Questions we get asked

We are fee-only. Our compensation is a single annual percentage of the assets we manage for you, billed quarterly, and it is the only money we receive. We sell no products, earn no commissions, and accept no third-party compensation. The schedule runs from 1.25% at the smallest balances down to 0.37%, and it is published in full.

Not in the sense of haggling. Your rate is agreed with us at the outset and written into your agreement, and it may be lower than our published schedule. But it is not a number you have to argue for, and nobody gets a better rate by pushing harder.

No. Consultations, review meetings, and phone calls are included in the advisory fee. There is no hourly billing, and the first conversation is free whether or not you become a client.

No, deliberately. If you engage us to manage your investments, everything else comes with it — the planning, the tax coordination, the equity compensation work. Pricing those separately tends to stop people asking for help at exactly the moment they should.

No. Account size is not a screening tool for us. We take on clients when there is a good fit and a genuine desire to work together on both sides, and the fee schedule has a band for every balance.

Three things make up the true cost of any advisory relationship: the advisory fee, any separate planning fee, and the expense ratios of the funds you are put in. We charge no separate planning fee and generally build portfolios with fund costs around 0.10%. We wrote a plain-language guide to what financial advisors actually cost, including the charges that never appear on a statement.

Investment management, and the financial planning that surrounds it. The second half is broader than most people expect: tax planning, equity compensation, consolidating old retirement accounts, Social Security timing, education funding, and the one-off decisions that turn up in a life. We think of it as planning on demand — you call, we help.

Individuals and families, often several members of the same family across generations. Three situations come up again and again: people planning to retire in their fifties, people holding equity in a public company, and business owners and the self-employed. We also work with small businesses and family offices.

Yes, in several practical ways. We can negotiate a purchase price on your behalf, analyze loan options and compare what you are being offered against what is available, work through borrowing decisions against your portfolio, and connect you with brokers and lenders. We follow real estate trends locally and nationally.

We do tax planning, not tax preparation. We are not accountants and cannot file your return. What we do is look at your tax picture through the year, coordinate directly with your CPA, and raise things like Roth conversions, loss harvesting, and retirement plan structure before the year closes rather than after.

Tell us what you need and we will tell you honestly whether we can help. Our fee is built around managing assets, so a pure advice engagement is not always the right fit. The first conversation costs nothing, and we would rather point you elsewhere than take on work we cannot do well.

Yes, and it is far more common than you would think. People often arrive at this after a death or a divorce, or simply because a spouse always handled it. We start from wherever you are, explain things without jargon, and move at your pace rather than ours.

We are not going to tell you to leave them. What we would suggest is finding out what you actually pay — the advisory fee, any planning fee, and the fund expenses underneath — and what you get for it. If that comparison favors your current advisor, stay where you are.

Someone legally required to act in your best interest rather than their own. Registered investment advisers such as Blue Haven owe that duty continuously, for as long as the relationship lasts. Broker-dealers operate under a different standard, Regulation Best Interest, which applies at the moment a recommendation is made. Both are regulated. They are not the same obligation.

At Charles Schwab. Your accounts are held in your name at Schwab, not by us. We are granted permission to manage them through Schwab’s advisor portal.

Because that separation protects you. An independent custodian holds the assets, produces the statements, and confirms every trade, which means we cannot move your money anywhere except an account in your own name. It is the structural safeguard behind a legitimate advisory relationship, and it is worth insisting on with any advisor.

You open an account at Schwab, we help with the paperwork, and you grant us limited trading authority. That permission lets us buy and sell within the account. It does not let us withdraw money to anywhere other than an account in your own name.

Yes. You get your own Schwab login, much like online banking, showing every position, trade, and statement whenever you want to look. You are never dependent on us for a report on your own money.

Generally no. We custody at a single institution, and that is Schwab, which keeps operations and oversight consistent for every client. We can still talk through accounts we do not manage, such as a current employer’s 401(k), even though we cannot trade inside them.

You revoke our permissions whenever you like, at no cost and with no exit fee. The account stays open at Schwab in your name and we simply lose access. There is no lock-in period holding you in the relationship.

That is your call. Some clients consolidate everything, others keep an outside brokerage account or a workplace plan exactly where it is. We will tell you what we think makes sense, including the times when leaving something alone is the better answer.

Individual and joint brokerage accounts, traditional and Roth IRAs, rollovers, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, Solo 401(k)s and other small business retirement plans, trusts, and custodial accounts for children.

Blue Haven Capital was founded in 2006 by Donald Cummings, after a career in institutional fixed income. Between Don and Kevin Kleinman there are more than 40 years of combined market experience. You can read about both advisors or learn how the firm works.

Usually three to seven business days from signed paperwork to a funded account ready to invest. Transfers in from another brokerage can take longer, depending on what is being moved and how quickly the sending firm acts.

As often as is useful. Some clients want a formal review each quarter, others once a year. Most of the real contact happens between meetings, by phone, text, or email, when something actually comes up.

Our office hours are 8am to 5pm Central, Monday through Friday. In practice we talk with clients well outside those hours by phone, text, and email. Financial questions rarely keep to a schedule, and we would rather hear from you when the question occurs to you.

Yes. We can arrange an introduction to a current client on request.

Our strategy page covers how we build and manage portfolios. Pricing shows exactly what we charge and what it covers. Our Insights archive has our market commentary and planning writing.