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A fiduciary is someone legally required to put your interests ahead of their own. For a financial advisor, that means every recommendation has to be what's best for you, not what pays the advisor the most.Not everyone who gives financial advice is held to that standard. Some are only required to recommend products that are "suitable," which leaves room for advice that benefits the person selling it.Spinnaker is a fiduciary at all times, for every client. We're also fee-only, which means we're paid only by our clients and never receive commissions for selling a product.

Almost anyone can call themselves a "financial advisor." The title has no required education, exam, or experience behind it.CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certification is different. To earn it, an advisor has to complete college-level coursework in financial planning, pass a rigorous six-hour exam, log thousands of hours of professional experience, and commit to acting as a fiduciary for their clients. They also have to complete continuing education to keep it.The training covers the full picture: investments, taxes, retirement, insurance, and estate planning. That matters because those pieces affect each other, and good advice accounts for all of them together.At Spinnaker, Alan Campbell is a CFP® professional, so that training is behind the advice every client receives.

Most of the clients we work with have $500,000 or more in investable assets. We treat that as a guideline, not a gate.As a portfolio approaches that level, the planning around it tends to get more involved: taxes, retirement income, Social Security timing, estate questions, and how those decisions affect one another. That is the work we're built for, and every client receives all of it. Planning, portfolio management, and coordination with your CPA and attorney are included in one fee, with no extras.Holding to a guideline lets us give every client that level of attention rather than a pared-back version of it.We look at the whole picture, not just one number. If your investable assets are under $500,000, we still encourage you to come in and talk with us.An initial conversation costs nothing and carries no obligation. We'll look at your situation, tell you plainly whether we're the right fit, and if we're not, do our best to point you toward someone who is.

How are you paid, and what does it cost?We're paid one way: a fee from our clients. We don't earn commissions, and no one pays us to recommend a particular investment or product.Our fee is a percentage of the assets we manage for you, and the rate goes down as your portfolio grows:Portfolio sizeAnnual feeUp to $1 million1.00%$1 million to $5 million0.75%Over $5 million0.50%The fee is billed quarterly and deducted directly from your account, so there's no check to write, and it appears on your statement every time.That fee covers everything we do: financial planning, investment management, and ongoing advice. There are no hourly charges or separate planning fees.Because our fee is tied to the size of your portfolio, we do better when you do.

It starts with a conversation. Call us or send a message through our Contact page, and we'll set up a time to meet, in person or by video.From there, the process looks like this:Introductory meeting. We learn about you, your goals, and what's on your mind. You learn how we work. There's no cost and no obligation.Review and recommendations. If it looks like a good fit, we gather your financial details and come back with a clear picture of where you stand and what we'd suggest.Decide. You take whatever time you need. If you choose to move forward, we sign an agreement and open your accounts at Charles Schwab.Transfer and get to work. We handle the paperwork to move your accounts over, then put your plan in place.Most of the heavy lifting is on our side. You won't need to call your old advisor or fill out stacks of forms on your own.