Frequently Asked Questions
Individuals and Families
Do you have a minimum account size and what are your fees?
We have no minimum relationship size. Clients with the following asset levels pay the following percentage of their assets we manage. Please see our fee schedule for more details.
In addition to Chesme’s consulting fee, clients may pay additional fees including custodian fees, manager fees, and trading fees. All fees are broken out individually and fully disclosed. We work to negotiate the best possible terms for our clients, and all negotiated savings are passed directly through to the client. When all is said and done, we should cost the same or less than the other options, but leave you feeling satisfied that you understand all of your fees.
What is your historical performance?
Because we service clients of varied size, risk tolerance, and complexity, there is no singular performance history to report. Moreover, as a planning focused firm with a bias toward passive investments and tax planning, much of our value will be explained by taxes and fees saved, not the absolute performance of a portfolio.
Retirement Plan Participants
How do I schedule an appointment?
See “Schedule an Appointment”. We’ll ask for some background information on your finances, your goals, and your meeting availability. Once you submit the form, you will receive an email inviting you to select a meeting date and time. If your meeting is a web-based video meeting, you will receive an email with credentials to enter the meeting.
Do you provide advice on accounts or assets I have with other investment companies?
We would like to know as much as we can about you and all your investment accounts. We consider these accounts in formulating the advice we provide you; however, we do not provide advice on these accounts.
Can my spouse participate and do you provide advice on their retirement accounts?
We understand that your spouse may have more experience, interest, or knowledge and would like to participate in your “one on one” meeting. We encourage their participation. We would like to know as much as we can about their retirement and investment accounts. We will consider these accounts in developing our advice for you, but we cannot provide advice on these accounts.
Will you help me establish retirement income goals?
Because we advise investors of varied size, risk tolerance, complexity, and time horizons, we understand the difficulties of establishing retirement income goals. Moreover, as these goals are often in the distant future, they can be difficult to imagine in full. We help you understand the factors you control, and evaluate the elements that are out of your control.
Retirement Plan Sponsors
Do you have a minimum account size and what are your fees?
We have no minimum relationship size, however there is a minimum annual flat $2,500 fee for our standard set of services. This includes participant level fiduciary advice.
What types of plan designs do you advise?
We serve as an ERISA fiduciary to retirement plans of varied size and complexity. We provide advice to clients with a variety of defined contribution and defined benefit designs. We have experience working with MEPs and clients that maintain multiple retirement plans.
Will you work with my existing provider?
Yes, so long as the services are necessary, and the fees are reasonable. Plan fees and expenses are important considerations for all types of retirement plans. As a plan fiduciary, you have an obligation under ERISA to prudently select and monitor plan investments, investment options made available to the plan’s participants and beneficiaries, and the persons providing services to your plan. Understanding and evaluating plan fees and expenses associated with plan investments, investment options, and services are an important part of a fiduciary’s responsibilities. This responsibility is ongoing. After careful evaluation during the initial selection, you will want to monitor plan fees and expenses to determine whether they continue to be reasonable considering the services provided.
Do you provide plan-only services?
Yes, however, we believe participant retirement plan readiness improves when planning and participant advisory services are combined.
Do you provide participant-only services?
Yes. We will work with your existing retirement plan provider and provide participant-level services. That said, we recommend combining plan and participant advisory services to improve participant readiness.