Frequently Asked Questions
Can I work with your firm virtually or am I required to meet with you in person?
We can meet both virtually or in person at our headquarters! As a client of the firm, all documents are going to be signed virtually using a secure system called DocuSign.
Ask yourself this question: If today you were diagnosed with an extremely rare illness, would you go find the best surgeon that's available? Or would you find the one that is the most convenient and just right around the corner?
The reality is that when it comes to protecting and growing our wealth, we believe that it is extremely critical that the people that we work with are the best to solve the problem at hand. This job of building wealth is not about convenience, and instead it's about quality.
It has become easier to get access to some of the top advisors in the country (just simply because of technology). As a growing firm, we currently receive clients and serve in all 50 states. Luckily, we are able to serve families no matter where they are in the world.
Most of our clients prefer to have the ability to have reviews on their overall financial strategies at hand from anywhere around the world. They don't want to be required to have to walk into an office to have a financial planning session with one of our wealth strategists. We've had meetings with clients at this point while they're lounging by the pool, traveling around Europe or even in our office!
Do I have availability and access to my funds?
Our team understands the importance of having control over your finances. That's why our clients have full access to their funds through a reliable and secure custodian, Fidelity Investments.
With just a few taps on your smartphone, you can effortlessly manage your funds. Whether you use the user-friendly Fidelity mobile app or online platform, you get a comprehensive view of your account balance and detailed transaction history.
By logging in to the secure website, you can conveniently manage your funds, review statements, and access a range of financial tools.
But we understand that not everyone will want to withdraw or deposit funds themselves, we have an entire team here in our office that is ready to assist with any transaction you might need!
How are your fees calculated and when do I need to pay them?
Our fees are calculated based on the assets we manage for you. The fee structure is based on an annual percentage of the assets you have invested with us. The fee only applies to the funds you have invested under our management. This way, you'll only be charged for the portion we actively handle for you.
The fee is paid on a monthly basis and is automatically deducted from the funds you have under our management. We refer to this deduction as the advisor fee. This convenient approach ensures that you don't have to worry about making manual payments or remembering due dates. It simplifies the process for you, and the fee is seamlessly paid from your account!
Do you work with other companies and what is their role?
At Guerra Financial, we are an independent firm with a team of over 35. To be able to serve our families like if we were a company with 250 employees, we work with a company called Advisor's Excel. They work with the top 500 advisors in the nation, including us, providing us assistance in our compliance & operations team.
It’s their job to keep us up to date with the laws and regulations in our industry. It’s our job to do what is best for you! All the companies that we partner with meet the fiduciary standards that we demand.
How do I know I can trust your firm with my funds?
We've come to understand over the years that working with people in the financial industry has become an extremely difficult process for people to feel comfortable with because of all the scams that are out there. Let's be honest, we've had so many situations around the country where people have been involved in scams and Ponzi schemes.
As much as the subject is a concern, we believe that it is extremely important to be completely transparent about the way our firm operates. The reason why we have seen stories of people who have lost all their money in Ponzi schemes like Bernie Madoff's is because of one clear problem: most people that worked with someone that was involved in this, the mistake that they made was that they actually handed their funds to the individual or the firm that was in front of them.
Instead, whenever anyone is working with a wealth management firm, the most important question you have to ask is: Where do you custody your clients' accounts? In other words, what company is going to be holding your money?
All of our clients' accounts are custodied at one of the largest wealth management firms in the entire country: Fidelity Investments. As a wealth management firm, every family that we serve has a completely custom tailored plan for their situation. Most of our clients look at us as their personal dietitians and not as a food wholesaler butcher.
What level of authority do you have in my account, and will I need to sign a contract with you?
All of our clients' accounts are held at Fidelity Investments. When you begin to work with our firm, you're going to be signing what's called a financial planning agreement with us. That you're hiring our firm as your financial advisors and wealth strategist. These documents that you'll be signing will allow our firm to only do two things:
Number one, it will allow us to give you personal financial guidance on every financial decision that you make here on out. And number two, it will allow us to do what's called active portfolio management for you, which is pretty much what you're paying us to do.
Remember, every client has an investment strategy that is personally designed at the initial stage of the construction of their financial plan. But our team will be doing regular check ups on your portfolio on a weekly basis to see what changes we may need to make according to market conditions.
At the end of the day, it is in our firm's best interest to play an active role in the performance of your funds, since our fees are tied directly to how well you're doing!
Now, the good news is that if tomorrow you decide that you would like to terminate the relationship with us, you have no permanent contract with us in any way. You have the right to contact Fidelity directly and ask them to remove us as your financial planners and wealth strategist.
How can you help me, and what sets Guerra apart from other advisory firms?
Whenever we're meeting with a family, one of our biggest priorities is to focus on the personal lives of the people that we're in front of. Most financial planners and wealth advisors, they normally only pay attention to money. However, at Guerra Financial, we take a very different approach.
Our priority is not just to focus on money, but instead on the subjects that really matter in life, like our family, our freedom, our health, our hobbies, and most importantly, our faith. We've come to the realization that for us to be able to accomplish our personal goals in life, our finances have to align with our personal mission as well.
Here at Guerra Financial, we focus on five key areas... Number one, retirement planning. We've seen that most of our clients that are still working, and they want to get to the point that work becomes an option and it's not an obligation. But for this to occur, there needs to be a clearly built financial plan so that you don't run out of money just a few years after you retire.
The second is how do we maximize the investing performance of our accounts as most individuals are drastically underperforming and their money is not working as hard as it should be. The third area that we focus on is tax reduction strategies. Most accountants tell their clients how much money they owe to the IRS, but they're not creating proactive plans to help reduce the future expenses to the IRS. This is why we focus on tax strategy!
The fourth is something called asset protection planning. Over the years, we've seen that the wealthiest individuals in the world don't only focus on growing their wealth, but they also focus on how to protect it against all potential risks and liabilities. This is why our firm has focused on building asset protection strategies for the families that we serve to protect against these types of risks.
And the fifth area that we focus on is something called legacy and estate planning. Most individuals will work from anywhere between 30, 40, maybe even 50 years. But there will come a point in time in our life where we're not going to be here. And the question is, how would I make sure that all of my assets are distributed according to my wishes? And not only that, but I want to make sure that the government will not step in there and make these decisions for my family.
As an independent wealth management firm, you can count on the fact that we will always give you recommendations that are in your best interest. We've seen that most of our clients have come from an environment that they have worked with a financial advisor that is called a captive advisor, and their responsibilities, many times, are to the companies that they represent and not to the actual client.... This is why we strongly encourage the families that we meet to always engage with something called a fiduciary firm!
What services do you offer, and what is your process?
In this video, our wealth strategist Jimmy answers the Frequently Asked Question: "What services do you offer and what is your process?" As a fractional family office, we exist to help manage the entire financial lives of the families that we serve, with the goal in mind to make work an option and not an obligation. We do this through creating customized financial strategies that really transform the way families retire!
We have a five phase process that allows all of the families we meet to go through to ensure that their financial lives are in fact perfectly prepared the way they need to be for them. These five phases include retirement income planning, investment management, tax minimization, asset protection, planning and estate planning.
Whether you have one or a few of those already created and set up, our fiduciary team does an audit in each phase to give you the peace of mind that you are exactly set up the way that you need to be.
What types of families do you work with, and do you have any minimums?
We work with people who are looking for guidance on financial changes and goals in their life. We have clients who are 20 years old and who are 85 years old, but our typical client is 55+ and approaching or already in retirement.
These families or individuals tend to have concerns like taxes, asset protection, estate planning and retirement planning. The families we work with have an income of 75,000 and above and maintain an emergency fund with savings of 25,000 or higher.
Even if you do not fit this description or if this is not the right time for you, maybe you are close to it! If your situation changes, we will always be available to help you structure your financial future in a way that makes sense to you.
Who will be my advisor and how often can we meet?
At Guerra Financial, we take pride in having a full-team, comprehensive approach, meaning that you don't have one single advisor. We have a full team whose job is to help you create a customized financial plan to your situation, rather than having one single advisor to help you get to the point that working becomes an option, not an obligation.
How often can you meet with your financial advisor? Typically, we recommend our clients to meet on a quarterly basis to make sure that your financial plan is going according to the way that we created it. But things could happen to your your financial life or your personal life that might need your plan to be adjusted.
We are here to help you. And whenever you need us, we are here!
Who’s a part of your team and how can I contact them?
Guerra Financial Group is a growing team of over 30 team members. We are organized in four different departments and communication is key in our firm.
Our departments can be contacted via a regular phone call, text message or email. You also have access to our website.
The first department that builds a relationship between you and us is our marketing department. Our Marketing department is responsible for all of the ongoing events that we have throughout the year and as well all of our learning classes. If you're ever interested in being part of any of these events, such as a dinner seminar, a special event for yourself or your friends of your loved ones, or attending one of our social gatherings, make sure that you contact our Marketing department, but you will also be receiving invitations from them directly via text message. The next step in this relationship is going to be with our New Relations team. This team is in charge of creating the first and second appointment directly with the advisor. These are really important visits and where the advisor and you can build that chemistry.
Going on, we have our New Business team. Our New Business team is responsible for the setting up and funding of any new accounts. This department will be in charge of anything that has to do with rollovers, technical questions, assisting the advisor and yourself with the strategies of your new accounts.
And then on, we have our Client Service team, also known as the Wealth Management team. This department is responsible for the ongoing relationship between you and the advisor, especially in providing you direct communication with our office and also any financial industry that applies to your portfolio, such as Fidelity, TD Ameritrade or again, any other accounts that we may be managing under our umbrella.
As I mentioned, communication is key - and we look forward to serving you!
How is the transfer of my funds handled, and will I need to sell my current investments?
FINANCIAL PLANNING FAQ You have questions,
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What makes Guerra Wealth Advisors different from other advisory firms? Find the answer to this and other common questions about our firm, services and team.