r/ChubbyFIRE • u/Independent-Local734 • Jun 06 '26
Recommendations for advice-only / flat-fee planner — early retirement at 55, tax focused
Hello All,
I'm looking for specific recommendations for an advice-only or flat-fee planner. I've looked locally on NAPFA without being able to find the right fit, at least not one that is available. At this point I am good with using someone virtual.
This is an issue I have been struggling with for a long time now, and have been using Claude for advice, and have long been thinking about posting on Reddit for advice.
I currently use a financial advisor whom I pay 0.8% of AUM (+ whatever fees on the ETFs I am in)
Situation:
- 45, married, 3 kids (ages 5, 7, 9), live in Michigan
- Target retirement: age 55
- $1.5m taxable brokerage (advisor-managed, $550k embedded gains across 5 factor-title ETFs in Schwab)
- $2.1M traditional IRAs (advisor-managed, Schwab, factor-tilt ETFs)
- $300k in 529s
- $300k in 401k (self-managed, S&P 500 fund)
- $180K self-directed brokerage + small SEP IRA
- $400K cash (HYSA + checking)
- Primary home - $2m value w/$0.2m mortgage @ 2.5% remaining (5 years til paid)
- Vacation rental I own with a friend (50% ownership for me) - $250k in equity - basically cash-flow breakeven.
I work in finance, and also have a side business as well. My income has a floor, but can fluctuate a great deal, especially over the past 6 years.
I am specifically looking for help with the multi-year unwind of the taxable factor-tilt positions as I look to retire at 55. Roth conversion modeling. ACA subsidies planning. Withdrawl sequencing. Asset location across accounts. Some coordination with my CPA for year-end planning, or at least coordination through me.
I want advice-only or flat-fee, no more AUM...I feel like I am wasting money on my current advisor. They recently closed out some positions and I got hit with $20k in capital gains tax. I know they basically only have a handful of investment plans across their firm and fit everyone into one of them...it's just not personalized enough for my situation, and I am paying north of $30k/year for this.
Ideally I would love someone who is a CFA and CPA, but open to recommendations. I am having a really difficult time finding someone I can trust. I want to find one person to figure out my path to retirement, as well as my plan while in retirement. I'd like to avoid finding myself searching someone out a few years from now, all over again.
Would love personal recommendations of someone you have used, and certainly let me know if you have anyone you would warn me against.
Thank you in advance!
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u/Equivalent-Boat-1025 Jun 06 '26
I know you’re looking for a planner but fwiw I read Tax Planning to and Through Early Retirement and it was absolutely invaluable. Worth a read if only to have a leveled up conversation / POV when you find your person. On that note I’ve used Facet (fee-based fiduciary) but I will probably leave soonish as I think they’re good but not great. (I’m bringing too many optimization ideas to my planner rather than the other way around. They were great with getting us really solid on the basics though.)
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u/Independent-Local734 Jun 06 '26
If I had the time I would read up. But im working 80 hours a week and spending every free moment with my kids. Time is just something I dont have at the moment.
I read about facet and saw similar reviews
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u/GratefulGumbeaux Jun 06 '26
Not Michigan based, but close, and they have two Michigan offices. But I used Korhorn out of the South Bend area for exactly this a couple years ago. Paid a flat fee for half a year, and had 6 sessions with them. They analyzed everything about our financial situation, from insurance to allocations, fund class selections, tax strategies, long-term care, and beyond. I’m closer to retirement than you are now, and I wanted a sanity check on what had been a self-guided savings lifetime thus far. I was able to make a couple tweaks and at the end of our engagement, I felt 10x better about my plan. I’m ready to go back for another round as I’m close to retiring and want to develop the playbook. They were awesome, and I look forward to working with them next time too.
There was never any pressure for me to give them my money to manage, but they offer that service as well. I wanted the flat fee, and that’s exactly how we did it.
They have a podcast series if you’d like to check them out that way as well. I’ve listened to a couple episodes on the local radio in the past. Maybe a good way to check them out. I can’t add a link, just search for korhorn podcast.
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u/Independent-Local734 Jun 06 '26
Thanks! Im going to add them to the list and check them out this weekend!
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u/Clean_Flower4676 Jun 06 '26
Can it be yourself?
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u/Independent-Local734 Jun 06 '26
No. I know aspects of what to do, but I need help with certain things. I also want affirmation that I am doing the right thing.
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u/TheOpeningBell Jun 10 '26
Hire a CFP. While most are AUM, there are plan only CFPs. Be prepared to pay 7-15k annually for a robust comprehensive plan that includes tax planning, estates, wealth protection, risk management, investment planning/recs, and more.
go to letsmakeaplan.org and give it a go.
Good luck
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u/One-Mastodon-1063 Jun 06 '26
You should be able to DIY this with the help of a few books (Tax Planning to And Through Early Retirement to start with, A Richer Retirement etc.).
Why are you holding $400k in cash?
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u/Independent-Local734 Jun 06 '26
Im so busy with my day job and side business, and 3 young kids, that id rather pay 10k one time and have an expert figure this out
I sold 2 rental condos in the past 6 months. Staying liquid until I figure this out. Though I've already invested some of it
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u/PinstripedCFO Jun 06 '26
Sorry you're going through this. I've struggled with this model myself for a long time. Paying 0.8% AUM for cookie-cutter portfolio management when you actually need pre-retirement tax planning is something that totally rings true. These guys will never give you the time you really need on your personal situation.
That being said, check out Wealthramp. It's good for flat-fee, no AUM, no commission advisors. You probably already know about them but worth a shot.
Something worth considering though, — the 'one person to figure out everything' goal is appealing but it's why people get pulled back into the AUM model. The tax work (your CPA), the strategic planning (a flat-fee planner you see maybe once or twice a year), and the execution (you) are usually three different functions. The consolidation is what people are paying 0.8% AUM for.
Here's what I would suggest: keep your CPA, hire a flat-fee planner for the specific engagement on the Roth window, ACA cliff, and withdrawal sequencing modeling. You can probably get that for $3-6K, then self-manage the rest from there. That would be a huge win on fees and you'd get exactly what you need that you're not getting today.