Achieve Your Financial Goals with Flat-Fee/Hourly Planning

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320 Life supports what is called a passive investment strategy. This means that regular transactions are not needed. We suggest 1-4 meetings a year to review whether an adjustment to your portfolio is needed. If it is needed, we will tell you exactly what we think you should do. We will even walk you through making that transaction during the meeting.

Yes.

Most traditional planning firms have asset minimums of around 250K to 500K and charge 1%, if not more, of your total assets per year. If you have 250K under management at a traditional planning firm, you are paying $2,500 every year and this amount increases as your account grows. Once you reach 1 million in assets you are now paying your advisor $10,000 every year. With flat fee/hourly advising you pay based on the hours the advisor works for you.

320 Life charges $250/hour. No commissions. No AUM.

$2,500 gets you 10 hours of work!

$10,000 gets you 40 hours of work from the planner.

In most years 1-4 hours will be all that is needed so expect to pay $250-$1000 per year regardless of your assets. Inevitably there will be years in which you need more hours due to big milestones. Initial planning, going into retirement, a new marriage, a new child, are all examples of times you may need more hours. Even in these years it takes a lot of extra hours to even equal what you would pay in a more traditional advising model.

The fee does NOT come from your investments, it does come from your monthly budget. This fact does concern some as their budget often feels tight as it is but remember that you are also paying the advisor less money, meaning more of your money goes to investments and ultimately growth. Typically a client with a hourly advisor can save LESS and still achieve the same goals. Ultimately, whether you pay out of pocket or out of your investments, your take home pay, with proper planning, is very similar.

In most years 1-4 hours are all that is needed. There will inevitably be milestones that require more hours. Your initial year, particularly with comprehensive financial planning, will also typically be more hours. High net worth clients may need a more hours more often, but even with these clients, once we have a plan, maintaining the plan can be done with relatively few hours.

Most meetings will be 1-2 hours long. You also pay for the advisor’s time before or after the meeting, but not administrative hours! 320 Life will not surprise you with the number of billable hours spent. Instead, the expected hours needed will be clearly presented, usually with a range to avoid surprises.

No! The lack of AUM, or Assets Under Management, is one of the biggest benefits of hourly/flat fee planning. Not only do you generally pay a lot less money, but you also get the same credentials and professional skill, and the advisor is far less biased. At traditional advisories your advisor gets paid more when you transfer your money to the advisor. Sometimes the best place for your money truly is your 401K. An hourly advisor gives you advice no matter where the money is located and is not biased to encourage you to move your money. If 320 Life advises that you move your money somewhere else you can be confident this move is in your best interest.