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Services
Altius provides two levels of service: financial planning and portfolio management.
Financial Planning: We provide financial planning services by the hour or on a fixed fee basis. We advise on specific areas of finance, such as saving for college or retirement planning. We also develop comprehensive financial plans based on your unique goals and constraints. Plans cover some or all of the following areas: (a) income, expenses, savings and budgets; (b) debt management; (c) assets, liabilities and net worth; (d) insurance; (e) saving for college; (f) taxes; (g) retirement; (h) investments; and (i) estates. As part of the process, we gather information about you, analyze your particular situation and develop recommendations. We then write the plan and present it to you. Once you sign off on your plan, we can assist you in implementing it.
Portfolio Management: We manage your portfolio in a prudent and thoughtful manner, according to the highest fiduciary standards, consistent with your goals and constraints. We analyze your portfolio and suggest a suitable asset allocation for you. We develop an Investment Policy Statement (IPS) that contains the framework for how we will manage your portfolio. The IPS includes your target asset allocation, investment horizon, expected return and risk, financial constraints and ways to measure the performance of your portfolio. We then assist you in opening the necessary brokerage accounts and funding those accounts. Once the accounts are funded, we buy and sell investments to meet your target allocation. After the portfolio is set up, we monitor it and periodically report on the investments. We review the portfolio with you and revise it to account for changes in markets and your situation.
Fees
We are a fee-only advisor, which means that we are compensated solely by fees. We do not sell any products nor do we earn any commissions. Before we sign an agreement, we provide you with an estimate of our fees. In the event of fee changes, we will notify you in advance.
Financial Planning: We charge either on an hourly basis or a fixed fee basis depending on the nature of the work and your preference. In either instance, the fee is payable after the engagement is over. Our hourly rate is up to $300. We have a one-hour minimum and charge for time over an hour in 15-minute increments.
Portfolio Management: A fixed fee (always less than 3% of assets under management) based on the size of the managed portfolio. We have a fee schedule that shows ranges of assets under management and the fee associated with each range. From April 1, 2008, we have required that all new portfolio management clients have at least $250,000 under management by Altius. Clients with less that $250,000 of investible assets can receive investment advice under our financial planning services for which there are no minimum asset or income threshholds.
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