Our Process
OUR DIFFERENCE IS OUR PROCESS
Whether you were referred to us by one of our current clients or you only heard of Walkner Condon because you searched ‘financial advisor madison wi’ on Google, we want you to better understand the process of becoming a client. This process can look different – and take different amounts of time – for everyone, but this is the general timeline the process follows.
1
INITIAL FIT MEETING
Through this hour-long meeting with one of our advisors, we’ll have a greater understanding of your financial picture and what you’re hoping to accomplish in a relationship with a financial advisor. We’ll explain our approach, our role as fiduciaries, our fee-only status, and more. We’ll also carve out time for you to ask any questions pertaining to working with us, with the ultimate goal of establishing whether we’re a fit for your needs.
2
DATA GATHERING
After establishing that there’s a fit on both ends, we’ll begin our data-gathering process. While the initial fit meeting may surface some components of your financial situation, this step in the process will paint a more complete picture. All of our data gathering and file sharing is done securely through our ShareFile platform.
3
SECOND MEETING: FRAMING THE PLAN
With an array of data in hand, we’ll use our second meeting to build off what we’ve covered so far and lay the groundwork for your financial plan. This is the meeting where we can dive further into the specifics of your situation: the goals, questions, and concerns you have for your financial future.
4
OPTIONAL: ADDITIONAL MEETING
While you may be jumping at the bit to move forward at this point, we also understand you might be interviewing other advisors or needing to solidify your footing before proceeding. We encourage you to schedule an additional meeting if you have further questions.
5
SIGN-UP & ONBOARDING
Once you’re ready to proceed, we’ll begin the onboarding process. You’ll sign paperwork (most of which can be done digitally through DocuSign), take a questionnaire to establish your risk score, and begin account transfers. Our client service team will be there through this process to ensure everything moves efficiently.
6
45-DAY REVIEW MEETING
After you’ve moved through the onboarding process, we’ll meet with you again at roughly the 45-day mark. It’s not simply a set-it-and-forget-it mindset after your accounts have transferred. We’ll go over the initial takeaways, hear any questions or concerns you may have, and cover any outstanding to-dos.
The Walkner Condon Investment Experience
Walkner Condon Financial Advisors provide custom investment solutions for our clients. We will help you identify what portfolio series best fit your financial objectives and risk tolerance. While many advisors are inflexible with inherent biases towards passive or active management, we believe strongly in offering choice in investment strategy. We also offer portfolios that seek to align investment objectives with client values.
We believe that the bulk of client’s portfolios should be invested in a globally diversified manner and that clients benefit from a “buy and hold” approach rather than one that attempts to time the markets.
We seek to utilize funds that are low in cost relative to their peers and categories and are generally tax efficient, though there are times where we may consider funds that are higher in cost or turnover if we determine it makes sense from an allocation standpoint.
We offer our clients choice in their asset management strategy and are not absolute in our views in the debate between active and passive management.
We Are Fiduciaries.
We are a fee-only financial planning firm driven by the fiduciary standard of care under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. By being fiduciaries for all of our clients and their transactions we are required by law to put our client interests before ours. It is our belief that this should be the gold standard for all financial advisors, not the exception.
We Are Independent.
We are an independent financial planning firm. This simply means that there isn’t an overarching company or management structure influencing our decisions or recommendations. Therefore, our clients have confidence that our advice is centered around their needs, wants, and wishes. By keeping the day-to-day operations in-house, we are able to conform to our clients’ needs, not the other way around.