FAQ'S

Does your fee include proactive, ongoing tax planning — multi-year tax projections, Roth conversion analysis, capital-gains and income-timing strategy, and coordination with my CPA — or is the scope limited to investment management? If tax planning is included, please describe the depth and who performs it.

The planning engagement will entail full review of your returns, cost basis and tax considerations that allow for improved efficiency of executing on your goals. Commonwealth Tax and Accounting will offer a separate proposal after speaking with you about your return in detail if we have identified opportunities for improved service and document preparation. The fees for a typical filing are in the range of $2-3k annually. 
We will coordinate with your existing CPA together in meetings to make sure all of your advisors are aligned with your plan recommendations.

 Is estate and insurance planning within scope, and if so, to what level of detail?

We conduct a comprehensive review of your existing estate documents with our in-house legal team, mapping out recommended updates or new structures aligned with your goals and current state and federal law.

We then coordinate directly with your chosen drafting attorney (or one we recommend), working alongside counsel to ensure the documents reflect the agreed-upon strategy. All drafts are thoroughly reviewed by our team prior to execution to confirm accuracy and alignment with your broader plan.

In parallel, our in-house insurance specialists review all existing coverage to assess appropriate levels and structure based on your plan. We manage the full underwriting and implementation process for any recommended policies.

Would you mind describing what services are not included for the initial investment? When would you need to call in specialists or certain projects?   

We consult on, and strategize with you through the entire plan and engagement. Our team internally consists of credentialed and experienced CFP’s, CPA’s, CFA’s and Estate and Tax Attorney’s. We cannot execute legal documents. However we liaise directly with the outside drafting attorney during scheduled meetings to advise on and work through suggested amendments to tax and estate documents, relevant operating agreements and returns. The fees charged by outside counsel are, of course, separate from our engagement fee. We are mindful of minimizing fees that would be incurred by outside counsel or advisors by keeping those meetings streamlined, efficient and pointed to the subject matter at hand. 

What is delivered in the first year versus each renewal year and what new work does the annual renewal cover.  I thought we were doing a financial plan in year one so what is different in years and beyond?

Subsequent engagements beyond year two will be driven by you, the client. You will determine if you would like to engage us beyond the first year. You will receive a detailed and complete financial plan that is delivered at the end of the 12 months. We are working on that plan dynamically throughout the year; modeling all decision points and appropriate options to strategically optimize the plan.
Each subsequent year will be accompanied by a new and separate engagement letter to dictate what we are continuing to monitor and execute on. 

What is the total expected annual cost, including any planning fee, asset-based fee, and any product commissions, so I can see the complete picture. I assume the planning fee is absent purchase of additional products.

You can expect that the planning engagement alone will be entirely worthwhile to identify opportunities and vulnerabilities to improve your overall financial health. Any additional fees around asset management, product placement or tax planning / or filing by our affiliate, will depend on asset size or appropriately recommended product. We are confident that any additional execution will be extremely price competitive in the marketplace. 

My understanding is you may recommend products but I have no obligation to buy them.  If I do, there may be a fee.  Are you a fiduciary across these relationships?

Yes we are a fiduciary across all engagement points. While the majority of our clients often end up using our team to implement products and investment management, that is entirely up to you to determine the best fit.

If you were to recommend adjustments to the portfolio and suggest that we invest in Ares Real Estate Income Trust, for example, are there separate fees for that or do you get a trail? What about simply repositioning the fixed income portfolio from taxable to tax free?

We do not receive separate fees or a trail for recommended adjustments, repositioning or reallocation of any portfolio. In subsequent years it is not uncommon for our planning clients to engage one of our affiliated RIA’s to actively manage capital for a fee. That is apart and separate from what Navien & Amaya Consultants does as a team.

Do we have access to the balance sheet technology and have the ability to make adjustments to assumptions for modeling purposes, or does that remain solely in your control?

You have live access to the balance sheet technology 24/7. The specific scenario modeling has to be built on our end, live modeled with our team, and then the various scenarios are sent to you after the call. There is no restriction on how often you would like to go through this exercise. For example, one of our clients has a standing meeting monthly to work through their detailed bookkeeping through the software and adjust modeling accordingly.  This client necessitates roughly twenty meetings per annum. 

Schedule time to explore what your engagement would look like!