Flat-Fee Financial Planning for Complex Financial Lives
Most financial advisors charge a percentage of the assets they manage. We charge a flat fee for planning and advice. No AUM fees. No commissions. Just independent guidance across everything you have built.
Built for financial lives that demand more.
Scholar Financial Advising was founded on the belief that the most complex financial situations deserve the most rigorous, independent advice.
We are a flat fee advisory firm. That means we do not manage assets for a percentage, accept commissions, or sell financial products. Our advisors hold advanced academic and professional credentials across finance and taxation, and we work exclusively with individuals and families whose financial lives require genuine coordination across decisions, not just investment management.
Our clients are not looking to hand off control. They are looking for a partner who can help them make better decisions across everything they have built.
"Managing a portfolio is only one piece of the picture. The real challenge is coordinating decisions across your entire financial life."
Comprehensive Wealth Advisory
As wealth grows, so does complexity. Decisions around equity compensation, business ownership, tax strategy, and multigenerational planning do not exist in isolation. Every comprehensive financial plan is built around coordinating the full picture so that all of it is working together.
Business Owner Advisory
From succession planning to liquidity events, we work with business owners navigating the financial decisions that will shape the rest of their lives. Planning before a transaction is where the most valuable work happens.
Executive Financial Planning
Equity compensation, concentrated positions, deferred compensation, and the tax complexity that comes with them. We help executives build a long-term strategy around every layer of their compensation.
Tax Strategy & Optimization
Tax planning is a year-round discipline, not a reaction to April. We work proactively across Roth conversions, tax loss harvesting, asset location, and charitable strategies to reduce lifetime tax liability.
Estate & Trust Planning
Coordinating with your estate attorneys, we help ensure that wealth transfers thoughtfully, trust structures are working as intended, and future generations are prepared for what they will inherit.
Retirement Design
Retirement planning is not just about accumulation. We build withdrawal strategies that balance tax efficiency, longevity, liquidity needs, and long-term goals across the full household balance sheet.
Multigenerational Wealth
For families managing wealth across generations, we help coordinate across entities, advisors, and family members to ensure that financial decisions reflect shared values and long-term intentions.
Real situations. Real complexity.
Every client we work with is navigating a set of financial decisions that are specific to their situation. These are a few of the scenarios we work through with clients regularly.
Navigating a $42M Liquidity Event
A founder fielding acquisition interest for the first time needed a partner who could help him think through the financial consequences of the sale while the terms were still being negotiated, not after the deal closed.
Read The Case Study
Managing Concentration Risk Across a $14M Portfolio
A senior executive with more than 70% of her net worth tied to a single stock needed an independent perspective on concentration risk, vesting decisions, and a tax-efficient path toward diversification.
Read The Case Study
Coordinating Wealth Across Three Generations
A family with more than $35 million across trusts, real estate, and a privately held business needed someone to bring the full picture together, across attorneys, accountants, and three generations of family members.
Read The Case StudyThese aren't side services. They are our specialty.
What's Next?
Tell us about your situation using our short intake form. It helps us understand where you are before we connect, so the first conversation is focused on what matters most to you.
Based on what you share, we put together a customized proposal outlining the planning approach we would recommend for your situation and walk you through it together.
Every engagement begins with a comprehensive financial plan covering every area of your financial life. From there, you choose how you want to continue — through an ongoing advisory relationship or on an hourly basis as needs arise.