FAQS | About Retirement Planning and Wealth Management

Yes. At Wharton Wealth Planning, LLC, you will receive the attention of an experienced, credentialed professional who is both a CFP® and MBA. Our financial planners are CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioners. CFP® professionals have met extensive training and experience requirements and take a holistic, personalized approach to bringing all the pieces of a client's financial life together.

Many of our clients have had experience with self-management or with the traditional financial advisory sales model. They recognize the need for professional, objective, and competent advice, and they seek a long-term relationship built on trust and ongoing, unbiased investment counsel.

Retirement involves many complex tax and investment details. This is why we also specialize in advising clients who want to prepare for retirement (in the near or more distant future) and those who have already retired.

We can work with clients in three ways: (1) asset management on a continuous basis (2) flat-fee financial planning basis (3) one-time flat-fee investment portfolio review basis. We work with you to manage the complex and multiple facets of your wealth and to meet your specific financial goals.

Investment Management fees are computed at an annualized percentage of assets under management on a sliding scale as follows: $1,500,000 to $2,999,999 - .90%; $3,000,000 to $4,999,999 - .80%; $5,000,000 and above - .70%. More information is available upon request.  As a fiduciary advisor, we have a straightforward and transparent fee structure with no hidden fees or agenda and no sales pressure.

Investment Management Services

Retirement Planning and Income Strategies

Tax Planning Strategies

Comprehensive Financial Planning

Yes, we are a fiduciary financial advisor and planner. We are not affiliated with any brokers, banks, or insurance companies, and work only for you under a straightforward and transparent fee structure. As a fiduciary, we are independent, objective, and commission-free. A fiduciary standard obligates us to act in good faith and put your interests ahead of our own.

A continuous one-to-one relationship with an experienced certified professional with decades of experience

Prompt responses to your phone calls and emails (within 24 hours)

Proactive changes and rebalancing within your wealth management program

Availability for ad-hoc planning meetings

24/7 website access and pricing updates to your financial accounts and statements

Planning around major life changes

Easy electronic account funding & withdrawal process

Online private and secure document folder (with encrypted data security) to share, organize, and store important information

Yes. We provide prospective clients with an initial 30-minute Zoom call or telephone conversation. We use an initial consultation to discuss what specific areas you would like help with and to determine if your financial needs are a good fit for our services. During the introductory meeting, we also may discuss your current financial situation, future goals, and concerns and we will also answer your questions regarding Wharton Wealth Planning’s services. If there is a fit, we are happy to schedule an hour appointment to meet in person at one of our offices.

Yes, we offer investment consulting services to clients seeking investment advice on a non-continuous basis. Under this arrangement, Wharton Wealth Planning will review the client’s investment return expectations, risk tolerance, time horizon, and income requirements to ensure they are aligned with his/her financial profile and objectives. If deemed to be in the client’s best interest, we may recommend that the client reallocate his/her investments according to our asset allocation framework. We will not manage or exercise investment discretion or trading authority over these client portfolios.  

Portfolio review fees are based on the size, number of holdings, type of holdings, and complexity of a portfolio.

If you elect to use our investment management service within 12 months after the presentation of the financial plan, then the stand-alone financial plan fee paid will be deducted from the investment management fee.  

The basic concept around the term fee-only advisor is that this type of advisor only can receive compensation directly from the client for services provided.  In other words, fee-only advisors do not receive sales-related compensation or commissions from their employer or third parties (like fund companies).

To create your financial plan, we will use a secure planning platform (RightCapital) to get organized (link accounts, budgeting, cash flow, retirement goals and dates, etc.). We will work to incorporate all information that you share about your personal and financial goals and concerns. We'll build, revise, and adjust your plan to show numerous scenarios (and alternative scenarios) forward, along with our recommendations. At that point, we can determine your best path and the correct action steps.

One of our major objectives is to ensure that our clients' investments are optimized while reducing their overall tax burden.

We weigh current and future tax considerations and analyze thousands of detailed financial projections to make personalized and comprehensive recommendations that will help you succeed and focus on long-term tax minimization. Some common tax planning areas we may focus on (depending on the client's background and circumstances) include:

After-Tax Investment Return Optimization (match specific investments and strategies with optimal accounts)

Municipal Bond Investing (tax-free income)

Tax-Efficient Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) Investment Selection

Roth Conversions

Roth and Backdoor Roth Accounts

Health Savings Accounts

Required Minimum Distribution Strategies

Retirement Account Contribution Strategies

Tax-Efficient Sales for Concentrated Equity Positions

Employer Compensation Tax Management and Planning (Restricted Stock Units (RSU), Employer Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP))

Tax Loss Harvesting

Social Security Taxation Optimization

Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)

Donor Advised Funds (DAFs)

Estate Planning Tax Minimization Strategies

Yes, we are members of NAPFA, the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. NAPFA members must adhere to stringent practice standards, which include fee-only compensation, holding professional designations, pursuing continuing education, providing comprehensive planning, and upholding fiduciary responsibilities. We believe that our NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor program effectively communicates the essential principles of the financial planning industry regarding the responsibility and care owed to every client.

We believe working with a fiduciary fee-only financial advisor is crucial. Many advisors may misrepresent themselves as being fee-only because it is preferred by most clients. The best way to ensure your financial advisor is a truly fee-only CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ is by visiting NAPFA's website at http://www.napfa.org/.

We can work with clients as a Virtual Financial Planner by using secure, on-line video conferencing technology and file sharing. Working with a Virtual Financial Advisor enables clients to meet with us when it is most convenient for them and minimizes travel time and paper waste. 

We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards and conduct ongoing reviews to protect personal information. Our financial planning software provider uses data security featuring 2048-bit asymmetric encryption and 256-bit symmetric encryption, so your personal information is very secure.

As a fiduciary, we always put our clients’ interests first. We adhere to the Fiduciary Standard, which consists of a duty of loyalty and care. More can be found on our privacy policy here.

The primary differences lie in the standard of care and custody. A Registered Investment Advisor is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and must adhere to a fiduciary standard of care, which requires that they act in the client’s best interests. Brokers, also sometimes referred to as Wirehouses, are generally regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and are only required to follow a ‘suitability’ standard by law. Suitability ensures that you receive recommendations for investments that align with your risk profile; however, it is a lower standard than fiduciary care.

Yes.  You will be able to view your account whenever you wish and you will receive quarterly statement and other performance updates throughout the year.  We use an independent third party to custody your assets for safety and security purposes. We personally oversee and guide you all the way on the account transition process from another advisor (custodian) to make sure it goes smoothly.

The best way to move forward is to schedule a no-obligation introductory call by visiting our “Contact Us” page. You can reach us via phone, email, or the form provided on this page. During this initial meeting, we will assess if we are a good fit by reviewing your current situation and goals, and we will also answer your questions about our services.

If you decide to proceed, simply upload a list of requested information and documents to a secure online portal using a checklist we will provide. When the plan is complete, we have a one- to two-hour conference to review the plan, including a list of areas of opportunity and concern as well as follow-up action steps we recommend.

Contact us if you have additional questions or would like to get started with a no-obligation consultation.

What is your educational background?

What are your financial planning credentials/ designations and affiliations?

Will you or one of your associates work with me?

Do you have an agreement describing your compensation and services that will be provided in advance of the engagement?

What does the first year working together with you look like for a client, and how do things evolve?

Are there financial incentives for you to recommend certain financial products?

Do you receive referral fees from attorneys, accountants, insurance professionals, mortgage brokers, or others?

Do you take custody of, or have access to my assets? if you were to provide me on-going investment advisory services, do you require “discretionary” trading authority over my investment account?

Do you offer continuous, ongoing advice regarding my financial affairs, including advice on noninvestment-related financial issues?

Each section of a comprehensive plan is examined separately AND as it impacts all the other components. A decision in your investment portfolio affects taxes, retirement, and your estate. Modular plans tend to be short-sighted because trying to analyze just one area results in recommendations that disregard their effect on the rest of your financial situation.