The Safe Harbor Mission
Safe Harbor’s mission is to ensure that professional, objective financial advice is available to everyone and is not conditioned upon your net worth, income or assets. Our team is made up of fee-only financial planner professionals who provide services on an hourly fee or project fee basis, or on an ogoing retainer/subscription fee service program.
We believe that financial advisors have a Fiduciary Duty to their clients. This means that we must act solely in your best interests. This is only possible under a fee-only arrangement where you pay us directly.
The beauty of fee-only financial advisors who work on an hourly/project fee for service basis is that you pay for just the time your highly qualified advisor works with you or for you, just like the as-needed professional services provided by your doctor, dentist, attorney or CPA. Clients have the flexibility to engage an advisor’s services on a one-time basis, periodic as-needed engagements, for comprehensive financial planning, or on an ongoing basis in an annual service program.
Clients who can benefit from fee-only hourly planning span the spectrum from those who are just beginning their investment program to those who have become quite wealthy from their investments over the long-term.
Safe Harbor Financial Advisors provides only financial planning and advice paid for by the client. Because Safe Harbor does not accept commissions or third-party compensation in any form, the advice rendered to our clients is completely independent. There are never any third-party agendas to worry about. Rest assured, your Safe Harbor financial planner is working solely for you – not a parent company or institution with a corporate sales agenda. This practice model is a great fit for individuals and families who do not meet the income or net worth requirements imposed by some advisors but would benefit from professional financial guidance.
Our practice model also works well for self-directed individuals and do-it-yourself investors who periodically need or want a professional second opinion of their financial situation and/or or validation that the decisions they’ve made are sound. These clients prefer to manage some or all of the implementation on their own.
Our ongoing service program provides an option for those clients who want more financial advice and assistance in a structured approach but without the significant costs usually associated with service programs offered by advisors who charge a fee based on client investment balances or net worth. You can learn more about our service program, which we call our Pierside Program, at this link.
From our main office in Occoquan, Virginia we serve clients in Prince William County, Fairfax County, and Stafford County, including Woodbridge, Lake Ridge, Manassas, Dumfries, Lorton, Fort Belvoir, Fairfax Station, Fairfax, Clifton, Springfield, and other local communities, and have some executive suite office locations in the area at which we can meet clients for an extra fee. We also now serve clients in the Newport, Rhode Island area with the Ocean State's original fee-only, hourly financial planning practice. More information on our Rhode Island office is available at www.SafeHarbor-RI.com. E-mail or call a Safe Harbor financial professional to see how we can help you manage your own money.
The bottom line is that clients who want advice and guidance to help them manage their own finances and achieve financial independence without any conflicts of interest from their financial advisor will find Safe Harbor to be their type of planning firm.
Financial planning is a process, not an event. Another way to view the financial planning process is as a journey to a financial goal. As with any journey you need to know where you are starting from, where you want to end up, the hazards or pitfalls (or the fun detours) along the way, and you need a way to measure your progress and make adjustments as needed. In some respects this is similar to plotting a course at sea. There are many possible ways to get to your destination but you need a plan of action, an accurate chart, the right tools, and you may need to make course adjustments along the way to account for changes or challenges. You also may want to seek assistance along the journey from others who have experience or expertise that you can draw upon. Your goal lies ahead in your very own safe harbor. Do you have a plan to get there? Ask us for advice and assistance--we can help you get started and keep on course.
