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How we help.Â
“Do you just take my money and act like you are doing something?" You might not ask this question out loud, but here's betting you've wondered what you really get for the fee you pay to a financial advisor.
Can we be candid for a moment? If you’re paying your financial advisor a 1% asset-based fee and all they do is buy you a few index funds and occasionally spit out a few reports from their planning software, that’s just not worth it.
At Carroll Advisory Group, we believe it's essential that there be a comprehensive and strategic plan at the heart of each client-advisor relationship. In other words, you deserve in-depth planning and personalized financial guidance that evolves with you. Allow us to explain...
Here's what you can expect as we onboard you as a new client.
Our seven-step onboarding process is designed to ensure a smooth transition and low workload for our new clients. Here's a summary of each step:
Initiating the Conversation .
Our journey together begins with a conversation to explore if our services are a match for your unique financial needs. Simply click Start the Conversation to begin, and we’ll provide you with a direct link to schedule a call at your convenience.
Account Setup with Our Custodian
Should you decide we’re the right fit, our services begin by establishing your accounts with our third-party custodian. We streamline this process by gathering essential information and facilitating the electronic submission of documents, negating any need for you to contact your previous firm.
Comprehensive Onboarding Call
Following the successful creation of your accounts, we arrange a detailed onboarding call. This crucial conversation allows us to collect further information, including beneficiary details, trusted contacts, bank transfer setups, online access arrangements, and more, ensuring nothing is overlooked.
Roadmap Planning Phase
Following the onboarding call, we embark on the planning phase, which spans two to four weeks. During this time, we craft your personalized version of The Carroll Advisory Retirement Roadmap™, a detailed plan that unveils key strategies, such as optimal withdrawal approaches, Social Security filing timing, Roth conversion opportunities, and more. Watch this video to learn more.
Investment Allocation and Alignment
Once your Carroll Advisory Retirement Roadmap™ is developed, we begin with a focused conversation about your investment allocation. Guided by your plan, this step ensures your investments are tailored to meet your unique objectives and priorities. If your transferred accounts include significant cash positions or investments requiring immediate attention, we address these needs first to avoid unnecessary delays.
With your investment allocation set, we shift to the Initial Alignment Meeting, which focuses on actionable steps and immediate priorities for the remainder of the year. Unlike the long-term perspective of the Retirement Roadmap, this meeting bridges the gap between the big picture and the specific tasks ahead, ensuring that your financial plan remains both proactive and adaptable to your current needs.
Integration into Our Service Calendar
Completing these steps welcomes you into our ongoing annual service calendar. The structured integration outlined above ensures you make a seamless transition into this regular maintenance and review cycle.
After you're onboarded, here's what you can expect on an ongoing basis.Â
 We believe in proactive engagement to ensure your financial plan remains on track and responsive to life’s changes. Our proprietary Carroll Advisory Client Service Calendar, meticulously crafted and supervised by Devin, is designed to keep you informed, involved, and confident throughout your retirement journey. This approach ensures that year after year, all of the moving pieces that support your plan are continuously refined, adjusted, and optimized to align with your evolving goals.       Â
The Carroll Advisory Annual Alignment™ Meeting
Kick off the year with our Annual Alignment Meeting, a pivotal session where we outline financial goals and actionable steps for the year ahead. This meeting sets the stage for 2-3 additional touchpoints over the year, ensuring ongoing support and adjustments as needed.Â
HERE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS WE TALK ABOUT
The Carroll Advisory Retirement Roadmap™ UpdateÂ
Mid-year, we revisit and update The Carroll Advisory Retirement Roadmap™. This update ensures your financial plan reflects any life changes or market dynamics and aligns with your long-term goals, keeping your retirement strategy both current and comprehensive.
The Carroll Advisory Year-End Review™Â
Before the close of each calendar year, we conduct an in-depth, multi-point review of your household accounts under our care. This comprehensive process ensures that no detail is overlooked. We evaluate opportunities for tax-loss or gain harvesting, assess Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), review potential Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), and address any other critical year-end financial strategies. Although this is primarily an internal review, it often involves client participation to confirm key details and ensure alignment.
The Carroll Advisory Client Care Continuum™Â
Our dedicated team is actively engaged with your household accounts year-round, focusing on tax-smart allocation, timely investment adjustments, and strategic rebalancing. We implement tax-efficient strategies, such as loss/gain harvesting, while aligning your cash flow needs with fixed-income maturities and ongoing monitoring. Additionally, with your authorization, we coordinate seamlessly with your other trusted professionals, such as your CPA or attorney, ensuring that every aspect of your financial plan is fully integrated.
Beyond strategic financial management, our team handles a multitude of administrative details behind the scenes so you can focus on enjoying your life without worrying about the day-to-day intricacies.
Unlimited Access to Our Team
You have unlimited access to the Carroll Advisory team via Zoom, email, or phone. Whether you have a question, need advice, or require guidance, we are readily available to provide the support you need, when you need it.Â
There is never a barrier between Devin and the clients who choose to work with our firm. Devin is personally accessible by phone or email.Â
Our client service calendar is more than a schedule of meetings;
it's a commitment to giving you the clarity and confidence you deserve.
Finally, we ask a few things of you.
We can serve you best when you:
- Participate in the activities outlined above
- Let us know about any financial changes
- Send us your complete tax return annually
- Provide us with copies of any new estate planning documents (especially powers of attorney, trust certification forms, or wills)
- Report any changes to your family situation (new children/grandchildren, divorces, etc.)
READY TO BEGIN?
START THE CONVERSATIONPricing
Our services are designed for those who:
- realize their time isn't best spent on becoming a retirement expert
- recognize meaningful goals are not achieved overnight
- have expectations of realistic investment returns (not trying to beat the returns of the stock market)
- have retirement savings between $1 million - $10 million
Annual Flat-Rate Pricing
$10,300*
for households with investable assets between $1,000,000-$10,000,000
Your fee includes:
- Unlimited access to the Carroll Advisory team by Zoom, email, or phone
- The Carroll Advisory Annual Alignment™ meeting to set the schedule for the year ahead
- Annual update to The Carroll Advisory Retirement Roadmap™
- The Carroll Advisory Year-End Review™
- The Carroll Advisory Client Care Continuum™Â
*2024 fee. Fees in subsequent years will increase by 3%
Retirement planning, uncomplicated.