Frequently asked questions
Why do I need Summit Financial Strategies?
Think of your Summit Advisor as your family’s personal CFO. We keep up with the constantly changing political and economic environment so you don’t have to. In fact, the majority of us maintain a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® designation and are held to strict continuing education requirements.
How is Summit different from other firms?
In a phrase: fee structure. Summit is an independent, fee-only financial planning firm. We do not represent any of the companies or products we suggest and receive no commissions. This leaves us completely free to suggest the exact right financial strategies for you personally, without any bias or incentive focus.
How are you paid?
Our compensation is based on either a percentage of your investment portfolio or an agreed-upon retainer fee. Advisory fees are retainer-based for our Wealth Management clients or derived based on a percentage of your investment portfolio for our Investment Advisory clients. Regardless of the suite of services you choose, Summit fees are often less expensive than national cookie cutter financial advisors.
How many clients do you work with?
Summit has grown from a two-person shop with a handful of clients to a firm of more than 25 associates. We provide individualized advisory services to each of nearly 600 client families. This has the added benefit of enabling us to work with diverse clients in a wide range of planning scenarios, making your advisor’s knowledge base even deeper.
What kind of services do you offer?
We offer two types of services, each designed to help you move from now to next.
Our Wealth Management Services build a comprehensive, dynamic plan around your needs that continues to evolve as you move closer to achieving your goals. Advisory fees are retainer-based.
Our Investment Advisory Services offer a disciplined investment strategy, regular rebalancing and a customizable investment mix tailored to meet individual goals. Advisory fees are based on a percentage of your portfolio.
eSummit Services
If our Wealth Management and Investment Advisory services aren’t the right financial fit for you, eSummit could be a great starting point.
Our eSummit services give you the advantage of our decades of expertise using a streamlined online Robo advisor.
Our eSummit services include risk assessment and diversification in investment vehicles.
As a new client, what should I expect in the first year?
We want to get to know you. Typically, we meet six times during our first year together. Once we agree on a blueprint for your portfolio, Summit will manage your assets based upon this framework. From there, we’ll regularly review your strategy and investment mix.
What if I need to speak to my advisor when he or she is out of the office?
One of the benefits of our fee-only advisory services is the absence of competition within Summit itself. Free from the need to rack up commissions, each of our advisors heads up a larger team of professionals who work together to manage your portfolio. There’s always someone here to help you with questions – even when your primary advisor is out of the office.