Yes, each year, approximately 25-30% of our new clients are executives, entrepreneurs, or retirees outside the medical and dental fields. The common characteristics of the clients we serve best are they:
We serve clients all over the country in more than 30 states. We make it easy to build a personal relationship and communicate with our clients in person, by phone, or by Zoom - using all as needed.
Each of our advisors serves approximately 60-120 clients, but this varies based on the complexity of the clients and the advisor's specialized knowledge.
Yes, of course. We're very committed to ensuring we mutually explore if working together would be a good fit. After an initial phone call to understand your needs and answer preliminary questions, we always start with a complimentary consultation to further discuss your goals, fears, and history with money to explore how our unique process might be of value.
The financial planning process is an ongoing relationship of 4 basic steps:
If you're looking for a more detailed, step-by-step timeline, please take a moment to review the entire process on our financial planning web page.
After our initial complimentary consultation, we can start the process within 24 hours. This involves providing you with a secure portal to upload documents and scheduling the first Education and Strategy Meeting. We generally schedule meetings about two weeks apart to give you enough time to gather and upload the information we need.
We make it easy to build a personal relationship and communicate with our clients in person, by phone, or by Zoom as desired.
Just click here and let us know a little about you. We'll personally respond by email right away to coordinate a time for a quick phone call to get started. Or if you're really excited to get started now, just text 980-340-6920 and say, "I need a planner now!"
We pride ourselves on being available and responsive to our clients. The easiest way to get in touch is usually by email or text.
Our annual Planning and Advice fee is set based on the overall complexity of your financial situation. It covers all the time required to address issues throughout the year, collaborate with your accountant or attorney, and be proactive with planning issues. Because our Planning and Advice fee is not driven by the number of meetings, conversations, emails, or time, you never have to worry about a surprise invoice. Some clients prefer to have the fee debited annually from their investment portfolio, while others prefer to pay by credit card. We've observed that, over time, there will be some years where there is a high level of engagement and strategy changes and other years where the process may be more streamlined. The only metric that would impact the annual Planning and Advice fee is a change in the overall complexity of your financial situation.
Yes, because our fee structure is based on complexity, a fee increase or decrease may be warranted as changes to your situation arise. For example, a dentist transitioning from a role as an associate to a practice owner would be an example of a fee increase. Additionally, a client transitioning to retirement may receive a fee decrease. Any changes to your advice and planning fee will always be disclosed to you.
No, while some people prefer to take a hands-on approach to managing their investment portfolio, the clients we serve best do not have the time or interest to properly implement a savings plan on their own. Research shows it is difficult to remain emotionally unattached and make rational decisions, particularly during times of heightened market volatility. We offer portfolio management services to provide an objective point of view, as well as free up your time.
Review our Investment Philosophy to learn more about our approach.
Yes, we serve as fiduciaries to our clients. While this is a complicated topic with nuances from different regulatory bodies, you can rest assured that we:
We -
One of the primary reasons our clients hire us is our proactive "leadership" approach to financial planning. We do not wait for you to call us, ask for help, or perceive a need for us to start working. We maintain a diligent log of issues, opportunities, and timelines for each client so that we can proactively keep track of them and notify you when a relevant change needs to be discussed.
Yes, Spaugh Dameron Tenny is a privately owned LLC incorporated in North Carolina. As a full-service financial planning business, we operate in a highly regulated industry to serve our clients. Although we are owned by our employees, we partner with outside firms to support our regulatory requirements and provide the full-service experience our clients expect:
We have served the medical and dental profession since our founder, Herb Spaugh, began helping physicians in 1957. Although we help clients with financial complexity from a variety of backgrounds today, our understanding of the unique needs of healthcare providers includes nuances like: