FAQ

Yes, at Alison Wealth Management we uphold the fiduciary standard through our team members’ certifications and designations. A fiduciary is a person or organization that acts on behalf of another person or persons to manage assets and owes them the duties of good faith and trust. The highest legal duty of one party to another, fiduciary advisors work directly for clients and must place clients' interests ahead of their own, according to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

For example, advisors cannot buy securities for their accounts prior to buying them for clients and are prohibited from making trades that may result in higher commissions for themselves or their firms. Fiduciary advisors must also do their best to make investment advice using accurate and complete information and avoid or disclose any conflicts of interest.

Wealth management is an advisory service in which we take a holistic approach to proactively implement financial planning, asset management, tax management, protection planning, and legacy planning for affluent clients and their families. Our wealth management service incorporates two parts: the analytics aspects and the impact aspects.

We consider the analytics aspects of all the financially driven topics and tasks needed to optimize your wealth. The impact aspect is geared towards the purpose of your money and wealth and how your money aligns with your core values, such as the impact on future generations or charity. These are less about implementation but rather about education, idea sharing, and strategizing.

Our typical client:

• Has amassed first generation wealth ($3M-plus net worth) and is looking to maximize what they have accumulated, while avoiding costly mistakes
• Values having a team of experts proactively working on their behalf so they can spend their time enjoying the areas of life that bring them passion
• Wants to have a meaningful relationship with their advisory team.

We work with clients that have a minimum of $1M-plus of investable assets and our typical client has a net worth of $5M — $100M-plus.

Alison Wealth Management is a fee-based firm, allowing us to offer an open architecture of investment strategies and products to meet the best interest of our clients. At Alison Wealth Management, there is a set cost of managing our affluent client's wealth, which generally ranges between 0.30% — 1.0% of the assets under management (AUM), depending on the amount invested with our firm. This fee is deducted right from your investment advisory account on a monthly basis.

We feel this approach can often be the optimal approach for an investor seeking comprehensive and tailored financial guidance. This fee structure aligns our firm’s interests with our client’s financial success, creating a mutually beneficial relationship that prioritizes long-term growth and prudent decision-making.

We feel that one of the key advantages of this fee model is its incentive for the advisor to generate favorable returns. Since the firm’s revenue is directly tied to the value of the investor's portfolio, there's a built-in motivation to make well-informed investment decisions that yield positive outcomes. This ensures that the firm’s recommendations are aligned with the investor's financial goals, as both parties share in the gains and losses.

Additionally, the percentage of AUM fee structure encourages a long-term perspective. Firms who earn a percentage of the assets they manage are more likely to focus on strategies that promote sustainable growth over time, rather than chasing short-term gains that might not be in the investor's best interests. This approach is especially beneficial in times of market volatility, as the firm’s compensation remains linked to the investor's overall portfolio performance, fostering a commitment to weathering market fluctuations together.

Furthermore, the fee structure fosters a sense of transparency. Investors can clearly see the direct relationship between the firm's fees and the growth of their assets. This transparency can encourage open communication between the advisor and the investor, as both parties understand that their interests are closely intertwined.

We have developed and refined a holistic planning process — The Bucket Plan® — that puts all the pieces of the financial puzzle together as your life unfolds and needs evolve. As you go through our financial planning process, you gain insight and education into what you own, how it aligns with your goals and objectives, and what you can do to improve your situation.

You’ll receive a written plan of exactly how your assets should be positioned, our strategies and recommendations, and modeling showing your progress towards your goals.

If compared to building a house, tax planning is working with the architect on a blueprint; tax management is hiring the builder for the initial construction and ongoing maintenance of the home; and tax preparation is the inspection to make everything is up to code.

For our wealth management clients, tax management is a year-round activity in which we are constantly looked at tax savings strategies and then proactively implementing those on behalf of our clients. This could be things like deduction creation through investment tax harvesting, market-timing Roth conversions, stock option exercise strategies, as well as charitable giving. 

We feel that communication is the cornerstone of a successful relationship and is a two-way street. As a major part of every financial decision you face, you can expect to speak with us at least twice per year — we generally meet with most clients between three to 10 times annually. We make sure to touch base in the beginning of the year to map out the road ahead, as well as towards the end to solidify any decisions that may have an impact on the tax year. In addition to our routine meetings, we pride ourselves on availability to suit our clients' needs — we’re never more than a phone call, zoom meeting, or email way!

CFP® professionals have completed extensive training and experience requirements and are held to rigorous ethical and conduct standards. They understand the complexities of the changing financial climate and know how to make recommendations in your best interest.

To become certified, individuals must develop theoretical and practical knowledge by completing a course of study at a college or university offering curriculum approved by the CFP® Board and pass the CFP® Certification Exam. CFP® professionals complete several years of experience related to delivering financial planning services to clients prior to earning the right to use the CFP® trademarks. The CFP® Rules of Conduct require those certified to always put your interest as a client ahead of their own and act as a “fiduciary.”

Enrolled Agents (EAs) are the only federally licensed tax practitioners who specialize in taxation and have unlimited rights to represent taxpayers before the IRS when it comes to collections, audits, and appeals. EAs are authorized to advise, represent, and prepare returns for individuals, partnerships, corporations, estates, trusts, and any entities with tax-reporting requirements.

CPAs, or certified public accountants, are many things. They are chief financial officers for Fortune 500 companies and advisors to small neighborhood businesses. They work for public accounting firms, both small and large. They are well-respected strategic business advisors and decision-makers. They act as consultants on many issues, including taxes and accounting.

A CPA is a trusted financial advocate who helps individuals, businesses, and other organizations plan and reach their financial goals. Whatever those goals-saving for a new home, opening a new office, or planning a multi-billion-dollar merger-CPAs can help.