They promise "comprehensive planning."
But what you actually get is portfolio management dressed up as comprehensive planning.
Many retirees with $1 million or more scattered across old 401(k)s, IRAs, and taxable accounts sit down with a "comprehensive" wirehouse advisor and walk out with portfolio management dressed as comprehensive planning.
No coordinated tax strategy. No multi-year Roth conversion math. No ownership of the gap between the advisor, the CPA, the estate attorney, and the insurance broker. These wirehouse "comprehensive plans" are quietly costing successful retirees $300,000 to $400,000 in fees over 20 years for service that doesn't live up to the promise. There's a different way to pay for retirement planning, and we built it specifically to replace the broken 1% AUM trap.
Schedule Your Discovery Call Today.If you've sat across from a wirehouse advisor in the last few years, this probably sounds familiar.
But what you actually get is portfolio management dressed up as comprehensive planning.
Old 401(k)s, IRAs, taxable accounts, all consolidated under their AUM fee. That's the part that pays them, so that's what gets the attention.
Roth conversion windows. IRMAA thresholds. Tax-deferred drawdown sequencing. The work that actually moves the needle on what you keep gets handed off, not done.
Every annual meeting, the same items get pushed to next year. Years go by. The "comprehensive plan" lives in a binder somewhere.
On $1.5 million, that's $15,000 to $20,000 a year as your portfolio grows. Over 20 years of retirement, $300,000 to $400,000. For service you could approximate with a target-date fund and a flat-fee CPA.
The tax planning, the coordination, the year-by-year strategy work, the things that actually compound into hundreds of thousands of dollars over a 20-year retirement, almost never get done.
You pay an annual membership fee, broken into monthly payments for your convenience. The fee doesn't change because your accounts grew. The advice doesn't depend on you moving your money.
Every meeting is a full review of your entire plan. Taxes. Portfolio. Estate. Insurance. Income. All of it on the table, every season. With one piece getting a deeper review each quarter.
An Enrolled Agent is the highest credential the IRS awards. It means our team plans your taxes, files your taxes, AND represents you directly before the IRS if there's ever a question. No handoffs. No "talk to your CPA."
That means we're legally obligated to act in your best interest. No commissions. No product sales. No proprietary funds.
Because we're not compensated based on assets under management, your accounts can stay exactly where they are. We work the plan. You keep the custody.
Every quarter, your entire plan gets reviewed. Every quarter, one piece goes deep. You're never more than 90 days away from a comprehensive checkup, and every season, something major gets advanced.
This is the work many "comprehensive plans" claim to do. And almost never get to. Because the people running them aren't paid to. We work differently.
This is a 30-minute fit call. No pressure. No obligation. No moving your money.
We'll spend the call understanding where your money is, what you've built, what you're trying to accomplish, and what's been frustrating about your current setup.
If we're the right fit, we'll walk you through The Four-Season Plan and what each season would look like for someone in your situation.
You've spent 30 years building it. Spend 30 minutes seeing what it would look like to pay for advice the way you'd pay a doctor or a CPA.
Schedule Your Discovery Call With Bravern WealthSchedule a meeting to learn more.
Investment advisory services offered through SOWELL Management Services, an SEC-registered investment adviser. The views, statements, and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual speakers and not necessarily of SOWELL or their affiliates. The content provided is for educational purposes only. No investment, legal or tax advice is provided. Always consult with a professional. Comments regarding a particular client's experience may or may not be the same as another client's experience, and are not an indication that any client or prospective client will experience the same or a higher level of future success or performance. Any comments regarding safe and secure investments and/or guaranteed income streams refer only to fixed insurance products overseen by state insurance regulators and not any investment advisory products. Rates and guarantees provided by insurance products and annuities are subject to the financial strength of the issuing insurance company; not guaranteed by any bank or the FDIC. A Roth conversion may not be suitable for your situation. The primary goal in converting retirement assets into a Roth IRA is to reduce the future tax liability on the distributions you take in retirement, or on the distributions to your beneficiaries. The information provided is to help you determine whether or not a Roth IRA conversion may be appropriate for your particular circumstances. Please review your retirement savings, tax, and estate/legacy planning strategies with your legal/tax advisor to be sure a Roth IRA conversion fits into your planning strategies. This is not endorsed by, or affiliated with, the Social Security Administration or any U.S. government agency.