Facet Wealth; Alyssa Powell/Business Insider
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- Facet Wealth is best for comprehensive financial advice and those with modest or sizable assets.
- It offers the same perks as a standard financial-planning firm, except that it’s all done virtually.
- Clients pay a fixed, flat fee on par with the industry average for ongoing access to a CFP.
Take control of your money with Facet Wealth – a virtual full-service financial planning service with dedicated certified financial planners »
Is Facet Wealth right for you?
Facet Wealth is best for someone who needs comprehensive financial planning and has a medium or high level of assets. Someone with one-off questions or few financial assets may not get the maximum value out of the annual fee and might consider using an automated online advisor that includes free financial planner access.
How much Facet Wealth costs
Facet Wealth’s annual fee ranges from $1,800 to $6,000 and is determined after discussing your financial goals and needs during a free initial call with an onboarding specialist. Clients on the low end of the price range are usually young professionals or couples with a growing net worth. Clients on the high end of the price range typically have complex business assets or estate issues and multiple high-balance investment accounts.
The fee is fixed and should not change, even if your financial situation becomes more complicated. It can be paid annually, quarterly, or monthly. Because the fee is flat and fixed, it will represent a much higher percentage of assets for someone with a low net worth.
How Facet Wealth works
All comprehensive financial planning is completed virtually – through email, phone and video calls, and Facet Wealth’s online portal – and includes budgeting and cash flow management, investment strategizing, tax planning, education planning, retirement planning, employee benefits review, insurance review and planning, and estate planning. If you’d rather meet in-person with your financial planner, Facet Wealth isn’t right for you.
Facet Wealth takes great care in matching each prospective client with one of its nearly 70 Certified Financial Planners. The CFPs are required to follow the fiduciary duty and do not earn commissions or kick-backs.
That said, there’s no harm in setting up a free introductory call with Facet Wealth if you’re interested in what it can offer you and to see where you would fall on its price scale.
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Facet Wealth |
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| Editor’s rating | 4.6 out of 5 |
| Fees | Fixed rate, from $1,800 to $6,000 annually |
| Account minimum | None |
| Promotion |
15% off one year of financial planning |
Facet Wealth pros and cons
Pros
- First two meetings (onboarding) and third meeting (financial planner match) are free of charge
- All advisors have Certified Financial Planner designation
- CFPs take a goals- and values-based approach to planning, with emphasis on implementing the recommendations at client’s preferred pace
- Flat annual fee is assigned based on complexity of financial help needed and will not change, even if your financial situation becomes more complicated
- Easy-to-use online portal to share documents with your assigned CFP, book appointments, and keep track of your goals and cash flow
- Rebalancing on investment accounts performed as often as needed by a separate team of investment specialists
- No additional fee for managing investment assets
Cons
- Flat fee may be relatively high for someone with few financial assets
- Investment account management only available through Fidelity and Schwab-TD Ameritrade
- No in-person meetings
How does Facet Wealth compare to other online financial advisors?
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Facet Wealth |
SoFi |
Vanguard |
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Editor’s Rating 4.6 out of 5 |
Editor’s Rating 4.8 out of 5 |
Editor’s Rating 4.6 out of 5 |
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Min. balance $0 |
Min. balance $0 |
Min. balance $50,000 |
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Fees $1,800 – $6,000 a year |
Fees $0 |
Fees 0.05% – 0.30% AUM |
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Investment choices N/A |
Investment choices Stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies |
Investment choices Stocks, ETFs, bonds, mutual funds, CDs, Vanguard ESG funds, cash options |
| Learn more |
Facet Wealth vs. SoFi
Facet Wealth is solely a financial-planning firm, whereas SoFi offers loans and banking products, investment accounts, and career coaching and financial planning.
If you use any of SoFi’s products, such as its $0 minimum balance automated investing account, you’re able to set up meetings with a financial planner at no cost to help you navigate a specific issue or talk about your overall strategy.
SoFi is good for people who don’t have the cash to pay for comprehensive financial planning right now, but still want to make prudent, forward-thinking decisions with their money.
Click here to learn more about SoFi »
Facet Wealth vs. Vanguard Personal Advisor Services
The biggest difference between Facet Wealth and Vanguard Personal Advisor Services is the minimum balance requirement.
You need to have at least $50,000 in a Vanguard IRA, trust, or other non-retirement investment account to use Vanguard’s Personal Advisor Services. Comprehensive financial-planning services and account management are included in the 0.30% annual AUM fee, which for a $50,000 balance is equal to $150 (this doesn’t include expense ratios in the underlying investments). Note that the AUM fee is reduced for balances above $5 million.
Facet Wealth charges $1,800 a year on the low end of its price scale for financial planning and investment account management, which means the same $50,000 balance would shake out to a 2.4% fee. The benefit of a fixed, flat fee is that you won’t pay more as your balances grow like you do with Vanguard.
If you don’t have a Vanguard investment account that counts toward the balance requirement, you won’t be eligible to use its financial-planning services. Facet Wealth is open to anyone who can pay its fee, and will manage clients’ non-401(k) investment accounts at Fidelity and Schwab-TD Ameritrade.
Vanguard Vanguard Personal Advisor Services
Is Facet Wealth trustworthy?
Facet Wealth currently has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. The BBB primarily evaluates companies based on how well they interact with customers, and it uses a grade scale range of A+ to F when determining its ratings.
While this suggests that Facet Wealth interacts exceptionally well with its clients, the BBB also states on its website that its ratings don’t guarantee a company’s performance or reliability. This is why it’s also important to do your own due diligence before setting up an account.
Facet Wealth’s record is clear of any major scandals or lawsuits. According to BBB data, the company has closed one complaint in the last 12 months.
What is Facet Wealth?
Facet Wealth is virtual financial-planning firm. It was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, although its advisors are scattered throughout the United States. All planning meetings take place via phone or video call, and data gathering is performed via email and the firm’s online portal.
Every advisor at Facet Wealth holds the Certified Financial Planner designation, a fiduciary-binding agreement that requires them to act in the best interest of the client at all times.
Facet Wealth charges a flat, fixed fee for comprehensive financial planning services and ongoing access to a CFP that is on par with the industry average. There is no hourly fee charged for an advisor’s time spent working on the client’s financial plan or asset under management fee based on account balances.
The firm believes in a passive investment management strategy, emphasizing low-cost, tax efficient, and well-diversified holdings.
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