Hiring a Financial Advisor for the First Time
You've handled it yourself for thirty-five years and done fine. That's not the question. The question is whether the next ten years are the same job as the last thirty — and they aren't.
Why people call at this point
The number got big enough to matter. For most of your career, the answer to almost everything was "keep contributing." It worked. Now the balance is large enough that a decision made badly costs real money, and there's less time to recover from one.
The job changed. Accumulating is one problem and it has one lever. Spending it down is a different problem with a dozen — which account to draw from, when to claim, what to convert, what to do about Medicare, what happens to the survivor. None of that came up before.
There's a decision with a deadline. A pension election. A severance package. A retirement date that's suddenly real. These have dates on them and they don't move.
One of you handles all of it. In most households one person pays attention to the money and the other doesn't, by mutual agreement and usually for decades. That works right up until it doesn't. Bringing someone in is often less about the portfolio than about making sure the person who hasn't been handling it wouldn't have to start alone.
You'd rather not be the only one who's looked at it. Not because you can't. Because it's your whole retirement and a second set of eyes seems reasonable.
The part most people get wrong: when
Most people hire an advisor the month they retire, or the year after. That's the single most common timing mistake in this business, and it's expensive.
Here's why. There's usually a window between the day you stop working and the day required distributions and Social Security kick in — a stretch of years when your taxable income is the lowest it will ever be again. That window is where most of the tax work lives. Roth conversions at a lower bracket. Capital gains realized in the 0% band. Restructuring accounts before withdrawals start rather than after.
The window closes on its own. Once Social Security starts and required distributions begin, your income floor rises and most of that space disappears. It doesn't come back.
There's a second reason timing matters, and it has nothing to do with taxes. Medicare premiums are set using your income from two years earlier. A conversion done at 63 shows up in what you pay at 65. Plan around that and it's manageable. Discover it afterward and it's a bill.
The practical version: the highest-leverage time to bring somebody in is roughly three to five years before you retire, through the first few years after. If you're in that range, you're in the window right now. If you're already past it, there's still plenty worth doing — just fewer levers than there were.
What working together actually looks like
Since you've never done this, here's the honest version rather than the brochure version.
You'll work with one person. David Fortosis, CFP®. Not an intake associate who hands you off once the paperwork is signed. The person who builds the plan is the person who answers the phone in four years.
We start with what you're trying to do, not what you own. The first conversation is mostly about your life — when you want to stop, what you want to spend, who you're responsible for, what would keep you up at night. The account statements matter, but they're not where we start.
Your money stays in your name. Accounts are held at Altruist or Schwab, in your name, and you can see them any time. We manage them; we never hold them.
We prepare and file your tax return. That's not a convenience — it's how the planning actually gets executed. The person modeling your conversion is the person filing the return that reflects it. Nothing falls into the gap between an advisor and an accountant, because there isn't one.
You'll hear from us first. When the tax law changes, when the market has a bad stretch, when something in your plan needs revisiting. Most of what makes a plan work over twenty years is somebody noticing things on your behalf.
One fee, and you'll know what it is. We charge 1% of the assets we manage, and that single number covers retirement planning, investment management, and strategic tax planning — where we handle the prep and filing too.
We'd rather meet in person. We're in Naperville and work with people across the western suburbs — Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Geneva, St. Charles. Most meetings happen at our office. Video works when it needs to, but if you're nearby we'd rather sit down together.
Start with a conversation
No cost, no obligation, and nothing to prepare. Fifteen minutes to tell us what's going on and see whether it's a fit.
If it is, we'll walk through what a plan would look like. If it isn't, we'll tell you that too, and probably point you somewhere better.
Book a callWhen you probably don't need one
Worth saying plainly, since most pages on this subject only argue one direction.
If you enjoy this and you're good at it, hiring someone to do it for you is a poor trade at any price. Some people rebalance their own portfolios, follow the tax rules closely, and would be less comfortable handing it off rather than more.
And if what you want is a few questions answered rather than someone running things, an ongoing relationship is more than you need. That's what a one-time plan is for.
Common questions
How much money do I need to work with you?
There's no stated minimum. Most of our clients have somewhere north of $1 million, though that's a description of who we work with rather than a cutoff.
What does it cost?
1% of the assets we manage. That single number covers retirement planning, investment management, and strategic tax planning — where we handle the prep and filing too.
I've never worked with an advisor. Will I feel behind?
No. Most people arrive having done a decent job and never having had anyone confirm it. That's normal, and it's not something we'd make you feel bad about.
Do I have to move my accounts?
Eventually, yes — we manage assets held at Altruist or Schwab. It's a straightforward transfer, your holdings move as they are, and nothing is sold in the process.
Can you look at my 401(k) if it's still at work?
Yes. If you're still working, we'll make sure the investment strategy inside it aligns with your overall plan. And when it makes sense, we'll help you roll it into an IRA.
Is this a sales call?
No. We want to hear what you're trying to accomplish and ask the kinds of questions that get at it. By the end you'll know whether we'd be a good fit for each other, and so will we.