FAQ

FAQs

The following questions and answers are meant to help you determine if our services are right for you.  Please contact us if you don’t find your answers below or if you have additional questions.

What is covered in the financial review?

After the initial consultation, if a financial review is deemed beneficial for the client there is a range of options available that can be tailored to the individual need.  This can vary from a review of current investment holdings to a full financial plan that essentially covers the client’s current situation and future financial goals and projections.  At Rugh Financial, we believe that the needs of each client are unique and should be tailored to those specific needs.

What is the client’s role?

It is the client’s responsibility to be forthcoming with Rugh Financial regarding financial objectives and goals.  If the following path is chosen, the initial financial planning process will require a level of effort by the client to compile the appropriate information for Rugh Financial to put together a comprehensive plan.  It is Rugh Financial’s primary objective to alleviate the stress of it’s clients financial lives by taking on the fiduciary role of risk management and asset growth.

Who are your clients?

Clients include individuals, families, and small business owners who seek the assistance of professional financial guidance.  These clients desire capable professional assistance in cash flow management, education planning, retirement planning, investment planning, risk management and insurance planning, tax planning, estate planning and business succession planning.

What does fee-only mean?

Fee-only means that we sell no products and receive no commissions or compensation from third parties, eliminating conflicts of interest.  It means we provide objective advice, and we work solely for you.

Fee-only Advantages:

  • Objective advice
  • Eliminates conflicts of interest
  • Full disclosure of fees
  • Recommendation of the most appropriate products, without consideration of any factor except what is best for you
  • Ability to address a wide range of financial problems and issues (no need to focus only on issues that generate a commission)
  • Cost savings by recommending no-load, low-expense investments
What does financial planning mean?

financial planner or personal financial planner is a practicing professional who helps people deal with various personal financial issues through proper planning, which includes but is not limited to these major areas: cash flow management, education planning, retirement planning, investment planning, risk management and insurance planning, tax planning, estate planning and business succession planning (for business owners). The work engaged in by this professional is commonly known as personal financial planning. In carrying out the planning function, the planner is guided by thefinancial planning process to create a detailed strategy tailored to a client’s specific situation, for meeting a client’s specific goals.

What is your investment philosophy?

Rugh Financial believes in Modern Portfolio Theory and the tenets of strategic asset allocation.  While each individual portfolio is unique to the individual client the fundamental principles that we hold are in designing portfolios that  will provide the greatest amount of return while considering the risk profile of the client.  We rely on long-term academically proven strategies for maximizing performance of investments in conjunction with carefully avoiding risk. We believe that it is essential to invest in a diversified portfolio of assets and to carefully consider how each investment complements the client’s short-term and long-term goals.

Why should I choose Rugh Financial?

As a non-commission based fee-only financial planning firm Rugh Financial will provide independent objective advice.

There are 2 major types of financial planners, commissioned and fee-only.  Commissioned planners primarily earn money by selling products they recommend to their clients.  These commissions are not clearly disclosed to clients and there is a high incentive to sell additional products to generate more commissions.  The vast majority of financial planners use some level of commissioned sales.  Then there are fee-only planners who are paid by the client to perform financial planning services.  A fee might be a one-time amount for the preparation of a financial plan, or an annual fee based on assets under management by the planner on behalf of the client.  In this case the financial planner is more likely to use lower-cost products, as they do not benefit from receipt of commissions.  The fee-only financial planner does not have the conflict of interest in regards to the clients financial success as does the commission based financial planner.

In addition to the benefit of the fee-only model, Rugh Financial, provides continuous, comprehensive financial planning services.  Rugh Financial believes it is essential for all individuals and families to make financial decisions in concert with their entire unique situation, including, considering other current assets and investments, stage of life, risk level, goals, etc.  There are no cookie cutter solutions for any individual or family since each is unique.  As a small firm, Rugh Financial, provides a personalized independent approach to helping you identify and reach your goals.

Do I need a minimum net worth to work with you?

Rugh Financial does have minimum net worth requirements.  Please inquire to determine if your situation meets the requirements of Rugh Financial.  Each individual case will be reviewed in the initial consultation to determine if the services provided by Rugh Financial will be of benefit to the client.

What is investment management?

There are many parts to the financial planning process.  A key element is investment management.  Rugh Financial believes that it is important to consider all aspects of an individual or families circumstances while incorporating an investment management process.  Investment management means looking at real or financial assets and making sure they compliment rather than conflict with each other.  Too often individuals spend a lifetime collecting assets that may not work well together to achieve financial success.

Will you work with my other advisors?

Yes, financial planning deals with all aspects of your financial life.  There are times in the planning process where Rugh Financial will deem it necessary to consult with your accountant, estate planning attorney, or other advisor to achieve your financial objectives.

How do I get started?
Simply refer to the contact page and call or email Rugh Financial to set up your initial consultation.

Want More Information?