Frequently Asked Questions

No, we do not. We want to meet you, explore your situation, and find out if we can help before we do anything else. We also offer free fee reviews as part of this process so you are completely aware of what you are paying to your current financial advisor or employer plan and the investments in your portfolio versus what our all-in fee would be.

The answer to this is a resounding “no.” We enjoy talking you through life events and assisting in interesting opportunities that come your way. We are not a “set it and forget it” shop, and we believe there is room for interesting ideas everywhere. We want to help.

Our standard contract has no minimum time. We have long-term client relationships, but they are entirely voluntary. You aren’t locked into anything. If you want to switch for any reason, just give us 30 days’ notice.

We are fiduciaries. Our fee-only business model ensures that we always put your interests first and you never have to wonder if we are getting compensated in other ways from our recommendations.

The short answer is no, we cannot. We are not attorneys or CPAs and cannot legally provide those services. However, we are happy to work with professionals you already use and we have many trusted professionals we can refer you to for these services if you do not already use someone.

It’s not only possible -we prefer it. We believe families should be on the same page about financial priorities and goals. We strongly recommend that your spouse or partner is always part of the conversation. Only by gaining an understanding of everyone’s wants and needs will we be able to successfully plan for your future and accomplish your goals.

We do not operate like many other firms where you have a relationship manager who is the gatekeeper to their firm’s more experienced professionals. You work directly with us, and we operate as a team. You can call or email anyone on your team directly -or schedule a conference call with all of us. It’s entirely up to you. We emphasize a healthy work/life balance at Martello and we cannot imagine good client service when you only have one person to whom you can reach out.

Our view is that it is impossible to “time the market” and end up beating it. On the other hand, due to the fact that we all need to one day retire and need a nest egg from which we can reliably draw income and principal to live, “buy and hold” is inappropriate for those in or approaching retirement. We’ve developed investment strategies where we combine passive and active investing. Regardless of approach, we believe that risk minimization through diversification is a key part of every investment process.

We cannot offer any guaranteed return figure. In fact, it is illegal to do so. We can tell you that on average, the market goes up. But it also experiences down periods as well, as you surely know. Our goal is to take advantage of market gains when they happen and help avoid losses in down markets. Regardless of market conditions, we’re always looking for opportunities to help save you money through cheaper investments, efficient tax strategies, and other planning scenarios that present themselves.

Our approach is based on mitigating and eliminating as many risks as possible. This includes your portfolio holdings as well as your wealth plan. We introduce a mix of active and passive strategies that aim to limit your losses during bad market environments while keeping investing fees low. In conjunction with this, we focus on planning strategies so you can increase after-tax return without increasing your risk.

Yes. Even if your accounts are not held with us, they are part of your financial picture and could also be used advantageously for tax planning. We will review the holdings and investment options in those accounts and advise accordingly.

Before we manage your portfolio or do anything with your accounts, we work with you to develop a document called an Investment Policy Statement. This signed document describes the strategy for your investments, but in broad strokes. This helps you understand what to expect and helps us know what to deliver to you. Changes to this document can be made in future meetings, but we do not make changes without your knowledge or permission. When we have agreed on your IPS, we will make changes to your accounts that fit within its parameters, and we will do this as needed without involving you in the changes. This is part of the service you pay for. That said, you are certainly able to see, on a daily basis, any transactions we have made in your accounts. If you have any questions about what you see, just pick up the phone and ask us. We want you to be comfortable at all times with the activity in your account.