What has a deadline?
Tax elections, option expirations, benefit elections, legal dates, and immediate cash needs go to the front of the list.
What to expect
Start with the question you have.
A retirement date, an inheritance, or a decision about company stock can be the starting point for an ongoing planning relationship. Tell us what you are considering. We will listen and explain how we could help.
The first meeting
Start with what happened.
You can begin by email or arrange a phone conversation. In-person meetings are also available by arrangement. The first conversation is free, with no obligation to continue.
- Tell us what you are considering and what you would like help with.
- Ask questions about Pathfinder, our fees, or how we would approach the work.
- Discuss whether an ongoing planning relationship fits the help you need.
The first piece of work
Identify what needs attention first.
When we begin working together, we identify deadlines and immediate needs, then make room for the decisions that deserve more time.
What can safely wait?
A decision made after the pressure drops is often a better decision. We say so when waiting is useful.
Who else needs to be involved?
Some questions belong with an attorney, CPA, insurance specialist, or another professional. We help identify those handoffs and coordinate the financial pieces.
How the work proceeds
Discover, Decide, Do.
We organize the work into three steps: Discover, Decide, Do. As your circumstances change, we return to the questions and update the plan with you.
Discover
Understand your priorities, finances, family responsibilities, and concerns. Identify what you want the money to make possible and what needs protecting.
Decide
Compare realistic choices. We show our assumptions, explain the tradeoffs, and tell you which course we recommend and why.
Do
Help carry out the decisions through paperwork, account changes, coordination with other professionals, and follow-up.
The ongoing relationship
Keep the plan useful as life changes.
We work with clients on an ongoing basis, helping carry out the plan and revisit it as circumstances and priorities change.
Ask until it makes sense
Ask about anything that is unclear. We explain the reasoning and keep working at it until it makes sense to you.
See the assumptions
We explain the assumptions behind the analysis and what would change our recommendation.
Expect follow-through
We keep track of the next steps with you, including paperwork, account changes, and questions for other professionals.
Investment management
Build the portfolio around your plans.
We begin with what the money has to do, when it may be needed, and what a bad result would mean in real life. Then we decide how much investment risk belongs in the plan.
- Most portfolios begin with low-cost, broadly diversified investments.
- We examine how a market decline could affect your spending and other commitments.
- We explain the investment choices in terms of your needs, costs, and risk.
Investment details
Read the investment strategy
Read how we connect your spending, time horizon, and investment risk to the portfolio.
Read the pageWho you will work with
David and Katherine do the planning.
You work directly with David and Katherine. They research the questions, prepare the recommendations, and help carry them out.
Founder and Financial Planner
David Jacobs, Ph.D., CFP®
David founded Pathfinder after a research career in artificial intelligence and computer security. His planning work brings together questions about retirement, investment risk, taxes, and estate planning.
Read bio
Financial Planner
Katherine Jacobs, CFP®
Katherine focuses on clear explanations and the details between meetings. She wants clients to understand the plan, not merely possess one.
Read bioFees, duties, and disclosures
Understand how Pathfinder is set up.
Read how we are paid, the duty we owe clients, and how we handle private information. We welcome questions about any of these.
Fee-only
Paid by clients
Pathfinder does not receive commissions for selling investments or insurance.
Fiduciary
Required to put clients first
Read what the fiduciary duty means and what to ask any advisor.
Privacy
How private information is handled
Review Pathfinder's privacy policy.
Public disclosure
Form ADV and regulatory records
Look up Pathfinder's filings through the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database.
Pricing
What the ongoing relationship costs.
The fee is a $1,500 quarterly planning retainer plus the applicable amount below. We publish the calculation so you can consider the cost before getting in touch.
$1,500 per quarter
$6,000 per year base retainer
| Net worth | Quarterly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| First $10,000,000 | $250 per $250,000 | $1,000 per $250,000 |
| Over $10,000,000 | $250 per $500,000 | $1,000 per $500,000 |
Net worth includes investment assets over which you have control, such as investment accounts, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, vested stock options, and similar holdings. Additional fees may be charged for business or real estate analysis. The quarterly retainer is cancelable at any time without restriction. Fees are payable in arrears on a quarterly basis, prorated when service covers less than a full quarter, and may be deducted from supervised accounts or paid within twenty-one days of invoice receipt. Hawaii's 4.712% general excise tax is added to all fees, and fees are negotiable.
Ask us how the fee calculation applies to your circumstances.
Contact Pathfinder
Start with the question you have now.
The first conversation is free. We will discuss what you need and whether an ongoing relationship with Pathfinder would be useful.