No. It is important to me that our initial meeting is not a sales pitch, but a genuine exploration of you and your questions and concerns around money. By compensating me for my time up front, you need not feel pressured to “buy something” or have additional meetings if you’re unsure of the value that would bring to you.

At one point in my career, I completed the qualifications and registered as an investment advisor, but maintaining this registration requires affiliation with a financial institution. My diverse experience in the financial services sector leads me to believe that this required affiliation often undermines the independence and integrity of advice, and the regulatory regime surrounding investment advice in the United States is fundamentally broken. Rather than navigate the conflicts and extra costs that the law itself creates, I will limit any discussion of investments in securities to financial education, not personalized advice, to empower you to make your own decisions about managing your investments, potentially with the help of an unaffiliated robo-advisor service.

Insurance products can play an important role in many people’s financial security because they are designed to mitigate risks and uncertainty about the future, and provide certain guarantees that are not otherwise available to small investors. I will recommend insurance products whenever I believe that would be beneficial for your particular situation, regardless of whether you’re in a state where I am licensed to sell insurance.

There is no such thing as a discount broker for life insurance and annuities, the way there is for securities. Insurance companies are required by law to charge consistent rates for their policies (subject to underwriting class differences), and those prices are set to cover the payment of commissions to agents and brokers. Many of these policies have complex features, making guidance from insurance professionals in their selection quite important and valuable.

I have deep expertise in life insurance and can charge hourly or flat fees to provide consultation about these products. However, receiving guidance from me won’t eliminate the commissions being paid, so in a sense you would be paying twice for the insurance professional expertise. Therefore, where I am licensed and you choose to purchase a policy through me, I will accept the commission paid by the insurance company in lieu of charging hourly or flat fees for this aspect of consultation.

Potentially. Investment managers or advisors usually have investment account size minimums, so your options may be limited based on the amount of your investable assets. Attorneys should be licensed and/or experienced in your state specifically. Depending on your particular circumstances, I may be able to personally recommend another professional, give you a name that is endorsed by someone else in my professional network, or only be able to provide tips on how to search for and interview a prospective adviser.