Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
What services do you provide?
Available to each and every client is a comprehensive financial plan covering all aspects of a client’s financial life including retirement planning, investment planning, tax planning, estate planning, insurance/risk management, college savings planning, budgeting, cash flow planning, and more. Each plan is tailored to the specific needs of the client. An annual update to the comprehensive plan to reflect the dynamic planning process is also included.
We also offer discretionary investment management on all types of client accounts including brokerage accounts, all types of IRAs, custodial accounts, business accounts, and much more. We use advanced risk profiling to design a portfolio that matches your unique needs and financial goals and provide on-going management of your investments. We maintain an on-line client blog so you always know what is happening with your investments.
The third leg of our service is risk management which entails making sure your financial goals are met even if unfortunate events occur. We develop plans to determine the needs for life insurance, disability insurance, long term care insurance, longevity risk, and retirement income risk.
Why should I choose you over my current advisor?
The decision to choose an advisor is a personal one and only you know what is right for you. We believe that we offer financial services that are free of conflicts of interest and that we will always keep your best interests as our number one priority. In addition, we truly love what we do and that is why we are here. If you're not sure, just meet us and see what you think for yourself.
How do I contact you?
You may call us anytime at (248) 344-9771 or email us at info@glidepathadvisors.com.
How secure is my investment account?
We protect your assets with proven technology, processes, and insurance. Keeping your account information secure is of primary importance. Below are a few of the precautions you should know about.
FDIC Insurance
Cash deposits at our custodian, FOLIOfn Investments, Inc. are swept into their Bank Sweep Program and are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), an independent agency created by the U.S. Congress in 1933 to help maintain public confidence in the nation’s financial system. One of its primary duties is to insure deposits in banks and thrift institutions. The FDIC also examines and supervises member institutions. If you would like more information about FDIC insurance, visit www.fdic.gov or call the FDIC Consumer Hotline at 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342).
FOLIOfn also offers extended FDIC insurance for both principal and accrued interest for money held in the banks in their Sweep Program.
Up to $3.0 million for individual accounts
Up to $6.0 million for joint accounts under the same social security number (SSN)
The total balance in all retirement accounts and the total balance in non-retirement accounts are insured separately and are not aggregated together for purposes of insurance coverage calculations.
SIPC And Supplemental Insurance
FOLIOfn is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). A brochure explaining the coverage provided by SIPC is available on SIPC’s website at www.sipc.org. In addition to SIPC coverage, FOLIOfn has purchased from underwriters at Lloyds of London supplemental customer securities insurance. Together those coverages provide a total aggregate limit of $50 million limited to a combined return of $10 million to any single customer. Neither SIPC nor the supplemental insurance coverage protect against losses resulting from a decline in the market value of securities.
Website Protection
You create your own account username and password to securely log into folioclient.com. FOLIOfn stores your password in encrypted form and their employees do not have access to them. When you contact them by phone, their customer service representatives will always ask for account verification information before providing you with assistance. Their customer service representatives will never ask you for your account password under any circumstances.
Encryption
FOLIOfn utilizes Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption for all browser access to their web platform services to ensure that any data entered into their website is encrypted to and from the browser being used.
Do you conduct a credit check when I open an account?
No. Since we do not loan money out, the only check we do is an ID verification check. We do not pull your credit score, or do anything that would impact your credit rating or score. If you happen to have any additional questions, please contact us for additional support.
What are your insurance services?
In addition to comprehensive financial planning and discretionary investment management, we also offer life insurance and annuities though our affiliated licensed life insurance agency.
We work with our clients to help meet their life insurance goals, lifetime income security goals, and legacy planning wishes. We are available to build these plans and offer the proper products to meet the needs of our clients.
These insurance products include:
- term insurance
- whole life
- universal and variable life
- index universal life
- multi-year guaranteed annuities
- immediate annuities
- fixed index annuities
- deferred annuities
Getting Started
Do you offer a free initial consultation?
Yes, we offer one free 2 hour consultation to understand what your financial needs are, explain our services and fees, and see if there is a mutual fit. This is not a sales presentation and you will not be pressured to use our services or asked to sign any contracts. We will just meet to discuss what type of help you are interested in, how we may provide answers to your issues, and what it may cost you to work with us. Then it is up to you to decide if you have further interest in utilizing our services.
What happens when I deposit my money with Folio Institutional?
When you deposit money with Folio Institutional, we will work with you to design a portfolio that matches your financial goals and appetite for risk. This will be explained in a personalized document called an Investment Policy Statement that describes in detail how we will invest your money. You own shares in the stocks and ETFs that we recommend for our model portfolios and we manage all buying and selling for you.
Fees
What are your fees?
Our fees are fully disclosed on this site in the
Pricing tab.
Can I cancel your service and receive a refund?
Yes, you can cancel at any time per our
Advisory Agreement. A refund will not be required as our services are not billed in advance.
Deposits, Withdrawals, & Transfers
Is there a minimum balance required?
There is no minimum investment with our firm, and no minimum balance.
One reason we have no minimum balance is to ensure that every investor can get started building wealth by working with a professional advisor.
One unique advantage of our system is the concept of partial shares. Even a client with a low account balance can own all of our recommended investments through the practice of partial share ownership. This means a client can own less than one share (or a fractional share) of an investment. This means even small accounts can achieve the proper diversification needed.
What are my deposit options?
You can deposit to your investment account via an existing account transfer, a check, bank bill pay, electronic funds transfer (EFT), direct deposit from a paycheck, and a wire transfer.
If you make a deposit by check, bank bill pay, EFT, direct deposit or wire transfer, FOLIOfn will deposit the funds into your account and notify you by email of the deposit. These funds will be invested in your sweep vehicle, generally on the next business day after deposit.
What are my withdrawal options?
You can withdraw cash from your account at any time via check writing, a check request, electronic funds transfer, and a wire. Fees may apply for a check request and a wire transfer. Check books are available upon request. Please give us three business days notice so we have time to sell any investments if there is not sufficient cash in your account to process the requested withdrawal amount.
When are funds available for withdrawal?
From Deposits: While you will generally be able to make an investment the day after a deposit is processed, you will generally not be able to withdraw the new deposit money from your account for five business days.
From Securities Sales: When you sell securities that settle 2 days after trading (T+2) such as exchange listed equities, the sell amount cannot be withdrawn until the second trading day after the sell date. When you sell securities that settle 1 day after trading (T+1) such as most mutual funds, the sell amount cannot be withdrawn until the trading day after the sell date.
IRAs and Rollovers
How do I transfer my IRA to Folio Institutional?
To transfer your existing IRA to Folio Institutional, we will use a direct transfer process to avoid any tax consequences. A direct transfer entails your current provider sending us a check of your funds directly, for your benefit. This generally can be accomplished completely on-line. All we need is a copy of your current IRA statement to get started.
Can I rollover my 401k, 403b, or similar plan to Folio Institutional?
There are many benefits to rolling over a retirement plan to our custodian. We'll use the "direct rollover" method to prevent any withholding or negative tax consequences for you. This entails your current provider sending FOLIOfn a check of your funds directly, for your benefit.
We will work directly with you to complete the paperwork needed from your current custodian to complete the transfer.
Please note that Traditional funds must be rolled over into a Traditional IRA and Roth funds must be rolled over into a Roth IRA. If you aren't sure which type(s) of funds you have, contact your current provider or HR representative. You can always convert a Traditional IRA into a Roth IRA after the rollover.
To see if your retirement plan is eligible to be rolled over into a Roth or Traditional IRA, please check the
IRS Rollover Chart.
Why do I need to sell my current investments?
If you want to transfer your account to us, you will generally need to sell your investments. Before we can invest your retirement funds in our fully diversified portfolios, you will most likely need to sell your current holdings at your current account provider. Many providers will not accept our liquidation instructions so this will help facilitate this process.
Please note, for your IRAs and company qualified retirement plans (like 401k’s and 403b’s) selling your investments will not result in a taxable event.
Regarding taxable accounts, we will work closely with you to develop a migration plan of each taxable account. There will be scenarios where we can transfer the security to FOLIOfn and then sell, and scenarios where we will have to have the security sold first and then transfer. There also may be cases where we may recommend that a security not be sold and may be moved to FOLIOfn directly. This may take place if you have a large capital gain and the security is something that we think still has positive attributes and should be kept for a time. We will work directly with you to create this security-by-security transfer plan for you.
Can I rollover my action 401k (or other employer sponsored plan) to Folio Institutional?
While we will accept any rollover funds, your plan provider may not let you roll over a 401k while it is still active. This same logic applies to 403b’s, pensions and other employer sponsored retirement plans. For some providers, they require you to be retired or no longer employed at the company to be allowed to roll over retirement funds. Ask your provider to see what their rules are as more and more firms are offering these in-service rollovers.
Investments
What is investment management?
Investment Management is a process that requires the advisor to assess your current financial situation, understand your financial goals, asset your investor personality including risk tolerance and investing knowledge, and use this data to build an efficient portfolio to help you achieve your goals. Investment Management also includes on-going monitoring and making recommendations and changes with your prior approval.
What are your portfolio managers' qualifications?
Our portfolio managers must hold at least one of the following designations:
- Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from an accredited University
- Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation
- Accredited Asset Management Specialist (AAMS) designation
- Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation
What services do I get for investment management?
Our straightforward fees are a great value. Beyond being the simplest way to invest intelligently, we offer a number of unique features under the hood that simplify your life as an investor and help you get better returns:
- Fractional shares. When you transfer money to us, every penny is invested into your portfolio as fractional shares, so all your money is always working for you. This also allows even the smallest accounts to hold all of our recommended securities, even if it’s less than one whole share.
- Better diversification. Investing in too few and too correlated investments has its shortcomings. By balancing your portfolio among multiple securities, we give you appropriate exposure to ten unique asset classes. From large stocks to smalls stocks, from domestic to foreign investments, from government bonds to corporate bonds, we have the investment universe covered.
- Rebalancing. The composition of your portfolio will naturally drift over time as the market fluctuates, but we rebalance you back to your desired allocation using an academic-backed, research-proven rebalancing strategy. Experts agree that regularly rebalancing your portfolio can increase returns and reduce risks, but even the most disciplined investors don’t do it because of all the work involved.
- Tax Efficiency. When we do make a sale, we sell your losses (short term, then long term) first, then your gains (long term, then short term) to minimize your tax bill.
- Better access to your own money. Your money is always available without a transaction fee and without a minimum balance requirement. If you have an unexpected event and need your money, a check can be mailed to you in 4 to 5 business days. You can also have an ETF set up with your back or even request a wire if you need quicker access (wire fees apply).
- Integrated and actionable advice. Our advice tools give you actionable guidance, which we help you execute immediately.
Financial Planning
What services do you offer for financial planning?
We offer an array of comprehensive financial planning services:
The services may include:
- cash flow (budgeting) planning
- education/college planning
- retirement planning
- insurance/risk analysis
- investment analysis
- other goal planning
- comprehensive plan
Types of Accounts
What types of accounts do you offer?
We offer a full range of investment accounts:
Personal Accounts
- Individual
- Joint – Rights of Survivorship
- Joint – Tenants in Common
- Joint – Community Property
- Joint – Tenants by Entirety
- Custodial (UGMA/UTMA)
- Revocable Trust
Retirement Accounts
- Rollover IRA
- Traditional IRA
- Roth IRA
- SIMPLE IRA
- SEP IRA
- Beneficiary IRA
Business Accounts
- Corporation-Type S
- Corporation-Type C
- General Partnership
- Limited Partnership
- Limited Liability Company – Type S
- Limited Liability Company – Type C
- Limited Liability Company – Partnership
- Sole Proprietorship
Other Accounts
- Investment Club
- Irrevocable Trust
- Unincorporated Organization
