Questions to Ask Your
Financial Advisor.

A fiduciary is legally required to act in your best interest at all times — not merely recommend "suitable" products. Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) operate under the fiduciary standard, while broker-dealers have historically operated under the lower "suitability" standard. This is not a subtle difference: a fiduciary cannot recommend a higher-cost product simply because it generates more commission. They must document their reasoning and disclose any conflicts. Always ask your advisor whether they are a fiduciary — in writing, for all services they provide — and whether they are always acting as a fiduciary or only when providing investment advice.

Our minimum account size is $500,000 in investable assets.

We primarily work with entrepreneurs, business owners, corporate executives, and high-net-worth families — particularly those navigating complex financial decisions like a business sale, liquidity event, executive compensation, or retirement transition.

Our office is located at 1065 Andrew Drive, West Chester, PA 19380. We serve clients throughout the Philadelphia metro area, Chester County, and beyond.

Most advisors charge between 0.50% and 1.50% of assets under management (AUM) annually, with fees typically declining as portfolio size grows. At the high end of that range — particularly at wirehouse firms — you may be paying for distribution infrastructure and product shelf margins rather than advice quality. Independent advisors who are fully transparent about every form of compensation tend to deliver more direct value because clients can clearly see all costs and evaluate recommendations accordingly. Always ask for the all-in cost, including any underlying fund expense ratios and platform fees.

It depends entirely on what's included. For a smaller portfolio with comprehensive planning, tax strategy, estate coordination, and ongoing behavioral coaching, 1% can represent genuine value. For a larger portfolio where most of the work is investment management alone, 1% may be excessive. The better question isn't "is 1% fair?" — it's "what do I get for it?" If your advisor is providing integrated tax planning, proactive rebalancing, estate coordination, and regular scenario modeling, the fee is likely justified. If they're primarily allocating to model portfolios and sending quarterly statements, it may not be.

This distinction matters more than most clients realize. A fee-only advisor earns compensation solely from clients — no commissions, no product incentives, no third-party payments of any kind. A fee-based advisor charges a client fee but may also earn commissions or other compensation from financial products they recommend. Rubiq is fee-based. We are fully transparent about every form of compensation we receive — all fees, commissions, and any other arrangements are disclosed clearly so you can evaluate our recommendations with complete information. The right question to ask any advisor is: "What is every way you are compensated in this relationship?" At Rubiq, we welcome that question.

Under current U.S. tax law (following the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017), investment advisory fees paid on personal taxable accounts are generally no longer deductible as a miscellaneous itemized deduction. However, there are nuances worth discussing with your CPA: fees attributable to tax planning or business accounts may be deductible in some circumstances. Fees paid from within a traditional IRA or other tax-deferred account are paid with pre-tax dollars, which effectively creates a tax benefit. This is a scenario-specific question — your advisor and tax professional should model the after-tax cost of your advisory relationship as part of their service.

This varies widely by firm and advisor. At a minimum, expect portfolio management, performance reporting, and periodic reviews. At the wealth management level, fees should also cover comprehensive financial planning — retirement income modeling, tax planning coordination, estate and insurance analysis, Social Security optimization, and goal-based scenario planning. Ask for a written scope of services. If your advisor cannot clearly articulate what is and isn't included, that is itself useful information. The best advisors will proactively reach out when tax law changes, market events, or life transitions create planning opportunities — not wait for you to call them.

Ultra-high-net-worth families typically use a combination of advanced estate planning strategies to reduce transfer taxes. Common approaches include grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), which transfer asset appreciation to heirs with minimal gift tax; spousal lifetime access trusts (SLATs), which allow couples to use their lifetime exemptions while retaining indirect access; irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs) to keep insurance proceeds outside the taxable estate; and strategic use of the annual gift tax exclusion and lifetime exemption. Charitable structures — including donor-advised funds, charitable remainder trusts, and private foundations — can simultaneously reduce estate size and fulfill philanthropic goals. The key is coordinating these tools within a comprehensive plan rather than implementing them in isolation.

A single-family office typically makes economic sense for families with $200M or more in assets, given the cost of maintaining a full-time staff of investment professionals, accountants, attorneys, and administrative support. For ultra-high-net-worth families below that threshold — typically in the $10M to $100M range — an independent advisory firm that offers family office-level service can deliver the same integrated approach at a fraction of the cost. At Rubiq Financial Partners, we coordinate investment management, tax strategy, estate planning, charitable giving, and multigenerational wealth transfer within a single advisory relationship, working alongside your attorneys, CPAs, and other specialists.

Diversifying a concentrated stock position — whether from a business sale, IPO, or long-held equity — requires balancing tax efficiency against portfolio risk. Common strategies include systematic sales timed across tax years to manage bracket exposure; exchange funds that allow diversification without triggering a taxable event; charitable remainder trusts that convert appreciated stock into a diversified income stream while generating a tax deduction; donor-advised funds for philanthropic-minded investors; and qualified opportunity zone investments to defer capital gains from the sale. Protective options strategies like collars can also hedge downside risk while deferring a taxable event. The right approach depends on your tax situation, time horizon, and how much of your net worth is tied to a single position.

Multigenerational wealth transfer is the process of structuring assets, trusts, and financial plans to preserve family wealth across two or more generations. Effective planning goes beyond basic estate documents — it involves dynasty trust structures that can protect assets from estate taxes for multiple generations, generation-skipping transfer tax (GSTT) planning to avoid double taxation, family governance frameworks that prepare heirs to manage inherited wealth responsibly, and coordinated gifting programs that use annual exclusions and lifetime exemptions strategically. At Rubiq, we integrate these elements with your investment strategy and tax planning so that wealth transfer is not an afterthought but a core part of how we manage your financial life.

Your assets are held at an independent, third-party custodian — not with us. We primarily use Charles Schwab for investment custody and Flourish for cash management, but we also work alongside your existing banking relationships. You don't have to move everything to one place. If you have a private banking relationship you value, we coordinate around it. Our role is to manage and advise — your bank or custodian holds the assets, and you always retain direct access to your accounts.

Not necessarily. We're designed to be the central coordinator of your financial life, but that doesn't mean we replace every professional you already work with. If you have a CPA, estate attorney, or insurance specialist you trust, we collaborate with them directly — sharing tax projections, reviewing estate documents, and making sure everyone is working from the same playbook. Where there are gaps or where existing relationships aren't serving your interests, we'll tell you. The goal is a connected team, not a forced consolidation.

You're never required to use anyone we recommend. We have a network of estate attorneys, CPAs, and insurance professionals we trust and work with regularly, and we're happy to make introductions when clients need them. But if you already have professionals you're comfortable with, we work with your team. What matters to us is that everyone involved in your financial picture is communicating and aligned — not that they carry our stamp of approval.