Q

“What is the profile of your typical client?”

  • We serve a broad-range of clients, however, the majority of our clients are in between the ages of 51-70, preparing for or already in retirement.
  • Due to the increased complexity and challenges in today’s financial world, in more recent years we have broadened our services to include financial planning and investment management for younger families.
  • We help people from numerous industries, however, have more recently specialized in helping those in telecommunications, airline, and the oil and gas industry.
  • While we try our best to serve all clients, our clients typically have a minimum of $250,000 in investable assets. We do make exceptions for family or close friends of current clients, individuals seeking a second opinion or not pleased with their current advisor, or someone facing a major life-style change ie changing jobs, divorce, death, marriage, inheritance., etc.

Q

“I would like to meet with Strategic Advisory Services, L.L.C. to discuss my financial situation. What is my next step?”

  • We offer an initial meeting with our financial professionals, free of charge. This gives us a chance to meet you and understand your life goals. In turn, we will share with you our life planning process, investment management philosophy, and our client service team approach.
  • By exploring and discussing your life goals, it will help us both determine if there is a good match between your needs and our philosophy and services. For more information or to schedule a meeting, please contact our firm at 713-977-3800.

Q

“I have my portfolio at several other investment firms. What advantages are there to discussing and possibly moving my portfolio to Strategic Advisory Services, L.L.C.?”

  • New clients often come to us with fragmented portfolios comprised of investments made over the years with no real long-term plan in meeting each of their life goals. While these investments seemed to be "a good idea" at the time, no one is watching or coordinating their overall portfolio to see if it truly supports or even coincides with their long-term life objectives. We will develop a written investment plan with you (updated daily) and see which investments are suitable and which are not. We will then help you consolidate these investments to simplify your financial life, so you can have peace of mind knowing that they are being professionally managed, specifically based on all your life goals.
  • Another significant benefit is that we consider tax implications, estate implications, and tax efficiency of asset allocation (taxable vs. tax-deferred) as part of your strategy. Focusing on improving returns, reducing risk and helping minimize taxes are all part of the prudent personal financial management offered by our firm.

Q

“I have an account with a national brokerage house. How is Strategic Advisory Services, L.L.C. different?”

  • Strategic Advisory Services, L.L.C takes a team approach at analyzing, developing, and recommending changes to your current financial condition. All members of our team are at your disposal whenever you need to contact them.
  • Another significant benefit is that we consider tax implications, estate implications, and tax efficiency of asset allocation (taxable vs. tax-deferred) as part of your strategy.
  • Focusing on improving returns and helping minimize taxes are all part of the prudent personal financial management offered by our firm.
  • You will find a refreshingly different approach with us. We will spend a great deal of time listening and learning about your concerns and financial goals, analyzing your portfolio, and gathering data to help us construct your life plan.
  • As a result of being good listeners, we are able to make objective recommendations to create multiple portfolios that can meet several financial/life goals. Together, we will discuss the financial impact of any recommended changes so that you can make informed decisions.

Q

“How does Strategic Advisory Services, L.L.C. do business and how are you compensated?”

  • Strategic Advisory Services, L.L.C. is a "fee-only" SEC - registered investment advisor. Our advice is unbiased, objective and solely based on our clients’ personal needs and objectives. Each investment management and/or advisory client has a fee deducted automatically from their account in arrears, based on the amount of assets under management.
  • Please review our ADV Part II for full disclosure of all costs and fees. Click HERE to view our ADV Part II and learn about all our costs and fees, which are disclosed therein.

Q

“How is Strategic Advisory Services, L.L.C. different from other wealth management companies or financial planning firms?”

  • The key difference between Strategic Advisory Services, L.L.C. and other wealth management firms is our philosophy that your investment portfolio is a piece of your overall financial and life plan; it does not stand alone. Investing your money without first understanding your long-term goals just doesn’t make sense to us. Our skilled, financial professionals are experienced in first listening to you about your goals, and then creating a plan of action, before ever making recommendations for your investment portfolio. Even if a formal plan is not necessary, we will ask questions to be sure your portfolio is designed to support your situation and needs. Most other "wealth management" companies focus only on investments and not your life goals. Part of the real value added is our consideration of the tax impact, estate issues, and other aspects of your situation so that your long-term wealth is maximized. We take pride in the depth of professionally trained staff to provide this expertise.
  • We want our clients to rest easily with their investment decisions. In keeping with that goal, our team of financial professionals will meet with you to help measure the level of risk you are willing to take when investing your portfolio. This is an essential piece of the planning process at Strategic Advisory Services, L.L.C. The financial/life plan created for you will match your comfort level and risk tolerance for investing and will be updated daily, unlike most other firms.
  • We do not use a "cookie-cutter" approach when allocating your portfolio. Many wealth management firms have a "one size fits all" approach to investing, whereby all clients have the same portfolio, regardless of their needs.

Q

“What is Strategic Advisory Services, L.L.C.’s investment philosophy?”

  • What is “Strategic?” A comprehensive plan to achieve desired goals, using available means, at acceptable risk.
  • Our firm’s philosophy is to be long-term investors; and therefore, we believe that frequent trading does not benefit our clients. We continuously monitor your investments. Rebalancing is done to keep your portfolio aligned with your financial goals and risk tolerance.
  • Many other investment firms focus on "returns." We focus on downside risk in addition to returns; we know our portfolios are positioned to glean strong returns if the market performs positively. Our portfolios are designed for steady growth over time; therefore, our clients should not experience the ultra-highs or ultra-lows of the market. This helps give them peace of mind. We want to help clients sleep better, through asset allocation, when the inevitable bear market occurs.

Q

“Do you work with clients who live outside of the Houston area?”

  • With continued improvements in technology and communications, we are able to work with clients who live throughout the United States.  Wherever you live, we will continue to manage your investment portfolio, speak with you frequently, and remain focused on your financial goals and objectives.

Q

“My bank/Financial Advisor is offering me a "free" financial plan. What is different about your plan?”

  • The old adage that "you get what you pay for" is very true in this case. The financial plan that you will receive as a client of our firm is both comprehensive and client specific. This means we do not use scripted and overly-simplified, prepackaged planning software often used by large financial institutions. Typically, these types of plans are ultimately used as sales tools to introduce clients to proprietary products. They are often so generalized that they have low value to a client.
  • In most cases, the safest way to project long-term financial security is to be as exact as possible in using facts and assumptions. We have seen simple plans that led to disastrous decisions and caused retired individuals to have to go back to work.
  • Most financial plans are stagnant and “out-of-date” as soon as they are prepared. We use complex aggregation software to download account values nightly to create a “real-time” financial/life plan. We have the ability to aggregate accounts we manage and even accounts held outside of Strategic Advisory Services, L.L.C.