Full Service Fixed Fee Wealth Management Solution
Concierge wealth management firm Flat Fee CIO is something of an industry outlier. In fact, in one very
important respect, it’s a 180-degree departure from the norm. Through the experienced application of efficient financial services technology, Flat Fee CIO, your Family Chief Investment Officer, offers a fixed-dollar annual retainer with the potential to deliver significant savings over the old asset-based percentage fee structure that has existed unchanged for close to 30 years.
“Investment styles go in and out of favor,” says Don Rudolph, principal of Flat Fee CIO and 25-year veteran of the high-net-worth investing arena. “But advancing technology has fundamentally transformed the industry status quo with an expanded suite of services and lower standard fee thresholds.”
Trusted Wealth Advisor and Experienced Fiduciary
Flat Fee CIO, founded by Rudolph, is a boutique wealth management offering of Founders Financial Alliance, LLC and, provides affluent investors what they need and want most: deep expertise, an expanded suite of services, and proactive account management for a single transparent fixed-dollar annual advisory fee. What makes the firm notably different is its commitment to the fiduciary standard of care that includes implementing fixed-fee alternatives within customized wealth solutions
Efficient Wealth Management is the New Normal
“At Flat Fee CIO, our commitment as fiduciaries does not end with ensuring our wealth structuring and investment recommendations are always in the client’s best interest,” Rudolph says. “It also includes maintaining a keen eye on the client’s bottom line in seeking to minimize ongoing costs and help clients keep more of what they earn. Unlike percentage-based fees, with our fixed fee structure, our clients—not the markets—determine when we earn a raise.” In the course of Flat Fee CIO’s comprehensive fiduciary review, it may be determined that simply replacing the old asset-based percentage fee with our lower fixed annual fee on the current investments can save tens of thousands of dollars each year. Other details in the review may reveal further opportunities to reduce or eliminate additional underlying product costs that can increase the total ongoing annual investment management expense.
Wealth Services Technology Marches Forward to a Tipping Point
Over the past 30 years, technology has transformed affluent wealth management services. Yet affluent fee structures have changed little, even in recent years as the pace of technological change has accelerated. As it does for virtually every industry it touches, technology has lowered operational and administrative costs through added efficiencies while expanding choice
for investors.
A Transparent Fixed Dollar Alternative
Today, advisory fee choices in affluent wealth services have reached a tipping point with fixed fee options at lower competitive thresholds in the marketplace. Flat Fee CIO’s fixed-dollar fee is not simply a capping of prospective client’s current level of fees under their old percentage-based structure; it is a fixed dollar level that reflects the new operational efficiencies that technology has delivered for professional investment management. Under our fixed fee arrangement, clients can consolidate more of their
investments under our fixed dollar fee in an effort to further reduce their average annual costs.
The True Cost of Asset-Based Percentage Fees
“Even the most experienced affluent investors may not be fully aware of the total ongoing costs of their advisory services,”Rudolph says. “For the past 30 years, our industry has adhered to a compensation model that grows directly with the growth of underlying assets. We believe the time has come for clients to embrace a fee model based on the complexity of their ongoing needs so they can capture the significant savings afforded by a more predictable and transparent fixed-dollar approach.” In fact, the traditional asset-based percentage advisor’s fee may be just the tip of the iceberg of an investors’ total annual recurrent costs. Beneath the surface, there can be multiple layers of product and platform fees. “Under the traditional percentage fee, as account values grow larger over time, the dollar amount of the fees both above and below the surface rise directly with any increase in the value of the account,” Rudolph says. “This can take a larger and larger bite out of clients’ net spendable income and dramatically impact financial outcomes. Our fee structure is a function of a client’s
financial complexity, not asset growth. It’s straightforward, transparent, and easier to understand.”
Offering the Potential for Higher Net Returns and Higher Net Income
For example, the traditional 1% annual advisor fee on a $2 million portfolio is $20,000 per year. If an investor receives a 4% annual income stream ($80,000 per year) from that same portfolio, the annual advisor fee alone represents 25% of gross spendable income. After federal and state taxes, the 1% annual advisor fee may approach 30% or more of net spendable income. “When they view it from that perspective, clients begin to understand why fee considerations are as crucial as determining portfolio risk and investment selection,” Rudolph says. “The potential savings with our fixed annual fee goes directly to our clients
bottom line and helps them retain more of their valuable retirement income.”
Expanded Suite of Services
Flat Fee CIO’s suite of services includes simplifying the reporting of complex holdings across multiple client accounts by making them accessible through a single secure portal backed by Fidelity Investments. Rudolph and his team build tax-aware portfolios supported by institutional research and harness a variety of portfolio and fixed income analytical tools on the clients’ behalf. They also partner with clients’ existing legal, accounting, and family office professionals depending on their multi-disciplinary needs. Although Flat Fee CIO’s fee structure alone can enhance the client’s bottom line, Rudolph remains committed to delivering exceptional value in the form of personalized, concierge-level service. “We apply efficient financial technology for tangible and measurable savings, but our clients will never shake a robot hand,” Rudolph says. “We’re a full-service boutique, not a discount or bare-bones self-service operation. We are experienced wealth advisors who are personally invested in our clients’ financial success.”
Advance from The Past and Do More of What You Love
“In light of new lower fee thresholds made available by advancements in wealth management technology, we would ask prospective clients for the opportunity to compare and evaluate whether their existing services remain
priced for luxury wealth or a more practical affluence.” – Don Rudolph
CONTACT: Don Rudolph, Managing Partner
FLAT FEE CIO
(833) 352-8246
donr@flatfeecio.com
1021 Red Banks Road, Ste C
Greenville, NC 27858
1213 Culbreth Drive, Suite 130
Wilmington, NC 28405
1450 Raleigh Road, Suite 204
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
flatfeecio.com
Any references to or calculations of account values, fee amounts or returns are purely hypothetical and should not be expected for all clients.
Investment advice offered through Founders Financial Alliance, LLC, a registered investment advisor.