Frequently Asked Questions
Like most of life's questions there is rarely just one correct answer. Financial planning, with its multitude of disciplines, certainly fits into that category.
Most questions are tempered by ones own experiences, situation and goals. Answers to those same questions, even from accredited professionals, vary depending upon the respondent's age, viewpoint, experience, education, accreditation, etc.
Over the years, we have accumulated a series of what we refer to as frequently asked questions. The responses are ours and they are based on a lifetime of experiences, our education, our credentials, and practical applications from working with our clients.
What is Financial Planning?
Why do I need a Financial Consultant?
What is Your Average Sized Account?
My Account is Smaller Than Your Average? How Will I be Treated?
Do You Have A Minimum?
What Does it Mean to be Independent?
Who is SMH Capital Inc.?
Who Holds My Money?
How Safe is My Money?
Can I Really Get There From Here?
Can I do this myself?
What Is Financial Planning?
We view financial planning as a monitored path of progress from where you are today, to where you wish to be in the future. The actual financial planning process is generally considered to be a six-step process:
- establish the work perimeters
- gathering of data
- clarification of the current financial situation and identification of potential problem areas and opportunities
- development and presentation of a financial plan
- implementation of the plan
- monitoring of the plan into the future.
The plan itself can be several pages to several hundreds pages in length. Again, there is no right answer and the situation itself dictates need. Clearly, financial planning is by and large a process to be addressed in an ongoing manner, rather than a project to be completed. (TOP)
Why do I need a Financial Consultant?
At Solley Financial Services we can help you in the following ways:
- Establishment of an investment policy and a commitment to stick to it
- Design of your portfolio
- Selection of appropriate investments
- Implementation of your investment plan
- Coordination of your financial and estate affairs
- Reporting of your investment results
- Ongoing guidance and counsel
- Simplification of the investment process through consolidation and principled investing (TOP)
What is Your Average Sized Account?
Our accounts average approximately $300,000 per household or family. (TOP)
My Account is Smaller than Your Average Account. How can I Be Assured That I will Received the Same Attention as Your Larger Accounts?
Our accounts are very homogeneous as our clients generally own what we believe are the best investment choices in various asset classes, relative to their risk profile. That is, irrespective of size, our growth accounts typically own the same investments. Likewise, income accounts are also similar. Therefore, we manage our accounts based on our opinion of a specific holding and if our opinion changes, we make changes in all of our accounts at once. (TOP)
Do You Have a Minimum?
Yes, $ 100,000 per household. Special situations do occur and we review smaller account relationships on a case by case basis. (TOP)
What Does it Mean to be Independent?
Financial consultants of Solley Financial Services are independent; we are not employees of a bank, brokerage firm, mutual fund or insurance company. We have no proprietary products or services. We are able to recommend investment and insurance products from a nearly unlimited menu. Independent advisors are perceived by many to be more impartial and objective. We do, however, have the strength of our broker-dealer - SMH Capital Inc. - and our clearing firm - Pershing - behind us to provide our clients with the significant level of resources, experience and efficient processing that they have come to expect. (TOP)
Who is SMH Capital Inc.?
SMH Capital Inc. is the broker-dealer arm of Sanders Morris Harris Group Inc (SMHG). SMHG is a financial services holding company headquartered in Houston, Texas. It provides a broad range of services through its wholly owned operating subsidiaries. Sanders Morris Harris is the largest investment banking and securities firm based in the southwest. It conducts a substantial private client, institutional and asset management business, as well as its investment banking and private equities activities. SMH Capital Advisors is a registered investment advisory and fee-based money manager specializing in fixed-income investments.
(TOP)
Who Holds My Money?
Our custodian is Pershing LLC, located in Jersey City, New Jersey. Pershing was founded in 1936, and is the largest independent clearing and custody firm in the U.S. Pershing LLC is a subsidiary of The Bank of New York with equity capital of $8 billion, and total assets of almost $90 billion. By using the clearing services of Pershing, Sanders Morris Harris is able to obtain the very best clearing services for its clients while maintaining the cost efficiencies of doing business with a firm of Pershing's size. For more information on Pershing, a downloadable brochure is available in Adobe Portable Document Format. (Click here for a copy). (TOP)
How Safe is My Money?
Your accounts are protected against the failure of Pershing or Sanders Morris Harris Inc. by SIPC, a U.S. Government chartered corporation. Accounts are protected by SIPC up to $500,000 (maximum of $100,000 in cash). Additional insurance is provided by a consortium of independent insurers up to an unlimited account value. As a client of Solley Financial Services, you have the same independent assurances of safety that you would have at any major NYSE member firm. Click here to read more (TOP)
Can I Really Get There From Here?
It's not at all uncommon for the prospective financial planning client to be totally overwhelmed by the complexity and volume of questions that can be asked and remain unanswered at the beginning of the planning process.
A qualified financial planner with the right education, back ground, temperament and relevant experience can turn those complex issues into relatively simple choices.
In our view, the key is the combination of professional skill, temperament and related experience brought to bear on the issues at hand. Clearly, when the right person focuses on the issue, clear concise direction generally follows. (TOP)
Can I do this myself?
Absolutely! If you have the requisite skills, or if you're willing to be patient and develop those skills and, you have the desire to do this yourself, then that is perhaps your best course of action.
Many of our clients can do what we do; many of them could actually do it very well. They have the talent, but they just know that they don't have the interest to put forth the time and effort required to do the planning, the plan implementation or the investment management on their own. (TOP)
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