CFP^® Professional stands for CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional. CFP^® is a professional designation attained by a person who has successfully completed the requirements of the Certified Financial Planner Board. CFP^® is one of the most rigorous and recognized designations in the financial community. Those who hold this designation have made a commitment to excellence and the fiduciary standard.

A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional helps clients achieve their financial and personal goals. Here, our CFP^® Professionals are part coach, part advocate, all partner. We are in this with you. We take a holistic approach with an emphasis on your entire financial life – not just investments. Ultimately, our goal is to create a path towards financial prosperity, and peace of mind so you can focus on your family, career, that trip of a lifetime or retirement.

By helping you clarify and articulate your goals, we can review all areas of your financial life to help you achieve them more efficiently.

A fiduciary is a person who holds a legal or ethical relationship of trust with another. A fiduciary is legally bound to act in the best interest of their client. At Sage Wealth Planning, we embrace the fiduciary standard.

As fiduciaries, we have a duty of loyalty and duty of care which means we are legally bound to put the interests of our clients first and to provide sound and prudent advice to our clients. As we are fee-only so we are not incentivized by product sales and only receive payment from our clients.

We are headquartered in Traverse City, MI, with offices in St. Louis, MO, but we also work virtually with clients nationwide.

Choice, flexibility, and transparency are the pillars of our pricing model.

We charge a flat rate for the creation of a financial plan. We have an hourly structure for advice or guided implementation. We maintain a stand-alone investment advisory service for clients who prefer this structure priced at 0.65% regardless of asset level.

For clients who value all of these services together, we offer flat-fee models that blend financial planning, ongoing implementation of recommendations and investment advisory services.

Further information regarding our services and fees can be found in our Form ADV.

We start with a free consultation to understand your needs and goals and for you to assess if Sage Wealth Planning is a good fit for you. From there, we use a variety of engaging tools and technology to help you get started on your journey. For clients who are local, we enjoy meeting face to face, but our virtual capabilities allow us to work with clients anywhere. Please consult our Form ADV for more information about the firm and our services.

We pride ourselves on responsiveness. You can reach us by email, business phone or even on personal cell phone.

Absolutely. We understand hectic schedules and will work to accommodate yours.

Yes, in fact, for many clients their 401(k) is their largest asset. We look at your entire financial picture to give you the best advice.

Absolutely, employee benefits are an important part of the equation and we want to help you with all aspects of your planning.

Of course. In fact, it’s another one of our core services we provide for our clients. We analyze and consult on the tax impact these option plans may create and then look at how they affect the rest of your portfolio to set up the best plan for you. Once again, we want to consult on all the parts of your financial life – not just the money you’ve entrusted us to manage directly.

Yes, we can manage assets directly for clients or provide guidance if clients would rather hold their assets on their own.

We meet with our clients frequently over the first year to set up their plan and then several times per year after that depending upon the complexities and changing circumstances; however, we are always available as needed.

We believe portfolios should be designed to match risk tolerance and time frame and design spans across accounts. Portfolio construction involves selecting investments to fulfill design. 

We are committed to a low-cost and low-turnover investment strategy. We use a combination of passive and active strategies to achieve our clients’ goals.

We’d be happy to schedule a free consultation with one of our advisors.

Providing the most current and accurate information leads to the best advice. When you link accounts, we are provided with a read-only feed of balance and transaction information and never have access to your account.

No. Clients enter into a separate custodial/clearing agreement with an unaffiliated custodian where the assets are held in the client’s name. Sage Wealth Planning LLC generally recommends that investment management accounts be maintained at Charles Schwab & Co. for execution and/or custodial services. This recommendation is made based on such factors as Schwab’s financial strength, reputation and its full range of services. These include its research and execution capabilities, pricing, banking, technology platform and responsiveness.