Frequently asked questions
Financial planning
What is a CFP® Professional?
A CFP® professional (CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional) is the gold standard of financial planning certifications. As fiduciaries, they are held to the highest standards by the CFP Board to always do what is in the best interest of their clients. At Facet, each client gets a CFP® professional to work with them one-on-one, supported by a team of experts (specializing in tax, insurance, estate planning, equity compensation, and more) to cover all of your money needs.
What does a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP) Professional do?
A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional helps members achieve their financial and personal goals. Here, our CFP® Professionals are part coach, part advocate, all partner. We are in this with you. We take a holistic approach with an emphasis on your entire financial life – not just investments. Ultimately, our goal is to create a path towards financial prosperity and peace of mind so you can focus on your family, career, that trip of a lifetime or retirement.
What is a fiduciary?
A fiduciary holds a legal and ethical relationship of trust with clients. Therefore, they are legally obligated to only make recommendations in the best interest of those clients. All of the CFP® professionals at Facet are fiduciaries on behalf of our members.
How do I know I’ll be getting the best advice?
Ensuring our members get the best possible advice is why we created Facet. Here’s how we do it:
- We charge a flat fee. We believe you can only get unbiased advice when you pay a flat fee. When a planner or advisor charges a percentage of assets, commissions, or something similar, their advice is clouded by what they are incentivized to do. As industry veterans, we’ve seen it a thousand times: a member is ready to retire, but their advisor suggests they keep working for another few years because withdrawals would hurt the fee they earn via assets under management. Also incredibly common is an advisor selling a member a product with a big commission they don’t need. We remove all possible conflicts by charging a flat fee.
- All of our planners are CFP® professionals and fiduciaries. Our planners are held to the highest possible standards in financial planning and are legally and ethically bound only to do what’s in the best interest of their members.
About Facet
Where is Facet located?
While Facet is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, we have planners located throughout the US that meet with our clients via video call (and our clients are located in all 50 states!).
How is Facet different from robo advisors?
We do full financial planning versus solely managing money. We believe members should have human beings planning their prosperous financial lives. Understanding, common experiences and human insight create trust and make for a better informed plan.
How much does Facet cost?
We charge a flat membership fee based on the complexity of your situation. Unlike many financial planners, we do not charge based on the amount of money you invest with us (known as assets under management or AUM fees), nor do we charge commissions. We believe unbiased advice can’t exist when your planner or advisor is incentivized to sell you a product or keep your assets in a particular account. Our flat membership fee ranges between $2,000 and $8,000 per year.
Why doesn’t Facet charge based on assets under management?
What is the sign up process like?
Our sign-up process is simple. It’s designed to help us learn more about you and your needs, so we can show you how Facet’s unbiased financial advice benefits every facet of your life.
To get started, fill out this form, and a Facet expert will call you within 24 hours to schedule an introductory call (or you can call 1-888-339-5536 to speak with someone now). They’ll take the time to learn more about your whole financial life, understand your needs, and explain how Facet can help elevate your specific situation.
Facet's member experience
How does Facet meet with me?
We meet with you via videoconference or telephone, always at your convenience.
What happens when I have a question? Will I be calling into a call-center?
No, every one of our members works with a dedicated CFP® professional backed by a team of specialists. We believe having your own Facet planner in your corner is important because they understand your entire financial life and can help optimize your plan as it evolves. You’ll also have access to a team of experts that can provide detailed insights on things like estate planning, insurance, equity compensation, and more to make sure you’re taking full advantage of all possible planning opportunities.
Can Facet help with my 401(k)?
Yes. We believe investing works best when paired with an ever-evolving financial plan that covers your entire life (which is also why we include investment management for all members as part of our base membership). So we’ll be sure to include any employer-sponsored accounts in our financial planning approach.
Can Facet help me pick my employee benefits?
Yes, we are here to help with every money decision. We are there for you for each and every individual enrollment period.
Can Facet help me with my stock option plan?
Of course. In fact, it’s another one of the core services we provide for our members. We even have an equity compensation specialist that analyzes and consults on the tax impact these option plans may create. They’ll work with your Facet planner to determine how they affect the rest of your portfolio to set up the best plan for you. We consult on all parts of your financial life – not just the money you’ve entrusted us to manage directly.
Can Facet help me with my IRA and brokerage account?
Yes, investment management is included in your base membership for no additional cost. You may also be eligible for a $250 reward in your Facet investment account as a kickstart toward your goals. Ask your membership manager for more information.
How often will I meet my CFP® Professional?
We aim to ensure you never have to make an important decision alone. You will always have access to your Facet planner and our proprietary technology to keep track of your financial life. Most members meet with their CFP® Professional frequently over the first year to set up their plan and then 2 to 3 times per year after that.
How does Facet think about managing money?
We believe investing works best when paired with an ever-evolving financial plan that covers your entire life (which is also why we include investment management for all clients as part of the base membership). Your unique situation always guides your investment strategy at Facet. Once we understand you and your personal situation, we focus on the areas we can control- minimizing fees and taxes, maintaining a well-diversified portfolio, and balancing for any given environment. For more information on our approach to investing, see our Investing with Facet page.
I’m not sure I need financial planning. Can I talk to someone before signing up?
Yes, you can! Every one of our members meets with one of our CFP® Professionals before signing up. We’ll work with you to understand your current financial picture, as well as your short term and long term goals, ensuring your planner relationship is set up for success from day 1.
How do I get started?
Click here to schedule a quick introductory call with Facet. Or, to speak with someone now, call 1-888-339-5536.
Security
Who owns my data?
Your data will always be yours.
We employ industry best practices to keep your data safe. We will never sell your data.
When it comes to protecting you and your data, we do not believe that simply checking boxes to ensure compliance is adequate. We employ industry best practices to ensure information security is at the core of our technology and business operations, yet strive to set a new standard for bank-level security and privacy.
Why does Facet ask me to "link" my accounts?
While never a requirement, you will be invited to enter your online financial institution credentials. We never see those credentials, nor do we store them. Your credentials are securely passed to your financial institution and we are provided with a read-only feed of balance and transaction information. We do not have access to your money nor can we make any changes to your account. If for whatever reason you want to remove our read-only access, you will be able to de-link those accounts.
You can learn more about account linking here
Where does Facet store my data?
We host our servers using Amazon Web Services (AWS). All data is encrypted in-flight and at-rest to ensure only the right people view your information for the right reasons: providing you a customized plan for achieving your financial goals. If you have any questions, let us know: [email protected].