Client Benefits
Dentist Advisors is a premiere wealth management firm for dentists and specialists. Put our experience to work for you. As a client, you’ll receive customized portfolio management, retirement progress tracking, and ongoing coaching from a CFP® professional who understands dentistry.
1.5% AUM
or lower
(fee minimums apply)
Click to speak with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional about your individual situation.
Book Free Consultation
Work with a dedicated CFP® professional who specializes in financial planning and investment management for dentists.
Unrestricted access to a financial advisor who knows your situation and can hold you accountable. Call, text, or meet anytime to evaluate your progress and discuss important financial decisions. Our advisors are CFP® professionals who know dentistry and are vetted to the highest standards.
Private Wealth Management Features
CFP®, fiduciary advisor (fee-only, no commission)
CFP®, fiduciary advisor (fee-only, no commission)
We are never paid commission for selling financial products. This means your advisor is free to explore the entire marketplace and focus on exactly what you need. We'll build on what you have, using some of your existing solutions and then recommending improvements. You’ll have confidence knowing that our compensation only comes from you, our client.
Our compensation structure also allows us to provide advice you wouldn’t typically receive from other financial advisors. Whether you want to purchase a piece of real estate, restructure your estate plan, save for kids’ college, or analyze an associate agreement, your advisor is here to help you get organized, analyze options, and implement the right solutions.
10 Questions You Should Ask Before Hiring a Financial Advisor
Don’t Get Financial Advice From a Salesman
Dental-specific financial strategy
Dental-specific financial strategy
In our experience, most financial advisors try to take generic solutions intended for the broad population and make them work for dentists. We see this happen with retirement plan design, lending, insurance, investments, budgeting, and other critical financial planning decisions. Whether you're an associate, a practice owner, or a large enterprise, we've built a planning process that is customized to the challenges and goals you have for your career.
Our advisors have access to financial statistics for hundreds of dentists, and they often know what course of action has been most successful for someone in your situation. Instead of paying a generalist advisor to learn the nuances of your profession, you’ll benefit from the experience we’ve gained over the years as dental-specific advisors.
Understanding the growth and trajectory of your practice is critical for an investment advisor. Sometimes it makes sense to invest in equipment, expansion, or an associate. Other times it makes sense to save for retirement or pay down debt. Making investments in the right place at the right time requires visibility into all the moving parts of your personal and practice finances.
Because all of our advisors are dental-specific, we can leverage our collective experience to make more insightful recommendations. Our advisors meet often to discuss cases, changes, and new trends. As dentistry evolves, so do our advisors and their intellectual capital.
Are You Solving the Whole Thing?
What Losing 30 lbs Reminded Me About Financial Planning
By Reese Harper, CFP® , CEO of Dentist Advisors
The Biggest Reason Dentists Get Bad Financial Advice – Episode 81
Investment manager (CFA® charterholder)
Investment manager (CFA® charterholder)
Achieve better results with a personalized, diversified, and long term approach to investingIt might surprise you that Vanguard estimates for some people, using the right kind of advisor can add 3% in net returns each year; much more than a typical financial advisor may charge to help you. Read Vanguard's full report here to see how a combination of behavioral coaching, asset location, proper rebalancing, trading, and withdrawals can substantially alter your performance over time. Unfortunately, it's not as easy as just buying cheap index funds and putting things on autopilot.
At Dentist Advisors, once your dashboard is built, and we have a complete and accurate view of your entire financial picture, we'll make adjustments to your current strategy, or put your strategy in motion for the first time. We'll build on what you already have—especially if it's already well positioned. We'll be cautious as we analyze the tax impact of any changes, and start to position your portfolio with cost-effective investments and a highly disciplined approach that captures value across countries, companies, currencies, and real estate. Your tax rate, liquidity, cash flow, personality profile, time frames, and risk tolerance will all be factored into your investment strategy. As markets go through ups and downs, we’ll be your voice of reason to help you navigate adjustments and stay consistent when it's difficult to do so.
Where Vanguard Really Stands on Using an Advisor – Episode 174
Retirement plan optimization
Retirement plan optimization
Choose, monitor, and adjust your retirement plan to maximize tax benefitsA retirement plan is one of the most proactive ways to reduce and defer taxes, and to attract the best employees. This could mean a SIMPLE IRA, Safe Harbor 401(k), profit sharing plan, cash balance plans or other pension plan designs. It's important to get advice from someone who is not incentivized to sell you a retirement plan. In many cases, the timing and type of plan you establish will either accelerate your growth or hold you back. We will provide an independent voice of reason to help you understand all the options available in the marketplace—not just the ones available through a single provider.
As technology and service models change, the best-of-class retirement plans also change. We can work with your existing provider to enhance the investment selection and design of your existing plan, or we can recommend a more optimal solution with a new servicing partner that might be a better fit for your situation. The optimal design is often different for each practice. Every year, we'll collect a new practice staff census and analyze your retirement plan to see if we can increase your tax deductions. This is particularly important as your collections and personal income reach new levels and higher tax brackets.
Everything You Need to Know About Retirement Plans – Episode 53
Why a Cheap 401(k) Provider Will Eventually Cost You More – Episode 130
Accounts dashboard and document storage
Accounts dashboard and document storage
Organize all your personal and practice finances in one placeYou and your advisor will collaborate using real-time information from your personal dashboard. You’ll be able to view all your account activity, assets, and debts in one place. The dashboard gathers data from your various financial institutions in real time, which means you can see your net worth on demand. Instead of relying on hunches and assumptions, you and your advisor can make decisions much faster, and with greater precision. Whether you're deciding to pay cash or finance a new purchase, or looking to invest in real estate, you and your advisor can decide how to facilitate the right strategy faster than ever before.
Insurance evaluations and policy selection
Insurance evaluations and policy selection
Protect your family with cost effective insurance policies and the right amount of coverageWithin your initial financial plan, you’ll see a thorough analysis of your existing insurance policies and our recommendations for improvement. We’ll take a look at your life insurance, personal and practice disability, business overhead disability, buy-sell, key person, personal liability, and business liability. Each of these policies will be reviewed on an annual schedule so we can make adjustments as your spending and net worth change.
How Much Insurance Does a Dentist Need? – Episode 100
Collaboration with your other service professionals
Collaboration with your other service professionals
Save time by authorizing Dentist Advisors to gather data directly from your CPA, attorney, office manager, payroll provider, and other contactsUsing a limited power of attorney, we will establish lines of communication with each of your professional contacts to request data and documents on a regular basis. In essence, we’ll be the quarterback of your service provider team and make sure your financial playbook includes the most up-to-date information from all the right sources. This allows us to complete much of our analysis behind the scenes without disrupting your busy schedule.
9 People Dentists Need to Know – Episode 26
Dentist Money: Why Your Practice is Like a Pencil – Episode 5
Cash flow & debt management
Cash flow & debt management
Understand how much of your cash is going toward debt, taxes, personal spending, and savings. Then work with your advisor to make sure your cash flow is allocated properly to each category.Upfront, and as part of our ongoing Private Wealth Management service, we’ll help you answer the question: “Where is all my money going?” Then we’ll look for opportunities to reduce taxes (often in coordination with your CPA), keep your personal spending in check, and strike the right balance between paying down debt and saving for the future.
We will also analyze your loans and provide recommendations to secure the best financing options, preserve enough cash, and build your net worth. Our network of lenders who specialize in dentistry often gives us access to creative and responsible solutions to grow your net worth as quickly as possible. As your net worth increases, and you build personal liquidity, you can also begin to borrow against your own liquid assets, often at very competitive rates which may allow your net worth to compound even faster.
This is Why Dentists Spend Too Much Money – Episode 95
Is There a Right Way for a Dentist to Approach Debt?
Quarterly net worth reports
Quarterly net worth reports
Know your wealth is growing fast enough to fulfill your long term goalsAlong with a real time net worth summary, which you can always view on your dashboard, we will deliver quarterly net worth progress reports to show a historical view of your progress. The report includes a detailed breakdown of your assets and debts so it’s clear which factors are contributing to growth (or decline).
How Fast Should Your Net Worth Grow? – Episode 151
There’s Only One Number You Need to Predict Your Retirement
Estate planning coordination
Estate planning coordination
Protect your family with updated wills, trusts, and proper documentation of all your assetsEstate planning is the management of your affairs upon your death. As the party who has access to a comprehensive picture of your financial details, we are in a unique position to help your attorney develop and update your estate plan as changes to your financial life require it. When you have children, obtain new real estate assets, apply for additional loans, or reach new levels of liquidity and net worth, you’ll need to make adjustments to your existing estate plan. This might be as simple as a will or trust, but may be as complex as an asset protection trust, or even a Charitable trust. In most cases, you'll need to establish a basic estate plan early in your career, and then enhance that plan as your wealth increases—which is always a combination of good insurance planning and timely additions of new trusts and business entities to your financial profile.
Due to the state-specific nature of many legal issues, it's important to hire a trustworthy general counsel attorney who is familiar with your state laws, but it's also important to have an estate planning specialist who is familiar with this area of law. We'll help work with your existing attorney, or help you decide on a new team that will best meet your needs. We will make sure that the ownership and titling on all of your investment accounts and insurance policies are in line with your existing estate plan. As your assets continue to grow, we will also recommend at specific times for you to have asset protection conversations with your attorney that may not have been relevant when your income and net worth were at lower levels.
3 Misconceptions About Estate Planning – Episode 63
Your Estate Planning Wake-Up Call – Episode 191
Private Wealth Management Fee Schedule
Private Wealth Management fees are based on complexity and your investment balance. Fees include a one-time implementation fee, a monthly fee, and an AUM fee.
As your investment balance grows, monthly fees are discounted and AUM fees drop.
Associate & Basic Owner
Associates and small,
early-career practice owners
Investment fee +
$0-295 / Month
To estimate your annual fee, input your anticipated investment balance
AUM @ 1.5% ()
Monthly fee @ ()
Annual fee (est.):
Practice Owner
Established owners of
single-location practices
Investment fee +
$0-495 / Month
To estimate your annual fee, input your anticipated investment balance
AUM @ 1.5% ()
Monthly fee @ ()
Annual fee (est.):
Advanced Owner
Large or multi-location
practice owners
Investment Fee +
$0-795 / Month
To estimate your annual fee, input your anticipated investment balance
AUM @ 1.5% ()
Monthly fee @ ()
Annual fee (est.):
WATCH TO LEARN
How we approach financial planning
Why Our Advisors Are Different
The Keys to Better Investment Performance
How Dentist Advisors Delivers Comprehensive Planning
Advanced Investment Management Features
for Private Wealth Clients
Private Wealth Clients receive additional benefits for a customized investment management experience:
Daily CFA® professional oversight
Daily CFA® professional oversight
Daily trading, managed and monitored by our onsite CFA® professional, means that every dollar you invest is put to immediate use. Because we trade on a daily basis, we can react quickly to the moving parts in your portfolio and keep more of your cash invested.
Tax-efficient Rebalancing is how we maintain the right ratio of stocks and bonds in your portfolio while minimizing the tax hit. Because performance of stocks and bonds fluctuates, we can use new deposits to keep your portfolio focused on the optimal outcome. This differs from “static” rebalancing where existing holdings are sold, which can create a tax liability.
Strategic withdrawals means we’re thoughtful about the tax implications when you need to cash out an investment. We’re able to maintain the proper mix of stocks and bonds in your portfolio while minimizing the tax impact when you request a withdrawal from your account.
Tax-efficient rebalancing
Tax-efficient rebalancing
Many investment firms try to minimize taxes, but personalized tax management can be challenging if your advisor does not have complete visibility into your overall net worth and cash flow. Your taxable investment accounts (like a brokerage account where you hold mutual funds or ETFs) will incur gains over time as your investments appreciate in value. Those gains are known as short term gains (appreciated investments that you’ve owned for less than a year) and long-term gains (investments you’ve owned for more than a year).
As we make adjustments or changes to your account, we review any trades that might cause a taxable event, and assess other opportunities to improve your account performance without incurring the impact of capital gains taxes. As an example, we could make customized trades with new cash flow to rebalance your account without selling off appreciated stock, or make in-kind donations from your account instead of using cash for charitable donations. In some cases, it could make sense to sell off securities that are currently lower than when you purchased them, incurring a loss. By replacing them at the same time with a security with similar upside potential, we can maintain diversification without trying to time the overall market. No matter how we proceed, your advisor will review any significant taxable event to ensure that changes to your accounts are always thoughtfully implemented.
Retirement Plan Implementation
Retirement Plan Implementation
Choose, monitor, and adjust your retirement plan to maximize tax benefitsA retirement plan is one of the most proactive ways to reduce and defer taxes, and to attract the best employees. This could mean a SIMPLE IRA, Safe Harbor 401(k), profit sharing plan, cash balance plans or other pension plan designs. It’s important to get advice from someone who is not incentivized to sell you a retirement plan. In many cases, the timing and type of plan you establish will either accelerate your growth or hold you back. We will provide an independent voice of reason to help you understand all the options available in the marketplace—not just the ones available through a single provider.
As technology and service models change, the best-of-class retirement plans also change. We can work with your existing provider to enhance the investment selection and design of your existing plan, or we can recommend a more optimal solution with a new servicing partner that might be a better fit for your situation. The optimal design is often different for each practice. Every year, we’ll collect a new practice staff census and analyze your retirement plan to see if we can increase your tax deductions. This is particularly important as your collections and personal income reach new levels and higher tax brackets.
Everything You Need to Know About Retirement Plans – Episode 53
Why a Cheap 401(k) Provider Will Eventually Cost You More – Episode 130
Borrow Against Investment Accounts
Borrow Against Investment Accounts
As your net worth and liquidity increase, you can borrow against your own investment accounts. As your accounts grow, margin lending can be done at very attractive interest rates which may allow you to pay off loans with less favorable interest rates, like practice debt or student loans, without having to liquidate any of your investments or stop them from compounding. The margin loan can be paid off with your regularly scheduled contributions while your investments continue to grow. This strategy is advanced and requires very detailed communication with your advisor, but for some dentists it can be a very powerful way to eliminate debt and avoid unnecessary capital gains taxes on investment accounts.
Why Borrowing Against Life Insurance is Not a Secret Sauce
By Reese Harper, CFP® , CEO of Dentist Advisors
Tax-Advantaged Charitable Planning
Tax-Advantaged Charitable Planning
When making charitable donations, many of our clients make in-kind donations. By taking highly appreciated stocks, ETFs or mutual funds and donating them directly to the 501(c)(3) of your choice, you can reduce the capital gains you would eventually pay during retirement. Instead of paying charitable contributions with cash, you can work with your advisor to strategically review your account for opportunities to donate your shares. Ultimately this can increase the effective return inside of your portfolio, as long as you replenish securities with the same amount of cash you would have paid to the charity.
Custom portfolio construction
Custom portfolio construction
Passive, Active, Private, and PublicAs an independent registered investment advisor, we aren’t limited to the investment styles, products, or companies we recommend. Although we have preferred partners that fit many of our investment philosophies (low-cost, broad diversification, and factor-based investing), we have clients with unique preferences or circumstances whom we accommodate alongside our core philosophy. As your income and wealth increase, you’ll likely unlock more investment preferences and interests. We believe that a low-cost portfolio of Dimensional, Vanguard, SPDR, or iShares mutual funds or ETFs, serves as an essential core to your overall asset mix, and for some people that may be all they ever choose to own. But if your final retirement portfolio contains a much more diverse set of investments, including real estate, individual securities, bond ladders, private placements or even an investment in your family burger franchise, you can count on our guidance to help make sure it all comes together within the context of a balanced, liquid and diverse strategy.
Where Vanguard Really Stands on Using an Advisor – Episode 174
Ask These Questions Before Investing in a Startup – Episode 99
Why Stock Market Curve Balls Are Getting Easier to Hit – Episode 184
Access to private investments
Access to private investments
We’ll help you understand when the timing is right for you to explore private investments as part of your financial strategy, and give you access to an array of alternative investments—such as private equity, real estate, and venture capital—that fit your unique timelines, needs, and goals. And if you have an investment opportunity you want us to review, we can help you with that too.
Did you know?
Vanguard research shows an advisor can add:
- 1% to 2% in net investment return with behavioral coaching
- 0.75% in net return by selecting the right account types
VIEW A SAMPLE
Quarterly Net Worth Progress Report
In addition to a dashboard with real time updates for your accounts and net worth, as a Private Wealth Client, you’ll receive a quarterly net worth report to show how your wealth is growing over time. The report includes a detailed breakdown of your assets and debts, and provides a valuable “moment of truth” to understand which factors are contributing to growth (or decline).
SEE HOW WE USE
Elements Financial Planning System™
The Elements Financial Planning System™, originally developed by Dentist Advisors, is a proactive treatment plan for your financial health. Our advisors use Elements to monitor your key financial indicators, benchmark your performance against other dentists, and optimize each moving part of your wealth strategy.
Related Resources
A Year in the Life of a Dentist Advisors Client – Episode 282
10 Questions a Dentist Needs to Ask Before Hiring a Financial Advisor
Why Are Some Dentists Hesitant to Hire a Financial Advisor?
By Reese Harper, CFP® , CEO of Dentist Advisors
Associate & Basic Owner
Implementation Fee* — $495
Investment Balance | AUM Fee | Monthly Fee |
---|---|---|
<$500K | 1.5% | $295 |
$500K – $750K | 1.5% | $195 |
$750K – $1M | 1.5% | $95 |
$1M – $2M | 1.0% | $0 |
$2M – $3M | 0.75% | $0 |
$3M+ | 0.5% | $0 |
*New clients pay a one-time implementation fee that includes building an accounts dashboard, organizing documents, preparing a net worth statement, and delivering an initial strategy.
Practice Owner
Implementation Fee* — $1,995
Investment Balance | AUM Fee | Monthly Fee |
---|---|---|
<$500K | 1.5% | $495 |
$500K — $750K | 1.5% | $395 |
$750K – $1M | 1.5% | $295 |
$1M – $1.25M | 1.0% | $195 |
$1.25M – $1.5M | 1.0% | $95 |
$1.5M – $2M | 1.0% | $0 |
$2M – $3M | 0.75% | $0 |
$3M+ | 0.5% | $0 |
*New clients pay a one-time implementation fee that includes building an accounts dashboard, organizing documents, preparing a net worth statement, and delivering an initial strategy.
Advanced Owner
Implementation Fee* — $2,995
Investment Balance | AUM Fee | Monthly Fee |
---|---|---|
<$500K | 1.5% | $795 |
$500K — $750K | 1.5% | $695 |
$750K – $1M | 1.5% | $595 |
$1M – $1.25M | 1.0% | $495 |
$1.25M – $1.5M | 1.0% | $395 |
$1.5M — $1.75M | 1.0% | $295 |
$1.75M – $2M | 1.0% | $195 |
$2M – $2.25M | 0.75% | $95 |
$2.25M – $3M | 0.75% | $0 |
$3M+ | 0.5% | $0 |
*New clients pay a one-time implementation fee that includes building an accounts dashboard, organizing documents, preparing a net worth statement, and delivering an initial strategy.