Our Low Fixed Fees
Cardiff Park’s pricing model reflects the low cost of passive and index fund investing and our belief that advisory fees should be transparent, reasonable and justified. Contrary to widespread industry practice, our fees are not calculated as a percentage of assets under management. Rather, they are based on estimates of the time required to provide account services and meet individual client needs.
Cardiff Park charges a fixed annual retainer for investment advisory services. For new clients, this fee typically ranges from $4,800 to $12,000 per annum, or $1,200 to $3,000 per quarter, billed in arrears. Our retainer is based on a review of all aspects of a prospective client's financial situation and is based on an estimate of the time required to properly serve the engagement. Fees in excess of these rates for added complexity or multi-generational requirements are not uncommon. As a gesture of goodwill, some long-standing clients pay lower fees than current standard rates.
Unlike most advisors, our fees are fixed. Practically speaking, this means our clients’ fees will never automatically increase based on growth of their portfolio. Our fixed fee is our sole source of compensation. This means that we do not accept fees or commissions on the types of investments we recommend. Nor do we generate revenue by guiding our clients to particular fund families (12b-1) or brokerage custodians. And unlike many practitioners, we do not accept performance- based fees that carry additional risks clearly not in the best interests of their clients. We believe our low fixed retainer is the fairest pricing standard. It eliminates conflicts of interest, including the incentive to recommend investment products based on compensation rather than on meeting our clients’ goals and objectives.
Our Services
Cardiff Park’s core investment advisory product includes financial planning, execution of trades, administrative assistance, portfolio management, return benchmarking, tax harvesting, rebalancing and reporting. Our intake process ensures that we thoroughly understand each client’s financial situation and goals. We conduct interviews and gather data on risk tolerance, time horizon, tax situation, investment goals, personal preferences, and any anticipated life changes that may affect future financial needs.
Asset allocation is the foundation of our portfolio design process. To determine the appropriate ratio of equities to fixed income, Cardiff Park incorporates information about existing client accounts, including IRA, 401(k) or 403(b) accounts, 529 plans, and all other financial accounts and assets held by the client. This information provides direction on which asset classes are appropriate to include in the portfolio and the need, if any, for reallocation of existing assets.
Future rebalancing considerations also influence the initial distribution of client assets into taxable and tax-exempt accounts. Asset classes with an expectation of relatively high taxable distributions are generally emphasized in tax-exempt accounts, while asset classes with relatively low taxable distributions are emphasized in taxable accounts. This enables efficient rebalancing that defers or minimizes taxable income and capital gains.
Portfolios are transparent and available for client review at any time through the Cardiff Park website and the custodial firm where funds are held. While financial planning and portfolio design tend to be our most intensive period of client interaction, we continue to communicate with clients throughout the year. We deliver monthly reports electronically and solicit questions and feedback from our clients. We encourage clients to read our blog about trending financial issues. We are available to clients by phone or email during normal business hours. We recommend that all financial plans be reviewed annually and reevaluated thoroughly every three to five years.
Our expertise at Cardiff Park Advisors is in financial planning and investment management. To complement our services, we recommend that our clients consult with independent professionals for estate planning, real estate issues, tax planning, insurance and legal issues. At client request, we will work with these professionals to offer our best financial advice and analysis. Services beyond the scope of portfolio management may incur additional fees.
Contact Us
We welcome introductory phone conversations to assess your investment needs, determine how we can support your requirements, and provide an estimate of our advisory fees. Specific financial advice or services cannot be provided until our firm is formally engaged. There is no obligation to proceed after this initial meeting. You may reach us by emailing our principal at jgorlow@cardiffpark.com or calling our office at 760-635-7526