Financial planning · Greenville, South Carolina
Financial planning is the decision system.
Most people do not have an information problem. They have a sequencing problem. Planning is where the pieces get put in an order that actually works.
What gets looked at, and what you leave with.
What gets reviewed
The inputs
- Cash flow, savings, and debt decisions
- Investment and retirement account structure
- Insurance and protection gaps
- Business-owner or family obligations
- Estate, beneficiary, tax, and liquidity coordination points
What you walk away with
The output
- A clean decision map
- A practical action sequence, ranked
- Ongoing review as life changes
Portfolio, retirement income, insurance, cash flow, taxes and family obligations get reviewed together rather than handled as disconnected projects. That coordination is the whole reason one person does all of it.
What the title means here
Three different jobs share the words "financial advisor."
Search the phrase in Greenville and you get the branch offices on Main Street, the national directories, and a long list of people with the same title. Many of them are good at what they do. But the title covers three different jobs, and the difference shows up in how you pay. A broker is paid on what you buy. An insurance agent is paid by the carrier on what you are sold. An investment adviser representative is paid by you and owes you a fiduciary duty.
I hold the Series 65 and act as an investment adviser representative, so for advice I am the third kind. I am also licensed for life, accident and health insurance in South Carolina, and when a policy is placed through the firm a carrier commission is paid. I tell you which role I am in and how I am being paid every time, and it is written in the Form CRS and disclosures, not just here.
The practical test for anyone you are considering is simple. Ask what it costs before the second meeting. If you cannot get a number, you have learned something.
How I am paid
Published, in one paragraph.
Flat-fee planning is $750, $2,000 or $3,000, one time, agreed in writing before any work begins and completed within six months. Investment management is 1% per year of the assets I manage, with planning included, so nobody pays both. Insurance is never required, and when it is placed through the firm the carrier pays a commission, which is disclosed. There is no hourly rate, no retainer, and no discovery call you have to pass before you are allowed to see a price. The prices are on the planning page and you can buy one tonight.
Who I work with in the Upstate
Life stages, not net worth.
The households that get the most out of planning are usually at a turn. A first house in Simpsonville or Greer and the question of how much insurance the mortgage needs. A new baby and a 529 nobody has opened. A job change out of Prisma, Michelin, GE or BMW with a 401(k) decision attached. A Marine or soldier coming off active duty with SGLI ending and a TSP nobody explained. A small business in Mauldin or Easley that is finally profitable and has no plan for the owner's own retirement.
The firm is virtual by design, which is why it works across Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Pickens and the rest of South Carolina without anyone driving to an office. Meetings are by Zoom or phone, documents move securely, and everything you decide is written down so you can explain it to your spouse without me in the room.
First house
Mortgage, insurance, cash reserve
The order matters more than the products. Protection first, then the reserve, then the rest.
New parents
529, term life, beneficiaries
Three decisions that take an afternoon and get put off for years.
Job change
401(k), benefits, group life
Four options for the old plan and a group life policy that just ended. Decide before the default decides for you.
Leaving service
TSP, SGLI to VGLI, SC tax treatment
South Carolina exempts military retired pay from state income tax. That changes the math on where to retire and what to draw first.
Business owner
Entity, retirement plan, buy-sell
Profitable is not the same as planned. The owner is usually the last person on the payroll with a retirement account.
Pre-retirement
Income, Social Security, withdrawals
The five years on either side of the date are where small mistakes get expensive. See the retirement page.
The order of operations
What gets decided first, and why.
Protection comes first because a portfolio does not survive an uninsured disaster. Then the cash reserve, sized to your actual job risk rather than a rule of thumb. Then high-cost debt, ranked by real rates against what the same dollars could earn. Then the tax-advantaged accounts in the order that fits your bracket: employer match, Roth or traditional, HSA if you have one. Then taxable investing. Then the estate basics, which for most households means beneficiaries, titling, a will and powers of attorney, not a trust.
That sequence is the whole product. It is why a $750 plan can change more than a year of reading. The information was never secret. Someone finally put it in an order and attached your numbers to it.
The first call
Thirty minutes, no pitch, and you leave with a decision.
Bring your rough numbers: income, what you owe, what you have saved, what insurance you carry through work, and the one or two decisions you are stuck on. No statements. I will tell you which plan fits, or that you do not need one yet, and I give that second answer often. If you would rather skip the call, buy the plan and the discovery meeting is part of the work.
Questions people ask
Hiring a financial advisor in Greenville, answered plainly.
Do I need a financial advisor if I just have a 401(k) and a mortgage?
Maybe not an ongoing one. A lot of households in that spot need one clear plan, not a relationship. That is what the $750 Foundations plan is for: cash flow, the debt-versus-invest question, a retirement savings roadmap, and a one-page action list. If you do not need me yet, I will say so on the first call.
What does a financial advisor cost in Greenville?
It depends on how they are paid, and many will not tell you until after a meeting. Here the prices are published. Flat-fee planning is $750, $2,000 or $3,000 one time. Investment management is 1% per year of the assets I manage, with planning included. When insurance is placed through the firm, a carrier commission is paid and disclosed.
Are you a fiduciary?
For advice, yes. I hold the Series 65 and act as an investment adviser representative, which carries a fiduciary duty to you. I am also licensed for life, accident and health insurance in South Carolina, and when a policy is placed I am paid by commission. I tell you which role I am in and how I am paid every time, and it is all in the Form CRS and disclosures.
Is everything virtual?
Yes, by design. Meetings are by Zoom or phone, documents are shared securely, and you keep everything in writing. I am based in Greenville, and that lets me work with households across the Upstate and the rest of South Carolina without anyone driving anywhere.
What is the difference between a financial planner and a financial advisor?
Legally, not much. Both titles are used loosely. What matters is how the person is registered and paid. An investment adviser representative owes you a fiduciary duty. A broker is held to a best-interest standard on recommendations. An insurance agent is paid by the carrier. Ask anyone you are considering which of those they are, and what the fee is, before the second meeting.
What should I bring to a first call?
Your rough numbers are enough: income, what you owe, what you have saved, what insurance you carry through work, and the one or two decisions you are stuck on. No statements are needed for the first conversation. Please leave account numbers and Social Security numbers out of any form you send.
Do you work with people outside Greenville?
Yes. Most clients are in the Upstate, including Spartanburg, Anderson, Easley, Greer, Simpsonville and Mauldin, and the firm works with households across South Carolina. If you live in another state, ask, and I will tell you whether I can help there.
Request follow-up
Bring this into the conversation.
Tell me what is on your mind and I will tell you whether I can help. Please leave out account numbers, policy numbers and Social Security numbers.