FAQ

We charge between .8%-1.4% annually of the assets that we manage in-house. There may be additional fees and costs associated with the investments included in your portfolio. We do not charge for assets that are held elsewhere. Because we utilize low cost, indexed investments in our portfolios, our all-in fee is often lower than our competition. That fee includes a dedicated relationship manager that is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner, as well as other team members whom you can access at any time. We don’t charge hourly because we want our clients to call us for any reason. If you’re thinking about buying a vacation home, financing a grandkid’s college education, how to minimize taxes, or have any questions, we want to be your first call. Our financial planning and asset management are included in that fee. Campbell Wealth differentiates itself based on the clientele we serve and the fact that we do a written financial plan for every single client and review it every single year. The financial plan (Financial GPS) is the intersection of your cash flow, risk management, portfolio management, tax, retirement, and estate planning. As we work exclusively with clients 55+ and their families, all of our planners are subject matter experts on retirement income planning, Medicare, Social Security, and estate planning.

We serve approximately 540 families. We have a team of 25 people (including 7 CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER TM practitioners, CFP(r)s), two Chartered Financial Analyst (CFAs), an investment management team, a client service team, a new business team, a communications team, and an operations team. While we could run the company with fewer people, we feel that having access to qualified professionals when you need them is of utmost importance.

We take every client through our financial planning process (Right on Retirement™ Five Step Process.) We do this when they first become a client and then every year thereafter. We feel The Plan (Financial GPS) is always important for our clients to be on track with their retirement and we also want to be sure they are not in jeopardy of running out of money even 20, 30, or 40 years in the future

All of our client-facing people are licensed and have passed their Series 7 and Series 65/66 exams. Each of these licenses has additional continuing education requirements. Many of our representatives also have financial designations such as: CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP®), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®), Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor (CMFC®), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®), Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®), Accredited Wealth Management Advisor (AWMA®) and Certified Financial Divorce Analyst (CDFA™).

We can discuss our average return expectations and goals. However, we do not publish them. In order to publish returns, we would have to have all of our investment portfolio performances audited each and every year at a significant cost. This performance audit is called GIPS Certification. Because this certification is so costly, we as a firm have opted not to partake in this process as it would require us to increase our fees.

We define wealth management as the intersection of financial planning, which is goals-based, and asset management, which is return-based. We align our financial planning with the CFP Board of standards. Meaning that we develop financial plans that address cash flow, risk management, investments, tax, retirement, and estate planning. Brokers and asset managers only focus on one of those areas: investments. Comparing a broker to a financial planner or wealth manager is comparing apples to oranges. In addition to combining asset management and financial planning, we also quarterback the relationships between you and your other financial professionals. With your permission, we work directly with your estate attorney, tax professional, insurance broker, etc. We are the firm to drive you down the road that is your ideal retirement.

Our investment management team actively manages passive, low cost, indexed investments. Most of our portfolios are made up of Exchange Traded Funds or ETF’s. We utilize a dynamic strategy that is meant to mitigate downside exposure. This strategy called Constant Proportion Portfolio Insurance is designed to systematically move assets from equities to fixed income as markets become less favorable and conversely increase equity exposure as they become more attractive. We are not market timers and we are not looking to beat the market. Our goal is to match the appropriate benchmark with less downside exposure so you aren’t taking big losses as you live off of your investments. Campbell Wealth is different than most of its local competitors in that our CFP’s do not manage our portfolios. We have a Portfolio Manager who is a Chartered Financial Analyst and an investment management team that do nothing but monitor and manage our portfolios. That way you can feel comfortable knowing your portfolio is always under a watchful eye.

Campbell Wealth Management is the only Barron’s top-ranked firm in the DC metro area that works exclusively with people 55+. We pride ourselves on our concentrated knowledge of the issues that will arise in retirement. We know what challenges you are facing and those you will see in the future because of our experience and expertise.

All prospective clients go through a full financial planning process with Evan T Beach, CFP®, AWMA® – Kelly P. Campbell, CFP®, CMFC®, ChFC®, AIF® or Jake Rawlings, CFP®. This is the best way we know to figure out if the relationship is a good fit. Our goal is to have clients for life. If it’s not a good fit, we will tell you upfront and offer you alternative options for Financial Assistance.

Each client has a relationship manager or RM who is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner. That is your go-to person for any financial questions once you have gone through our onboarding process. However, Campbell Wealth works as a team. If your RM is busy, sick, or out of town, you can talk to any of our 16 team members. All members of our client services team have access to your latest client notes and can get right up to speed to be able to help you immediately.

Trust is our main focus at CWM. We also understand that it is not given but rather earned over time. We feel that we are able to earn our clients’ trust through relationship building, expertise, and consistency.

Relationship Building: By getting to know our clients very well through our Financial Planning Process (Financial GPS), we begin to understand where they are and where they are going with respect to their retirement.

Experience: All of our client-facing people are licensed and those that make recommendations are Certified Financial Planners with 10 to 20+ years of experience in financial and retirement planning.

Consistency: Because we have a Five Step “Right on Retirement Process,” each and every one of our clients gets to experience the consistency and thoroughness of our Wealth Management Program.

Technology has made it much easier for us to work with people in different areas of the country. Many of our clients originated from the DC Metro area (DC, MD, and VA). However, after retirement, we have seen some of them move to other areas either to be closer to family, to escape the traffic and congestion of DC, and/or to build a new life where they have always dreamed of retiring. No matter the case, we almost always keep that wealth management relationship. We also continue to follow the same meeting structure we did when these clients were local. Because we want them to feel our presence, we often will set up Skype calls or GoToMeetings (think of a conference call through your computer), so that they can see us and we can see them while we review their accounts and their financial plan. Many of those clients say the meeting is just like being in the office.