FAQs

 If you decide to hire us for help implementing your financial plan, we have a flat annual fee for financial planning services.  The amount is based on the complexity of your situation.  Our current minimum is $5,000 per year.

No.  We have a minimum annual fee that depends on the complexity of your situation.

Check out our team page for each advisor’s credentials and professional background.

We do our best work with business owners, and have technical expertise in many of the financial issues they tend to run into.  Typically our clients have at least $250,000 in total annual owner's compensation, which includes w-2 income, self-employment income, profit distributions, retirement plan contributions, and health benefits.  If this fits your situation we could be a good fit.  We do take on clients that don’t meet these exact specifications from time to time, but it depends on the circumstances.  We’re happy to explore this with you on an introductory call.

Our intention is to help our clients get to the best financial destination for them.  To do this we use a consistent investment & planning philosophy which some people aren’t a good fit for.  We’re not the right fit if you’re seeking an advisor to:

• Pick stocks or day trade to “beat the market”
• Speculate whether the markets or interest rates will rise or fall over the next few months
• Make short term trading decisions based on the financial headline of the day

Yes.  Three Oaks Wealth is a registered investment advisory (RIA) firm.  This means we’re required to act as fiduciaries to all our clients, 100% of the time.

Three Oaks Wealth is a fee-only financial planning firm, which means that our sole source of revenue comes from fees our clients pay us directly.  We do not collect commissions or kick backs for recommending certain products.

You can!  All the information you need to reach a good financial outcome is available online.  Reaching that outcome will take some effort though, so let us ask you a couple questions:

• How good do you feel about your personal finances right now?
• Do you have the time to learn the tax code, stay on top of your investments, and confirm you’re not missing any opportunities to strengthen your finances & pay less in tax?
• Do you have the interest to do this work?
• How productive are your financial discussions with your spouse?

While most people are capable of doing their own financial planning, we have the benefit of devoting our careers to it.  We sink our teeth into various ways we can help business owners, and really get to know them over time.  Most of our clients feel reassured knowing they have an objective thinking partner they can grow with who knows their situation intimately. 

Unfortunately no.  We do our best work with people looking for a long-term relationship, and aren’t set up for hourly or limited scope projects.  

The good news is that there are other good planners out there who can help you.  Feel free to reach out if you need help finding one.

No. The process described here, including a one page financial plan, is offered free of charge to anyone who may be a good fit for our services. If you’re not, we’ll gladly introduce you to a firm better suited for your needs.

No.  We will ask for a few basic documents after our call if we construct a one page financial plan for you.

We take a team approach at Three Oaks Wealth.  You’d be assigned a lead advisor you’re comfortable with as your primary point of contact, and have interactions with our other associates & team members along the way.

Your choice.  We’d love to see you in the office if you’re in the Sacramento area.  If not we’re happy to host a Zoom call.  Geography is not a limitation as long as you’re a U.S. citizen.

We do our best work with business owners in transition.  This is most often the exit of a successful business into retirement, but also includes transitions through various growth phases, purchases of existing businesses, and adjustments in ownership structure.

We have a robust privacy policy that governs what information we collect from clients, how it’s stored, and how it’s communicated.  In short, we operate almost exclusively with web-based software that encrypts client data when it’s stored.  We access that software using two factor authentication & virtual private networks (VPNs), and never communicate sensitive information via email.

We focus a great deal on tax planning, but do not prepare tax returns.  We very frequently coordinate with our clients’ tax advisors to develop and implement various tax strategies. 

Perhaps.  We have a service model that’s specifically designed to help business owners.  If that’s not you it’s possible you could still benefit from our services.  It’s also possible there are better fits for you elsewhere.  We’re happy to discuss further on an introductory phone call.

Our intention is to get our clients to the best place financially for them.  To do so we cover a variety of topics - essentially anything you have with a dollar sign in front of it.  We review, discuss, analyze, and share observations and recommendations as needed.  Here is a partial list of topics we typically review with clients:

• Clarify your goals, possibilities, and ideal vision of your future
• Personal cash flow, income, expenses, and needs
• Business cash flow, compensation structure, and distributions
• Investment allocation & strategy
• Retirement & income planning
• Tax planning, including coordination with your tax professional
• Risk management
• Continuity planning, including business exit, buy/sell agreements, etc.
• Estate planning