Questions

There is no absolute minimum, though most BWA clients have assets of $10 million or more.  Investors who have complex issues but a smaller investment base can often be accommodated on a project basis.

Additionally, BWA works with very small portfolios, such as custodial accounts for minors, in the context of the overall relationship with each family.

Investors contact Ms. Anderson, via this website, via email, or on the phone.  An initial meeting is arranged, in order to discuss the client’s issues and why he or she is seeking assistance.  There is no charge for this meeting, which typically lasts about two hours.  It may take place either at the client’s site (home or business) or in BWA’s offices.  The client typically provides background material, such as copies of brokerage statements, to be used in Ms. Anderson’s initial assessment and proposal.

If the client and Ms. Anderson agree that an engagement would be helpful, an Engagement Letter is created, detailing the background situation, work to be performed, timetable, and fee.  Upon the client’s acceptance of this Engagement Letter, the analytical work can commence.

All analytical work is performed by Ms. Anderson personally. Beekman Wealth Advisory operates as a manager-of-managers, which means that selection of individual securities is delegated to outside money managers recommended by BWA, based on its analysis, and hired by the client. Additionally, BWA uses WealthTouch, an independent performance-reporting firm based in Denver, Colorado, for performance reporting. (Smaller portfolios, such as custodial accounts investing only in public mutual funds, are tracked via Morningstar.) Files are maintained in a secured electronic format by Digiscribe International.

Since every client engagement is different, there is no set fee schedule.  However, fees are always (1) pre-specified; (2) in flat dollar amounts (not based on percents of assets, hours worked, or other variable factors); and (3) agreed to in writing by each client in advance of the engagement.  There is never a surprise with respect to fees charged.

Beekman Wealth Advisory does not use model portfolios or one-size-fits-all asset allocations.  This is because clients have differing time horizons, differing starting asset levels, and differing goals. 

Beekman Wealth Advisory also knows that changing managers and asset allocations can be disruptive to a portfolio and can generate meaningful tax and transactions expenses.  Therefore, incoming clients are encouraged to retain as much of their existing portfolios as is feasible and beneficial. 

These two factors mean that the range of client portfolios, and therefore of client returns, is too wide to be captured appropriately by an “average” return.