FAQ

At Savevest, LLC, we serve clients who are serious about building and protecting long-term wealth.

For accounts we manage directly, the recommended minimum assets under management is $1,000,000, and our management fee is up to 1% of assets under management. Fees typically decrease as asset levels rise, and they also reflect the complexity of your situation—whether we’re managing a single account or multiple trusts, coordinating across entities, or working alongside your tax and legal professionals.

For clients who prefer advice on a project (or a one-time) basis, we also offer hourly consulting at $400 per hour. There is no minimum Assets Under Management requirement for this service.

We periodically review our fee schedule to ensure it remains competitive and fair. Our goal isn’t to maximize short-term revenue—it’s to continue building a sustainable, client-first firm that will be here for you and your family over the long run.

We are a fee-only advisor, meaning we never receive commissions or payments for the products we recommend.

The most important factor is fit. If you are looking for the “next Warren Buffett” or someone who claims to predict the market, we are not the right partner. But if you believe in capitalism, market efficiency, and evidence-based investing, we can help you design and implement a strategy rooted in decades of academic research—one aligned with your values and your goals.

We typically work with Charles Schwab, Altruist, or Interactive Brokers, depending on what best suits a client’s needs. Each of these custodians is well-established, highly regulated, and offers strong safeguards for your assets. The choice of custodian depends on factors such as account structure, investment strategy, reporting preferences, and cost efficiency.

Because Savevest, LLC is an independent, fee-only firm, we do not receive compensation from custodians or product providers. This means our recommendation is based solely on what we believe is in your best interest. Ultimately, you’ll always retain ownership and control of your accounts—we simply have the authority to manage investments on your behalf.

In addition to our advisory fee, there are some direct costs that come with investing:

• Trading fees: Depending on the custodian and platform, you may incur small fees when trading certain mutual funds or ETFs. Because our approach is disciplined and long-term, these costs are typically minimal—often just a few hundred dollars a year or less.
• Fund expense ratios: Mutual funds and ETFs charge an internal management fee called an expense ratio. We primarily use low-cost funds from Dimensional Fund Advisors, Vanguard, and Avantis, selecting the right mix based on your needs.
• Custodian service fees: Occasionally, custodians may charge for services like wiring funds, overnighting checks, or transferring assets. Please reach out to us with any questions.

It’s important to note that Savevest, LLC is a fee-only advisor. We do not receive commissions or compensation from fund providers or custodians. Our only compensation comes directly from you. While custodians do have their own revenue streams (such as payment for order flow or securities lending), we carefully monitor these practices to ensure they remain in line with usual industry standards.

We begin with an initial conversation—about an hour—at no cost and with no obligation. This meeting is focused on understanding your goals, values, and expectations, and ensuring we’re the right fit for one another.

If we both agree that moving forward makes sense, the account opening and transfer process typically takes about 10 business days or less. In some cases, it may be faster; in others, such as when transferring accounts from another custodian or setting up more complex arrangements (e.g., margin access, securities-backed lending, or advanced trading strategies), it may take a little longer.

Throughout the process, our goal is to make things as seamless as possible—so you can focus on your priorities while we handle the details.

Yes. You will have online access to your accounts through the custodian’s secure platform, whether you’re using Schwab, Altruist, or Interactive Brokers. Each custodian also provides regular account statements (monthly or quarterly) and the necessary year-end tax documents.

If you ever have trouble retrieving these documents, we can securely provide copies through our client portal, ensuring you always have the information you need.

We currently support a wide range of accounts, including:

• Individual and joint accounts – standard taxable accounts held in your name alone or with a partner.
• Retirement accounts – such as IRAs or custom 401(k) plans, designed to help you save for retirement with tax advantages.
• Trust accounts – legal structures (revocable or irrevocable) that hold assets on behalf of beneficiaries, often used for estate planning, asset protection, or tax efficiency.
• Business accounts (LLCs and similar entities) – investment accounts held in the name of your business, which can be used for cash management, growth, or long-term planning.

For select clients, we also assist with advanced strategies such as:

Securities-backed lines of credit (SBLOCs) – loans secured by your investment portfolio, which can provide liquidity without selling assets.

Margin accounts – accounts that allow you to borrow against your investments to increase buying power.

Options strategies – financial contracts that can be used to manage risk, generate income, or structure more advanced portfolios.

Some of the key advantages include:

1. Peace of mind – You don’t have to constantly monitor the markets or second-guess every decision. We help take the emotion out of investing, especially during periods of volatility.
2. Discipline and direction – We work with you to design a long-term plan tailored to your goals, then help you stay the course when distractions and short-term noise arise.
3. Evidence-based insights – We regularly evaluate academic research and practical strategies, incorporating them into portfolios when the potential benefits outweigh the costs.

Our approach is rooted in transparency and alignment. You can explore many of the principles and strategies we believe in through our blog—or, if you prefer, simply reach out to us to see if we’re a good mutual fit.

We predominantly use funds from Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA), Vanguard, and Avantis, because they offer well-diversified, global exposure at low cost—and their methods are deeply grounded in decades of academic research.

Some of the academics and pioneers that influence our approach include:

• Eugene F. Fama (Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, 2013) — known for his work on the efficient markets hypothesis and empirical asset pricing.  
• Robert Merton (Nobel, 1997) — for contributions to understanding risk and options, among many other things.  
• Myron Scholes (Nobel, 1997) — especially celebrated for the Black-Scholes option pricing model.  
• Douglas W. Diamond (Nobel, 2022) — on the board of or involved with DFA, whose research helps inform how we think about financial intermediaries, liquidity, and stability.  
• Robert Novy-Marx — whose work (like profitability factors etc.) is part of DFA’s research pipeline and helps refine what factors we consider in portfolios.  
• John C. Bogle — the founder of Vanguard, who is widely credited with bringing index funds to retail investors. His legacy is one of low cost, simplicity, and putting investor interests first.  

Some special structural features of Vanguard also matter:

Because of this structure, many of Vanguard’s profits are returned to investors (for example, through lower fund expenses) rather than paid out to external shareholders.

Vanguard has a mutual ownership structure: it is owned by its funds, which are in turn owned by the investors in those funds. That means there aren’t external shareholders demanding profits; Vanguard’s incentives are aligned with keeping costs low and acting in the best interests of investors.  

You can fund your account through your bank using any of the traditional methods—such as online transfers, checks (made payable directly to the custodian), or wire transfers.

It’s important to note that your money always goes directly to the custodian, never to Savevest, LLC. We do not take custody of your assets—meaning we never hold your money ourselves. Instead, your accounts remain in your name at a regulated custodian (such as Schwab, Altruist, or Interactive Brokers), and we are granted permission to manage the investments on your behalf.

It depends on the level of support you’re looking for.

• For existing clients: We’re happy to review your external investments at no additional cost. This includes helping you understand what the funds or products do and how they might fit into a broader, well-designed strategy. While we cannot provide ongoing monitoring or place trades in accounts we don’t manage directly, we can give you context and guidance so you can make informed decisions.
• For non-clients: We offer consulting on external investments on an hourly basis. This allows you to benefit from our perspective even if we aren’t managing your accounts directly.

Our goal is always to give you clear, unbiased input—so you can decide what’s best for your situation.

Savevest, LLC does not charge any termination fees. If you decide to end our relationship, you are free to do so at any time.

That said, there may be costs imposed by the custodian or brokerage when transferring or liquidating assets—for example, transaction fees, wire/transfer charges, or account closure fees. In some cases, if a fund you hold cannot be transferred “in kind” to another custodian, it may need to be sold, which could create a taxable event.

We are committed to making the process as smooth as possible and will walk you through your options so you understand any potential costs before you proceed.

At Savevest, we believe in focusing on what we can control while recognizing that markets always contain an element of randomness. Our principles center on clarity, discipline, and your peace of mind.

Our core tenets of investing include:

1. Discover what matters most – Financial planning begins with you: your goals, values, and vision of success.
2. Boost your earnings – Growing your human capital and income lays the foundation for long-term wealth.
3. Develop a millionaire mindset – Discipline, patience, and a growth-oriented outlook are essential for compounding results over time.
4. Control what you can, ignore the noise – We focus on costs, taxes, risk, and diversification, not on predicting headlines or short-term swings.
5. Save Smartly – Live below your means and let your money work for you.
6. Invest wisely – Evidence-based strategies, not speculation, guide our portfolios.
7. Plan for taxes – Smart tax planning helps keep more of what you earn and grow.
8. Protect assets – Safeguarding your wealth through proper structures and insurance is as important as growing it.
9. Design for legacy – Estate planning ensures your wealth benefits the people and causes you care about.
10. Use debt strategically – When used carefully, leverage can be a tool for growth and liquidity.

Our philosophy in practice:

• We believe in capitalism and the efficiency of markets, confident that over time they reward disciplined investors.
• We invest in line with the same principles we apply to our own portfolios—not chasing last year’s winners, predicting booms and busts, or searching for the “next Warren Buffett.”
• We emphasize science, diversification, and discipline—backed by decades of academic research.
• We accept what we cannot control, focusing instead on building a plan resilient enough to withstand uncertainty.

In short, our goal is to help you on your financial wellness journey by applying timeless principles, rather than relying on speculation or hype.

Our planning process engages you directly—collaborative, transparent, and customized to your needs.

We begin with an initial meeting to understand who you are—not just your finances, but your goals, values, and what financial independence means to you. We’ll collect your financial information, review your current situation, and discuss your short- and long-term priorities (for example, retirement, education, charitable giving, or leaving a legacy).

Next, we assess your relationship with risk across three dimensions:

• Tolerance – How comfortable are you with volatility? Could you remain disciplined through events like 2008 or 2020?
• Need – Do you actually need to take on significant risk to achieve your goals, or have you already “won the game”?
• Capacity – Would a downturn in the next few years cause financial harm that would be hard to recover from?

By combining your goals with these risk factors, we design a customized plan that balances growth, protection, and flexibility. This plan includes:

• An evidence-based investment strategy tailored to your needs.
• Tax planning strategies to keep more of what you earn.
• Risk management and asset protection steps.
• Long-term estate and legacy considerations.

Our goal is simple: to help you live confidently today while building a resilient financial foundation for the future.

At Savevest, we don’t make predictions about markets, interest rates, housing prices, or individual stocks—because the evidence is clear: even the brightest experts often get it wrong. Markets are highly competitive and incorporate new information almost instantly, which means that consistently “outguessing” them is extraordinarily difficult.

Instead of trying to forecast the unpredictable, we focus on what does matter and what we can control:

• Costs and taxes – Reducing drag on your portfolio so more of your money stays invested.
• Risk and diversification – Building portfolios resilient enough to handle market ups and downs.
• Discipline – Helping you stay the course during volatility, when emotions can lead to costly mistakes.
• Long-term planning – Aligning your investments with your personal goals, not short-term speculation.

Our philosophy is simple: your financial success shouldn’t depend on guessing tomorrow’s news. Instead, it should rest on a disciplined strategy rooted in decades of academic research and tailored to your unique needs.

That’s why we don’t spend our time chasing “hot stocks” or making bold predictions—we spend it making sure your plan is designed to suit your needs and helping you implement it.

Probably! If there’s a topic you’d like us to cover that you don’t see on Wealth Foundations, feel free to contact us. We’re always looking for new ideas and want this resource to be as useful as possible for our readers.

That said, please keep in mind:

• The content we share is general in nature and not tailored to your personal circumstances.
• For specific, personalized advice, you should always consult your own financial advisor, accountant, or attorney.
• While we do our best to respond to requests, we may not be able to fulfill every one—either due to time constraints or because the topic falls outside our expertise.

Our goal is to share practical, evidence-based insights that help you make more informed financial decisions.

Our blog is educational first. We share ideas, frameworks, and research that many can apply. While it naturally reflects our approach to wealth management, its purpose is to inform, not to sell. We believe that if our values resonate with you and you need our help, the decision to work together will happen naturally.