Frequently Asked Questions

Our services reflect our principals and priorities:

• Understanding our clients’ personal  investment needs

• Asset Allocation not stock picking

• Implementation via low fee ETFs and Mutual funds

• Disciplined rebalancing

• Tax efficiency

• No conflicts of interest. Full transparency of our fees

Taxable accounts are subject to taxes on dividends, interest and capital gains.  Active management is typically much less tax efficient because the turnover is much higher. Capital gains and losses are typically realized much quicker. The ETFs and Mutual Funds and other investment vehicles that we utilize have significantly lower turnover thus reducing one’s tax liabilities. While taxes are only one of many considerations in designing an appropriate portfolio, clients should be tax aware. According to Vanguard, historically, for domestic equity funds, about 2 percentage points are lost to taxes. This is roughly 20% of the total market gains since 1926.

We charge an annual fee of 1% of assets under management on the first $1 million, .90% on the second million, .70% on the third million, .50% on each of the fourth and fifth million and a negotiated fee for subsequent assets. Our present minimum is $2 million. 

There are no hidden fees that clients are forced to pay directly or indirectly. The fee charged to clients and billed quarterly is the only fee that Red Lighthouse receives, directly or indirectly.

A lighthouse is a useful metaphor in the investment world, serving as a beacon to point the way and providing protection from the rocky shoals. In Manhattan there is but one lighthouse, it is red, and it is nestled under the George Washington Bridge. It also happens to have been immortalized in the childhood classic The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge written by Hildegarde Swift and illustrated by Lynd Ward.