The Difference is Straightforward
Straightforward’s mission is to present a viable alternative to traditional money management. Traditional financial advisors fail to serve the vast majority of real people who need guidance on what to do with their money. Most impose cost-prohibitive barriers to entry. Even when clients can afford their services, they are charged on a recurring-fee basis every single day, eroding their wealth the longer they stay with the advisor. On the other hand, lower cost robo-advisors do not provide personalized education to enable people to make their own well-informed decisions. Straightforward thinks these models are simply wrong. Straightforward exists to provide real-world, practical financial education to meet each person’s unique situation. Empowering real people to take control of their finances and build their own wealth reliably and independently is our only goal.
How is Straightforward Different?
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Many financial planners, advisors, and investment advisers say that they are different, but the truth is their business models are the same. Their mission is to get control of as many of your assets as possible so that they can charge recurring fees and take a portion of your assets every day. Whether they charge it as a percentage of Assets Under Management (AUM) or a recurring flat fee, the mission is the same. Collect as many of your assets as possible so that they can skim off the top every day, month, and year.
For example, if the fee is 1% AUM (the traditional model), you will pay $1,000 every year on every $100,000 of assets you have. Over your investment lifetime, say 30 years, a 1% AUM fee will reduce your total ending wealth by roughly 30%.
Another common example, flat-fee advisers will instead charge a flat fee of $2,000 to $10,000+ every year. Whatever credit is due to them for additional transparency is eaten into by the exorbitant cost. Over a reasonable investment lifetime, again say 30 years, you will have paid roughly $100,000 to your advisor, and the wealth destroying effects are even worse. Every dollar spent on fees each year is a dollar that does not benefit from the compounding effects of staying invested and earning returns on your money. The magic of compounding returns is destroyed by the impact of compounding costs.
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Straightforward flips the model of advisor co-dependency on its head. Straightforward empowers you to learn everything you need to know to build wealth and manage your own money confidently and responsibly for an entirely transparent (and relatively affordable) one-time fee. Straightforward’s expertise spans the subjects of asset allocation, lifecycle investment strategies, financial history, investor psychology and behavior, taxation, the mutual-fund and hedge-fund industry, and real estate, as well as the practical mechanics of opening investment accounts and placing trades. Straightforward offers guidance on all of these subjects with no gatekeeping or continued dependence on an advisor or coach. Just everything you need to know about finance in a context that meets your situation for a reasonable, entirely transparent fee.
Meet the Founder
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Ross is an attorney and former investment adviser determined to empower everyone to take control of their own finances. When Ross became a father, he felt the constant stress and unease of not knowing what to do next financially. He threw himself into studying everything about personal finance and the history and operations of financial markets, until he learned everything he could to purchase a home for his family and invest for their future. When friends, family, and even strangers started to ask him for financial advice, he saw the overwhelming need for straightforward financial advice, and studied further to become a licensed investment adviser. After operating the investment-advisory firm, Straightforward Financial Advice, LLC, Ross decided that investment advice alone did not address the overarching need for financial-literacy education. He turned his focus to more comprehensive financial education, and he now operates Straightforward Finance, LLC, as a comprehensive educational and consultancy resource for people and businesses everywhere.
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