Frequently Asked Questions

Investing, when done properly, is a long term commitment requiring research and measured analysis. Emotions must be kept level when approaching the investing arena. Many fortunes have been destroyed by decisions made in a moment of fear or an instant of fearlessness. A financial advisor is trained to maneuver with deliberation through the increasingly complex financial markets with their client’s financial plan and well-being in mind.

As a fee-only investment manager, Tobias Financial Advisors is beholden to no one other than our clients. Totally independent from outside sources, our only compensation comes from our clients. “Fee-only” means that we receive no other compensation other than the fee you pay; we do not sell products. This arrangement ensures that our recommendations are made with your best interests at heart!

A Registered Investment Advisor is a firm that is registered with the state in which it does business, or with the Securities Exchange Commission, to provide investment advice. A Registered Investment Advisor is held to a Fiduciary Standard, meaning they are expected to act in the best interest of their client at all times. As fiduciaries, an advisor must employ a policy of full disclosure with their clients to help avoid potential conflicts of interest. As a fee-only investment advisor, Tobias Financial Advisors removes potential conflict by accepting compensation only in the form of client fees.

As a Registered Investment Advisor, we have a fiduciary obligation to act at all times in the best interest of our clients. This is the highest duty of loyalty, trust and care established by law. To learn more, visit our Fiduciary Standard and Best Practices page.

Yes, as a registered investment advisor, we are held to a fiduciary standard. This means we are required to act in the best interest of our clients and to provide advice that is aligned with their goals and circumstances. We also believe that clear communication and transparency are important parts of that relationship, and we encourage clients to ask questions at any point in the process.

Our fees are financial planning and wealth management fees that you pay directly to us. We do not receive any product-based fees, referral fees, or kick back fees of any kind. The fee you pay encompasses the full spectrum of financial planning and investment management services that we provide. You can view our fee structure here. We are happy to walk through our fee structure in detail during an initial conversation so you have a clear understanding before making any decisions.

CFA – Chartered Financial Analyst

CFP® – Certified Financial Planner

CPA – Certified Public Accountant

PFS™ – Personal Financial Specialist

EA – Enrolled Agent

CEPA – Certified Exit Planning Advisor

CTS® – Certified Tax Specialist 

CDS – Certified Divorce Specialist 

FPQP® – Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional 

The CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certification is a professional certification (no federal or state law or regulation requires financial planners to hold CFP® certification) that represents a high level of professional education which requires passing a rigorous examination with 89 financial and legal topics, fulfilling experience and education metrics, and acting in an ethical manner.

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) is a professional credential offered by the CFA Institute to investment and financial professionals. A candidate who successfully completes the program becomes a “CFA charterholder”. To earn the CFA charter, a candidate must pass three six-hour exams and have at least four years of qualified professional investment experience. The CFA exams are widely considered to be extremely difficult and the CFA Institute reports that successful candidates take an average of four years to complete the process.

Personal Financial Specialist (PFS™) is a specialty credential awarded by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) to CPAs who specialize in helping individuals plan all aspects of their wealth. Every three years, PFS professionals must complete 60 hours of continuing professional education. PFS™ applicants study estate planning, retirement planning, investing, insurance, and other areas of personal financial planning. To become a PFS™, candidates must be active members of the AICPA, have at least three years of financial planning experience, meet all the requirements for being a CPA, receive professional recommendations, and pass a comprehensive written exam.

A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is a designation provided to licensed accounting professionals. The CPA license is provided by the Board of Accountancy for each state. A CPA, or Certified Public Accountant, provides a wide variety of financial services to individuals, businesses, organizations, and government agencies. CPAs are not only knowledgeable about tax strategy and investing, but also auditing records and processes, analyzing data, and conducting fraud investigations. To become a CPA, you must pass a rigorous exam, known as the Uniform CPA Exam, hold a bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance, or accounting, and complete 150 hours of education.

An enrolled agent is a person who has earned the privilege of representing taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service by either passing a three-part comprehensive IRS test covering individual and business tax returns, or through experience as a former IRS employee.  Enrolled agent status is the highest credential the IRS awards. Individuals who obtain this elite status must adhere to ethical standards and complete 72 hours of continuing education courses every three years.

Enrolled agents, like attorneys and certified public accountants (CPAs), have unlimited practice rights. This means they are unrestricted as to which taxpayers they can represent, what types of tax matters they can handle, and which IRS offices they can represent clients before.

Tobias Financial Advisors provides an advisory relationship that exudes the “personal” touch. We are a boutique firm that keeps in close touch with our clients. Our financial advisors get to know our clients as individuals and not just “accounts.” This personal interest creates a level of service which we believe cannot be matched by the larger financial companies and banks.

There is no cost and no obligation associated with your first visit. Click here to contact us and set up an appointment.

Tobias Financial Advisors employs a proactive team approach, which means that any of our seasoned financial planning and investment management experts will be meeting with you and will be available to answer your questions and address any of your concerns. You may, of course, develop a relationship with one senior member and we will do our best to keep that consistent throughout.

Yes, we believe that it is important and crucial to financial success for the entire family to be involved. In many cases, our clients have children who are just finishing college or starting out in their careers, and we welcome the opportunity to offer coaching and guidance with the many financial decisions they need to make. This offer may include assistance with employer benefits, budgeting, establishing retirement accounts, tax planning, etc.

Tobias Financial Advisors maintains strict guidelines for the confidentiality of personal client information. Though we are a “paperless” office, what minimal physical records we maintain are kept under secure conditions. We implement several layers of safeguards for both hard and soft copy records including encryption, firewalls, employee and third party confidentiality agreements and the delegation of an in-house Compliance Officer, as well as an independent Compliance Firm.

The primary custodian used by Tobias Financial Advisors is Charles Schwab, a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC); securities in each of your (separate) accounts are protected up to $500,000 per account, including coverage for up to $250,000 in cash. 

In addition to SIPC coverage, Charles Schwab has additional protections that exceeds SIPC limits through an agreement with Lloyd’s of London. Additional Protection is necessary and available only if assets are not fully recovered when SIPC protection limits have been reached. The additional SIPC coverage is a total of $600 million across all Charles Schwab brokerage clients.   

 For more information, go to https://www.sipc.org/ and www.schwab.com/legal/cash-features-disclosure-statement 

Typically not. We employ a mix of passive investments such as Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and actively managed mutual funds to build a broadly diversified portfolio designed to withstand market volatility and meet your financial goals.

Our investment management strategy is an evidenced-based approach. It is scientific in nature and is deeply rooted in academic, Nobel Prize research. We monitor macroeconomic and market data as well as keep abreast of the individual investments selected for your portfolio. As a result, we do not make investment decisions based on predictions, emotions, or hot tips. Having a solid investment management approach is extremely critical to managing your overall financial plan and goals.

We are a financial planning and investment management firm. Tax return preparation is offered as part of our broader, comprehensive planning services for existing wealth management or financial planning clients.

If you’re interested in learning more about our financial planning and investment management services, we’d be happy to connect and discuss your goals to see if there’s a potential fit. If you are strictly seeking a standalone tax preparer, we can also help point you in the right direction.

Tax planning is an important part of the overall financial planning process, especially for clients with more complex situations. For our clients, we do prepare tax returns in-house. This allows us to stay closely connected to their full financial picture and consider how tax implications relate to investment and planning decisions throughout the year. In cases where a client’s situation involves additional complexity, we may also coordinate with the client’s CPA. This helps ensure there is alignment across all aspects of the plan and that everyone involved is working with a consistent understanding of the client’s goals and financial structure.

A CPA plays an important role in preparing and filing taxes, and in many cases, helping you understand your current tax situation. A financial advisor can complement that work by looking at how tax considerations fit into your broader financial plan. For many clients, especially business owners and those with more complex financial situations, there is value in coordinating across investments, tax planning, retirement, and estate considerations. We often work alongside CPAs to help ensure decisions are evaluated in the context of a client’s full financial picture.

As financial complexity grows, so does the need for coordination. For individuals and families with significant assets, planning often extends beyond investment management alone. This can include areas like tax-aware investment decisions, retirement income planning, estate considerations, and aligning financial strategies with personal and family goals. Our role is to help organize these moving parts, provide ongoing guidance, and revisit the plan as circumstances evolve.

This is a common question, especially as financial situations become more complex. One way to evaluate your current relationship is to consider the scope of services being provided. Are discussions focused primarily on investments, or do they also include tax considerations, long-term planning, and coordination with other professionals? You may also want to consider how proactive the relationship is, how often your plan is reviewed, and whether your advisor is helping you think through major decisions as they arise.

Yes, many of our clients are business owners or have built their wealth through closely held businesses. These situations often involve additional layers of complexity, including variable income, tax considerations, and planning for future transitions. We work with clients to help integrate their business and personal financial planning, whether that involves preparing for a potential sale, managing liquidity, or thinking through long-term goals after an exit.

A business sale can create a significant shift, both financially and personally. In many cases, clients are transitioning from an income stream tied to their business to managing a portfolio of assets. We help clients think through how to structure their financial plan after a liquidity event, including how investments, tax considerations, and long-term goals fit together. This process is often ongoing, as priorities and circumstances may change over time.

Our process typically begins with an initial conversation to understand your situation, priorities, and any specific questions you may have. From there, we gather relevant financial information and begin to outline a planning framework tailored to your circumstances. As we move forward, the relationship becomes an ongoing process of reviewing your plan, discussing new developments, and making adjustments as needed. The goal is to provide continuity and thoughtful guidance over time.

The first meeting is primarily a conversation. It is an opportunity for us to learn more about your financial situation, your goals, and any concerns you may have. We also use that time to explain how we work and answer any questions you have about our approach. There is no obligation, and the focus is on determining whether there is a good fit for both sides.

At Tobias Financial Advisors, we use a variety of planning and analytical tools to provide a clear, organized view of your financial picture and explore possible strategies. The platforms below represent some of the key tools we use with clients, alongside additional resources for research, analysis, and ongoing financial planning support. 

MoneyGuidePro is one of our main financial planning platforms, designed to integrate your financial data into a single, comprehensive plan. It connects with our portfolio management system, to provide a more complete picture of your finances. MoneyGuidePro helps us to model a variety of “what-if” scenarios – from retirement timelines to major life events – to illustrate how different choices could affect your plan. These scenarios allow us to have meaningful conversations about trade-offs and priorities, helping you evaluate decisions in the context of your overall goals. See a sample report.

Vanilla is an estate planning software developed by estate planning attorneys and powered by AI. It also integrates with our portfolio management system, allowing us to sync your account data and create a visual representation of your estate. This tool allows us to model different scenarios, such as lifetime gifting or charitable strategies, and see how they could affect the eventual transfer of wealth. The technology enables us to offer a more organized, efficient, and comprehensive approach to estate planning so you can work with your estate planning attorney to implement strategies that align with your wishes. 
See a sample report. 

Holistiplan, founded by CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professionals, is a tax analysis and planning platform we use to review tax returns, identify planning opportunities, and illustrate how different scenarios, such as Roth conversions or changes in income, may affect future taxes. Holistiplan generates detailed reports and allows us to provide a more complex and tax-savvy approach to financial planning.  Additionally, it can also review insurance documents (auto, homeowners, umbrella) to help surface risk-management considerations as part of the broader plan. See a sample tax report and a sample insurance review.

Sample reports disclaimer 
For illustrative purposes only. Names, data, and scenarios shown in sample reports are fictitious and do not represent actual clients. Samples are intended to demonstrate the capabilities of the tools and do not constitute individualized investment, tax, or legal advice. This sample represents only a portion of the full report and is intended to provide an example of the type of analysis this tool can generate. Actual results will vary. Please consult your financial, tax, or legal professional for guidance specific to your situation.