Frequently Asked Questions

As fee-only financial advisors we are compensated by fees charged as a percentage of invested assets.  TMG provides all other financial planning services (including retirement planning, estate planning and tax planning) at no additional charge.  This type of cost structure assures our dedication to preserving assets and protecting your overall financial health, rather than focusing on selling products.  Our investment philosophy is based on Nobel Prize-winning economic and finance theory.  Our long standing, proven investment track record is a result of sticking to those principles, even when short-term market events prompt other investment advisors to abandon their beliefs.  Our objective is to ensure your long-term financial success.

Fee-only financial advisors are compensated only by their clients. By avoiding income-related conflicts of interest, fee-only wealth management firms such as TMG stand out in the crowd of otherwise conflicted financial professionals. A recent industry survey indicated less than 20 percent of advisory firms operate as fee-only financial advisors. Why? Because over 80 percent of advisory firms could not survive without the commissions earned from selling financial products! Why else would a firm permit the inherent conflict between giving objective advice and selling products to continue if they could do otherwise?

No. TMG is not a custodian. We direct the custodians who hold your assets. You must authorize all actions we take in your portfolio. This could be in advance, such as the authority to place trades within your account, or as a change is needed, such as changing your IRA beneficiary. Our limited authority over your assets extends to monitoring and managing your portfolio so you don’t have to. We never have possession of your assets.

We usually meet with clients twice a year, either in person or via phone. All meetings result in a detailed set of internal notes allowing us to better serve you in the future. Your entire history is available to us electronically and is reviewed prior to meeting with you. You can view your portfolio and call us anytime.

Yes. We provide comprehensive financial planning for a fee typically ranging from $5,000 to $15,000. Interestingly, very few individuals have availed themselves of this very limited service. This is because TMG is a comprehensive wealth management firm. We provide a wide range of services, including comprehensive planning, for our inclusive asset-based fee.

We use international investments in developed countries (known as the G-7 nations and emerging markets) because it reduces the volatility of your portfolio. This may seem counterintuitive to someone who is concerned about international markets. However, international market behavior is often not highly correlated to domestic market behavior. The net result is a volatility/risk reduction for your portfolio. We understand markets abroad can be volatile, which is why we maintain a diversified holding of several international markets. We are also careful to tailor your exposure according to your overall risk tolerance.

We will coordinate with your accountant to provide helpful reports as they prepare your taxes. We will also consult with them on tax preparation matters if there are issues unclear to you or us.

Yes, we are accepting new clients who have investable assets of $1 million or more. Alternatively, we offer investment management for smaller accounts with TMG Investment Advisory Company, requiring a $100,000 investment minimum. Please call or click on this link for more information.

Yes, during our first meeting we can provide you with client references.

We try to match our clients’ personalities with those of our professionals during our first few meetings. If you are not comfortable with our assessment you are welcome to make a request to work with a particular professional. Since TMG works as a team on your portfolio, there will be several staff members involved in each client’s account. Ultimately, your main point of contact can be someone of your choosing, provided the professional you choose is qualified to handle your account.

TMG’s team approach ensures more than one person is responsible for and to you. Several professionals have access to and know your client information. We keep a detailed database of every conversation, meeting, and correspondence we have had with our clients and these notes are circulated among the TMG professionals. This ensures if anything were to happen to one of our staff, the rest of the team would be able to service you with the same high standards of professionalism. TMG has also invested a great deal of time into creating a long-term strategic plan. This includes growing the firm to a size that can sustain itself in the years to come. We call it our “100-year firm” approach because this plan ensures the longevity of TMG through whatever conditions we may face over the years.

We recognize privacy is as high a priority as wealth preservation for many of our clients. TMG has strict internal confidentiality policies, while we also abide by the various fiduciary standards of our profession. We have implemented a number of technological safeguards to ensure none of our clients’ data can be compromised.

Once we have met with you, you simply sign our engagement agreement, which begins our professional relationship. Either you or TMG can terminate this relationship at any time.