Greenspring Wealth Management is a fee-only financial planning and private money management firm located in Towson, Maryland. Our firm specializes in Wealth Accumulation and Wealth Preservation strategies for clients who are in various stages of life. Typical clients include business owners, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, retirees, individuals and families who are charitably inclined and families of children with special needs.

As a fiduciary, we assist wealthy individuals, families and businesses with the management of their personal and corporate finances. Some clients who have other professionals (i.e. CPA, Attorney, Insurance Broker, etc.) rely upon us to provide advice and implementation services beyond what their current advisors are able to deliver.

We provide advice about investments, personal cash flow, balance sheet management, insurance, tax planning, transferring wealth to family members, estate planning, and charitable giving. Our clients rely upon us to oversee all of the important details of their personal finances.

2. Do we have criteria for minimum net worth or income?

No. Greenspring Wealth Management has not established any minimum criteria for client net worth or income. However, we have established minimum fees for our services. Currently we provide three types of services: Financial Planning, comprehensive Wealth Management Services and Independent Fiduciary Services.

The minimum fee for Financial Planning is $2,000.

The minimum quarterly fee for comprehensive Wealth Management Services is $1,250 (billed quarterly in advance).

The minimum quarterly fee for Independent Fiduciary Services is $2,500 (billed quarterly in advance).

Minimum fees for comprehensive Wealth Management Services are billed according our fee schedule.

You can find out more about our fees, here.

3. What does "fee-only" mean and how are you compensated?

Our only sources of compensation are the fees paid to us by our clients. This is what "fee-only" means. We have structured our practice this way to minimize conflicts of interest between ourselves and our clients.

There are about 800,000 financial planners in the US, of which fewer than 1,350 are "fee-only" planners. "Fee-only" planners are different from "fee-based" planners. A "fee-based" planner is not necessarily a fiduciary and sells products, receives commissions, and charges fees. A "fee-only" planner is a fiduciary and does not accept commissions.

4. How does the Greenspring Wealth Management team work with clients?

Greenspring Wealth Management utilizes a team-based approach to working with our clients. Each client is assigned a Relationship Manager (RM) who is the primary point of contact with the firm. Other members of the firm will participate in developing and implementing the services and strategies necessary to deliver the appropriate solutions for the client.

The RM is responsible for managing the client relationship, facilitating the internal firm resources to be used on behalf of the client, and coordinating the implementation of strategies with outside advisors (with either the client’s advisors or advisors recommended by Greenspring Wealth Management).

5. Does Greenspring Wealth Management have any affiliation with a product sales organization?

No. We have no affiliation with any product sales organization. We do not receive any commission income. Members of our firm are not licensed to participate in product sales.

6. Does Greenspring Wealth Management have any affiliation with a Broker-Dealer?

No. We are an independent investment advisory firm. We select broker-dealers based upon the range of services offered and the cost of those services. We do not receive any compensation from broker-dealers. Many of our clients use Fidelity as their primary custodian.

7. Are we registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as Registered Investment Advisors?

Yes. Greenspring Wealth Management, Inc. is a registered investment adviser with the SEC.

Some financial planning firms advertise that they are "Registered Investment Advisors," as if this were a professional designation. It is not. All financial planning firms are required to register with the SEC or a state regulatory agency and to comply with the Investment Advisor regulations.

8. What value does Greenspring Wealth Management add to my situation if I already have a tax advisor, attorney, insurance broker, banker, etc.?

We strive to complement, not replace, your other advisors. There are some key differences between us and your other advisors:

We focus on your objectives and on developing comprehensive financial strategies, rather than on a particular problem or transaction.
We are trained to deal with the complex interactions among financial planning issues. For example, a decision to refinance personal or business debt might affect your tax situation, estate plan, cash flow, investment situation, and life and disability insurance requirements. Your other advisors may not be trained to deal with these complex interactions.

We typically try to coordinate strategies with the other members of your team so that everyone is on the same page and working together for your benefit. While it is usually in your best interest for collaboration to occur, we will only communicate with your other advisors with your prior permission.

9. How do we work with other professionals?

How we work with your other advisors will depend upon your situation and the technical strength of your advisory team. We strive to complement, not replace, your other advisors. Sometimes our clients ask us to help them select a new attorney, CPA, banker, or insurance agent. We are glad to provide this type of assistance. However, in many instances our clients want us to work with existing members of their advisory team.

During the planning process, we may ask to contact your other advisors. In some situations where the planning issues are complex, one or more meetings may be necessary. Financial planning seeks to integrate areas such as accounting, tax planning, law, investments and insurance. Sometimes the best way to deal with a complex issue is to get all of the advisors who deal with any aspect of the issue into a room to develop recommendations and coordinate their efforts.

In all cases, our objective is to help you to get more value out of your relationships with your other advisors.

10. How do we implement our recommendations?

After you have reviewed and approved our recommendations, we normally work directly with your attorney, CPA, and/or insurance agent to implement the recommendations. We will have frequent meetings and telephone conferences with you to report progress and to receive your instructions.

11. How often do we meet with our clients?

We meet with most clients on a annual basis. However, we are typically in very frequent email and telephone contact with our clients. Clients are encouraged to involve us in any issue that might affect their personal finances and where they feel we can add insight.

12. Do we give investment advice?

Yes. We give advice about how your investment assets should be allocated. We also give specific advice about mutual funds, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and alternative investments. However, we typically do not provide advice about individual stocks.

We provide strategic investment advice in the form of an Investment Policy Statement (IPS), which sets forth asset allocation guidelines, rebalancing procedures, security selection, rate of return targets, risk tolerance and client goals. All investment decisions are made according to guidelines set forth in the IPS rather than by gut feelings or emotion.

We prepare an Investment Policy Statement for each client who hires us to manage their assets.

13. Do we offer professional management of assets?

Yes. We manage portfolios of index mutual funds, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), bonds, alternative investments and cash on a discretionary basis.

The majority of our client portfolios are constructed using index mutual funds available through our partnership with Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA). DFA funds are only available to institutions and select non-commission-based, fee-only investment advisors like Greenspring Wealth Management. DFA funds are not available through brokers or directly to individual investors. We believe our access to DFA provides a unique competitive advantage for our firm and our clients.

14. What is a "Fiduciary "?

Only certain financial professionals, such as CPAs and Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), are subject to a fiduciary standard. By law, a Fiduciary will act solely in the best interest of the client. They must fully disclose any conflict, or potential conflict, to the client prior to and throughout a business engagement. Fiduciaries will also adopt a Code of Ethics and will fully disclose how they are compensated.

Brokers, Registered Representatives, and Insurance Agents are typically not held to a Fiduciary Standard.

The National Assocation of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), of which Greenspring Wealth Management is a member, defines a fiduciary as "a financial advisor held to a Fiduciary Standard occupies a position of special trust and confidence when working with a client. As a Fiduciary, the financial advisor is required to act with undivided loyalty to the client. This includes disclosure of how the financial advisor is to be compensated and any corresponding conflicts of interest."

You must be careful to read and understand the disclaimers on marketing and advertising materials offered by a professional. Recent regulations put forth by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) now require brokers and other professionals who are not considered fiduciaries to add the following disclosure:

“Your account is a brokerage account and not an advisory account. Our interests may not always be the same as yours. Please ask us questions to make sure you understand your rights and our obligations to you, including the extent of our obligations to disclose conflicts of interest and to act in your best interest. We are paid both by you and, sometimes, by people who compensate us based on what you buy. Therefore, our profits, and our salespersons’ compensation, may vary by product and over time.”

If this disclaimer appears, you should ask questions, obtain complete disclosure, and determine if the relationship with the financial professional is in your best interests.

Always make sure you are working someone who has fiduciary responsibility in all aspects of their relationship with you and who has your best interests in mind. You can use this Fiduciary Questionnaire or this Fiduciary Checklist to make sure.

15. Does Greenspring Wealth Management serve as a Fiduciary for its clients?

Yes, Greenspring Wealth Management serves as a Fiduciary in all aspects of the relationship with our clients.

Members of Greenspring Wealth Management adhere to the NAPFA Fiduciary Oath:

We shall act in good faith and in the best interests of the client at all times.
We shall provide written disclosure to the client of any conflicts of interest that may compromise our impartiality or independence.
We shall not accept any compensation that is contingent upon the purchase of a financial product.
We shall not accept compensation from any other party.

16. Does Greenspring Wealth Management receive any compensation in the form of "soft dollar" payments or any similar arrangement?

No. "Soft dollar" is a term used to refer to an arrangement whereby Firm A agrees to pay certain expenses of Firm B in exchange for business that Firm A does through Firm B. Greenspring Wealth Management does not participate in any such arrangements.

17. Do we give tax advice?

Yes, but only in those areas which are directly related to financial planning. For example, we frequently advise clients about the tax consequences of investment decisions, employee stock option plans, and other tax planning strategies that relate to our clients individual situations.

However, we are not in the business of providing tax advice as a stand-alone service. We leave this to our clients' CPAs who are the experts in this area.

18. Do we prepare tax returns?

No. We prefer to focus on tax planning rather than tax preparation. We will work closely with your CPA to ensure that both of these important areas are coordinated.

19. Does Greenspring Wealth Management provide client references?

Yes, references are available upon request. We can also provide professional references. Some professionals have worked on several engagements with us, so they know our work well.

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