faq's for current and prospective clients
Who has custody of my money and how do I know it's safe?
Tiburon Financial Advisors does NOT maintain custody of client assets. We partner with Schwab, who provides the custodial services for our clients. New clients also have the option of keeping their investments at their existing custodian or selecting a different custodian. Clients will receive account statements from their custodian at least quarterly, detailing the investments held in their account and financial activity that occurred during the reporting time period.
What should I look for when selecting a financial advisor?
- Ask your prospective financial advisor if they operate as a fiduciary. In this capacity, the advisor has an ethical obligation to act solely in their client's best interest.
- Who will be managing my investments and what are their qualifications?
- How are they compensated? Are they fee-only advisors, who accept fees only from their clients, or do they accept commissions from other businesses, such as banks, investment funds, or other professional service firms?
- What services do they include for their fee?
- Do they have any past regulatory, criminal, or disciplinary actions? Ask for the firm's Form ADV that is filed with the state and/or Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). There are several sections in this form that require disclosure of these actions.
- What specific services do they offer? For example, you may have a specific concern about planning for retirement and investment of your retirement savings. Try to have an idea of what services you think you need, but there may be beneficial services the firm provides that you hadn't thought of, or that are included at no extra charge.
- What kind of clients do they specialize in serving?
- Do they have a set account minimum?
How does Tiburon Financial Advisors get paid for its services?
We will partner with you and serve as a fee-only fiduciary financial adviser, free of conflicts of interest, to ensure we are providing expert financial services that are in your best interest. We do not provide brokerage services. We will not accept fees from anyone but our clients, and will not accept any commissions from other business partners such as banks, investment funds, or other professional service firms. Our fees will be clearly described in an advisory agreement.
Our fees are based on the value of the assets we manage, and cover both financial planning and investment advisory services. Our standard annual fees are 1.0% for less than $1 million of assets under management. For asset balances that are $1 million and greater, the annual fee schedule gradually declines as the amount of assets under management increases.
Value of Assets Fee
Up to $1,000,000 1.00%
$1,000,000 to $5,000,000 0.75%
$5,000,000 to $10,000,000 0.50%
$10,000,000 to $20,000,000 0.25%
$20,000,000 to $50,000,000 0.15%
Over $50,000,000 0.10%
Our client account minimum is $500,000.
How do I become a client?
The first step to becoming a client is to send us an e-mail at info@tiburonfinancialadvisors.com, call us at (415) 228-6241, or send a request through our Contact Us web page. Once we have an initial discussion about how we can help you, we can set-up an in-person meeting or video conference consultation. This initial consultation is free of charge, and will give you enough information so that you can decide if you would like to become a client. Once you choose our firm, we will sign an Advisory Agreement with you and start the financial planning process.
Do I need to be located in the San Francisco Bay Area to be a client of Tiburon Financial Advisors?
Tiburon Financial Advisors is located in Tiburon, California, and is a registered investment adviser in the state of California. However, clients can be located anywhere in the United States. We meet with clients either in-person or via video conference. Our state registration allows us to have a certain number of clients within most states, which we monitor closely. Currently, we have capacity for new clients in almost all 50 states.
Do you have an ethics policy that you follow?
We have a formal Ethics Policy and Code of Ethics that is available for review for all clients and prospective clients. Our Ethics Policy is also summarized in our Form ADV Brochure that is filed with the state of California and provided to each prospective client prior to entering into an advisory agreement.