When you want to take your finances to the next level, it can be hard to know where to start. For some people, a financial planner might be helpful.
Unfortunately, these professionals can be challenging to find, and many only offer services to individuals with a certain amount of assets. Facet Wealth aims to fix that problem by making financial planning services more accessible.
Our Facet Wealth review evaluates the service to help you determine whether or not it’s the right solution for your financial planning needs.
Summary
Facet Wealth is a comprehensive financial planning service that serves its clients 100% virtually. Since the company doesn’t have a minimum investment amount, it makes financial planning more accessible for everyone.
Pros
- Broad financial planning services
- No investment minimum
- Fees are based on services
- Certified Financial Planners
- Meetings held virtually
Cons
- No in-person service
- Could be more expensive for some
What is Facet Wealth?
Facet Wealth is a full-service financial planning company. It takes a service that is often only available to wealthy individuals and makes it accessible to everyone at an affordable price.
The company was founded in Baltimore with the belief that unbiased financial advice is essential to living well. Since its launch, the company has grown to serve more than 10,000 clients in all 50 states and has more than 300 employees.
While Facet Wealth offers investment advice and management, it does far more than that. Clients can even get advice on all areas of their personal finances.
The service operates entirely online. However, unlike robo-advisors and other online financial services, the company still offers hands-on assistance. This includes quarterly meetings with a financial planner.
How Does Facet Wealth Work?
Facet Wealth has a simple process that clients go through in order to work with a financial planner and make progress toward their financial goals.
1. Schedule a Consultation
The first thing you’ll do when you’re ready to work with Facet Wealth is schedule a consultation with an expert. This consultation is totally free, so it’s worth it even if you’re not entirely sure you want to take the next step.
To get started, you’ll simply fill out a short online form on the company’s website or call them at 1-888-321-5909.
2. Meet Your CFP
Once you’ve had your initial consultation and have signed on to work with Face Wealth, you’ll have your first one-on-one meeting with your personal Certified Financial Planner (CFP).
You’ll meet with your CFP several times throughout the year, but the first meeting is all about diving into each detail of your financial situation and goals so that your planner can help advise you on your next steps.
3. Create a Plan
Based on the information you provide in your initial meeting, your CFP will build a comprehensive financial plan to meet your goals. Your plan will cover four basic components.
Getting Organized
First, your plan will address your financial and life goals. It will also summarize where your finances are today and address any high-priority topics.
Optimizing Cash Flow
Next, your plan will include adjustments to your cash flow and budget to ensure you’re on track to meet your financial goals. It will even help prioritize other foundational pieces of your budget, such as building an emergency fund.
Debt and Investments
Your financial plan will also include steps to pay off debt, with a focus on quickly eliminating “bad” debt. Plus, it will have a customized portfolio to reach your financial goals and steps to set up investment accounts.
Insurance and Risk
Finally, your financial planner will create a plan to protect your assets through risk management, including estate planning and ensuring you have the right insurance policies in place.
4. Nurture and Adjust Your Plan
Once your CFP has created your financial plan, the work isn’t done. You’ll both get started on following the plan so that you can achieve your financial goals.
You’ll meet with your planner virtually four times per year to review your financial situation, discuss life changes and talk about any new goals.
One of the most important aspects of working with Facet Wealth is making sure your financial plan always reflects your life. As you go through major life changes, such as getting married, having children, moving up in your career and more, your plan will change to reflect that.
How Much Does Facet Wealth Cost?
Facet Wealth charges a flat fee that ranges from $1,800 to $6,000. The amount you’ll pay depends on the services that will best suit your needs.
Your annual fee covers all of your services for the year, from your investment management to your financial plan to your meetings with your financial planner.
Facet Wealth differs from many of its competitors by not charging a fee that’s based on a percentage of your assets under management. According to Facet, your assets aren’t necessarily an accurate way to determine how much help you’ll need throughout the year.
Rather than arbitrarily charging someone more based on the amount of assets they have, the company believes it makes more sense to charge customers based on the services they’ll need.
Is Facet Wealth Worth It?
Whether or not Facet Wealth is worth it depends on several factors, and the answer may differ for each person.
For some people, Facet Wealth might be worth it. The company charges a flat fee rather than a percentage of assets. High-net-worth investors, in particular, can get financial planning services through the company at a lower price than they would with another planner.
On the other hand, for investors with fewer assets, the fee that Facet Wealth charges can be relatively high. If you’re just getting started with investing and have a fairly simple financial situation, it may not be worth it.
It’s also important to consider the services you’ll be taking advantage of. If you’re only looking for investment management but are starting with a relatively small amount of assets, you may find that a robo-advisor or a similar service makes more sense.
However, if you feel you’ll be able to take advantage of all the services Facet Wealth has to offer, the annual fee could be worth it.
How Facet Wealth Can Help You
Facet Wealth offers comprehensive financial planning services, so it can help you with every area of your financial life. These are the areas of your finances where Facet Wealth can help you.
Career Changes
Facet Wealth can help guide you through various changes in your career. These might include a new job, a new career or a salary increase.
The platform can also help guide you through more complex parts of your career finances, like dealing with your employee stock plan, selecting your benefits or preparing your finances to start a business.
Retirement
One of the most important financial goals most of us will work toward is retirement, and Facet Wealth can help with that. This service can help plan your retirement savings, including how much you should be investing each month.
It can also help with distribution strategies, navigating Social Security and planning for your healthcare needs once you actually retire.
Life Milestones
Another area where Facet Wealth can help is when you’re navigating life changes and reaching different life milestones.
Life changes, including getting married or divorced, having children, buying a home or inheriting large sums of money, can also have a major impact on your finances. Facet Wealth can help you navigate these events.
Investments & Taxes
Additionally, Facet Wealth can assist you as you navigate your investments and taxes. Your financial planner can help you plan your investment asset allocation and decide how much to invest, both for retirement and for other financial goals.
The service can even help optimize your tax situation and answer any tax planning questions you have.
Facet Wealth Helpful Features
In addition to the various services that Facet Wealth offers, the company’s website has a number of features to help you jumpstart your financial planning. Some of these can be accessed directly on Facet Wealth’s website without signing up for the service.
The Basics
Facet Wealth has a library of financial planning articles that touch on all areas of personal finances. For example, the website has articles discussing what financial planners do and what you need to know before working with one.
Better yet, it also has articles to help you start managing your finances on your own and gain a greater understanding of how financial planning works.
Learn
In addition to Facet’s articles about financial planning in general, the company offers educational articles that touch on specific topics related to personal finance.
You can read articles about budgeting, paying off debt, planning for retirement, growing your family and more.
Videos
Not everyone learns best by reading educational articles. The good news is that Facet Wealth also includes many educational videos for those who learn better by watching videos.
Just like Facet’s written articles, their videos provide educational information about many areas of your personal finances. These videos allow you to start making progress before you sign up to work with a planner.
Facet Wealth Reviews
Before signing up to work with Facet Wealth, be sure to read their online reviews and get an idea of what current and former clients have to say.
Since the company is still fairly young, there aren’t many reviews online. However, there is some information to go off of.
According to Facet Wealth’s website, the company has a 95% client satisfaction rate. The company also has 3.7 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot. While it only has one written review there, it’s positive.
Additionally, the company doesn’t have a Better Business Bureau accreditation, but it does have an A+ rating. However, it does have several customer complaints, five of which were closed within the past year.
Alternatives To Facet Wealth
Facet Wealth offers comprehensive financial planning services, allowing customers to manage every area of their finances. However, there are other services that have a similar lineup of services or provide at least one of the key services that Facet Wealth offers.
Here are a few Facet Wealth alternatives if you aren’t sure the service is right for you.
Betterment
If you’re just looking for an investment management service and don’t need comprehensive financial planning services, then you might want to consider Betterment.
Betterment is a robo-advisor, meaning it manages your investment portfolio and creates a diversified asset allocation based on your financial goals. It has a low management fee of 0.25%, which is considerably lower than Facet’s fees for most investors.
Mint
For many people who are just starting to take control of their finances, focusing on their budget is a better starting point than using a financial planner. If that sounds like you, then Mint might be the right tool for your needs.
Mint is a budgeting app, meaning you can set up your target monthly budget, track your spending by connecting your bank accounts and track your progress toward reaching your financial goals.
Personal Capital
Personal Capital is a similar service to Facet Wealth. The company offers comprehensive financial planning services with a focus on investment management. Like Facet Wealth, each customer works directly with a CFP.
A key difference between Facet Wealth and Personal Capital is that Personal Capital charges a fee based on assets under management. In addition, you must have a minimum amount of assets to work with the company’s financial planners.
FAQs
Are you still wondering if Facet Wealth is right for you? We’ve answered some of the most frequently asked questions so you can make a decision.
Is Facet Wealth legit?
Yes, Facet Wealth is legit. According to the company’s website, they have a 95% client satisfaction rate.
In addition, the company is also an SEC-registered investment advisor.
What customer service options does Facet Wealth offer?
Facet Wealth offers comprehensive financial planning services. These include investment management, retirement planning, cash flow management, risk management and more.
How is Facet Wealth different from competitors?
Facet Wealth differs from its competitors in a few different ways. First, unlike many financial planners, Facet charges a flat fee instead of a percentage of assets under management.
It also doesn’t have a minimum asset amount, meaning it’s more accessible for the average person. Additionally, every Facet Wealth planner is a CFP, so you know you’re getting the highest level of service.
Who is Facet Wealth best for?
Facet Wealth is ideal for anyone who wants comprehensive financial planning services but may not have enough assets to work with a more traditional planning service.
Summary
Facet Wealth makes financial planning more accessible by bringing it entirely online and making it available to clients with any amount of assets.
Due to its flat fee instead of a percentage-based fee, whether or not it’s more affordable for you will depend on the amount of assets you have and the services you plan to use.
The good news is that if you do decide to work with Facet Wealth, you can trust that the company will help you with every aspect of your financial health.
