend down during your retirement years!
In short, we will continue to partner with you and your attorneys, to ensure your plan is aligned with your goals, the ever-so-changing legal landscape, and as your family dynamics evolve!
Of course, if you need a referral to an attorney, our firm and our networks have one in every state that we can refer you to!
How did your charitable giving begin?
One of our core values is giving back to the communities we serve. We do this through volunteer service, as well as our charitable donations. Each quarter, we donate a percentage of our profits to a charity that is making a big impact in the community. If you have an organization you want us to consider, drop us an email! [email protected]
What does your firm name mean?
You might think it’s a play on words, so you can picture what financial security means to you! Well, that was secondary.
The name was inspired by a movie called “I Can Only Imagine.” It came out around the time my first son, Tristan, was born. I won’t spoil the movie (although it is over 4 years old), but it had a deep impact on me to chase my dreams. I thought to myself, how could I tell my son to chase his dreams if I don’t chase mine? The night I first saw the movie, my wife and I talked and agreed that I would quit my firm and start my own to serve clients the RIGHT way. Little did we know, three days later she found out she was pregnant, and a month after that we found out the pregnancy was with twins! We didn’t waiver and trusted our faith that this was the right path, and I’m so happy we did!
10 Questions to Ask Your Financial Planner
The CFP board came up with 10 questions to ask your financial planner, and you can check that out here.
Do you have other questions?
Hopefully this has helped answer many of your questions. Feel free to schedule a 30 minute Zoom call with us if you have specific questions about your situation or want to discuss the first step in hiring our firm.