Frequently Asked Questions
Scholar Advising is an independent, flat-fee fiduciary advisory firm working with individuals and families navigating complex financial lives.
General Questions
What types of clients tend to benefit most from working with Scholar Advising?
We work best with individuals and families who have reached a level of financial complexity that demands genuine coordination, not just investment management.
Many of our clients are executives, business owners, and accomplished professionals who have accumulated significant assets across multiple structures, including taxable accounts, retirement plans, business interests, real estate, and concentrated positions. At this level, the challenge is rarely about finding the right investment. It’s about ensuring that every decision across taxes, liquidity, estate planning, and the household balance sheet is made with the full picture in mind.
Our clients are often thinking about questions such as:
- Structuring portfolios that serve multiple generations
- Managing concentrated investments or equity compensation
- Coordinating tax strategy across multiple account types
- Planning around business ownership or major financial transitions
- Supporting children or future family goals
What types of financial complexity do you advise on?
Examples of topics we frequently advise on include:
- Portfolio rebalancing, asset allocation, and tax-aware asset location
- Coordinating across multiple retirement accounts, taxable portfolios, and other investment vehicles
- Tax planning today while preparing for future liquidity events or major financial decisions
- Managing cash flow from business distributions, bonuses, equity compensation, or liquidity events
- Evaluating and managing concentrated stock positions
- Reviewing private investments and alternative assets within the context of an overall portfolio
Do you charge an AUM Fee?
No. We are a fee-only advisory firm and do not charge AUM fees or accept commissions.
Our clients pay us directly for financial planning and advisory services. Every engagement begins with The Scholar Method, our flat-fee planning methodology, and continues through either our Signature Coaching Program or a Limited Scope Engagement.
Because many of the individuals and families we advise have wealth spread across multiple account types and assets, we structure our fees around the complexity of the planning involved rather than the size of a single investment account.
This approach allows us to provide objective advice that is free from product incentives or asset-based compensation.
Are you paid a commission?
No. Neither Scholar Financial Advising nor any of our advisors receive compensation for recommending securities or financial products. We do not sell investment products, and our advice is never influenced by third-party incentives.
Do you make trades or manage accounts for clients?
No. We do not take custody of client assets or exercise discretionary control over any accounts.
Instead, our role is to provide expert analysis, coordination, and strategic guidance that allows clients to make confident, well-informed decisions. We develop strategies and action plans built on The Scholar Method that clients implement directly within their own accounts and through their existing institutional relationships.
Many of the clients we work with have spent decades building and protecting significant wealth. They aren’t looking to hand over control. They want an independent perspective on the decisions that matter most: asset allocation, tax efficiency, concentrated positions, investment opportunity analysis, strategic liquidity planning, and decisions that will shape generational wealth transfer.
For clients who maintain a private banking relationship or AUM manager, we are also available in an advisory overlay capacity. In these arrangements, we develop the strategy and planning framework independently, while the client’s existing manager handles execution. This structure works particularly well when there is value in having a truly independent perspective to pressure-test recommendations, identify gaps across advisors, or ensure that investment decisions are fully integrated with tax, estate, and legacy planning goals.
What qualifications do your advisors have?
Education and research expertise are central to how we approach financial advising.
Our advisory team includes professionals with advanced academic and professional credentials in finance and taxation:
- Stephan Shipe, Ph.D., CFA, CFP®
- Deon Strickland, Ph.D., MBA
These designations represent extensive academic study, professional experience, and ongoing ethical standards.
For example, the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation requires four years of professional experience, over 1,000 hours of study, and completion of a rigorous three-exam program focused on investment analysis and portfolio management.
You can learn more about these designations below.
What is the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER certification?
What is the Chartered Financial Analyst designation?
What does “fiduciary” mean?
Fiduciary Duty of an investment advisor means that the advisor is required to work in the best interest of their clients. Scholar Financial Advising is an independent fee-only fiduciary advisor firm that operates under this fiduciary standard.
Do you work with clients remotely?
Yes. While we are headquartered in North Carolina, our clients live across the United States. We currently advise individuals and families in more than 40 states.
Many of the families we work with have demanding schedules or travel frequently, so we structure meetings around secure document sharing, financial planning tools, and communication through phone, email, and video conferencing.
Can we meet in person?
We default to remote meetings and videoconferencing. However, we also offer in-person meetings for clients located in or visiting the Winston-Salem, North Carolina area.
Whether we meet over Zoom or in person, presentation meetings include live walkthroughs of financial planning tools, retirement simulations, and your full picture in real time.
Contact your advisor if you are interested in setting up an in-person meeting.
Do you have a secure method for sharing sensitive information?
We use an encrypted Box folder for document collection and sharing. We do not recommend sharing sensitive documents through email.
Does the plan include tax advice or analysis?
It’s worth distinguishing between tax advice and tax planning, as they represent meaningfully different services.
Tax advice involves guidance from a licensed tax professional, typically a CPA, on specific tax matters such as deductions, credits, filing positions, or compliance. As a financial planning firm, we are not licensed to provide tax advice and defer those questions to qualified tax counsel.
Tax planning is a different discipline entirely, and it sits at the core of what we do. It is a proactive, year-round process of structuring and coordinating financial decisions to optimize tax outcomes over time. This includes strategies such as Roth conversions, tax loss harvesting, asset location, RSU planning, and the long-term implications of contribution decisions. Rather than reacting to individual tax events, our goal is to build a comprehensive strategy that reduces tax liability and improves financial efficiency across your full financial picture.
Where tax advice is needed, we are happy to refer you to a CPA and, where appropriate, coordinate directly with them on your behalf.
Can I access the software your team uses for planning?
The software we use is only one component of the planning process.
Behind the scenes, we combine professional planning tools with proprietary models and spreadsheets developed by our team. These allow us to analyze complex financial situations, test planning scenarios, and integrate tax, investment, and long-term planning decisions.
More importantly, financial planning software cannot interpret your goals, priorities, and the full context of your financial life. Our advisors bring academic training, research experience, and years of advising high-income professionals and business owners to help translate those analyses into clear, actionable recommendations.
You are not hiring software. You are hiring experienced advisors to help you make better decisions.
Signature Coaching Program
Who is the “typical” client for the Signature Coaching Program?
Clients who choose our Signature Coaching Program typically want a long-term financial partner who can provide proactive guidance as their financial situation evolves. Like all clients at Scholar Financial Advising, they begin with The Scholar Method, our flat-fee planning methodology that organizes their financial picture and establishes a clear strategy.
After the plan presentation, these clients continue working with us through an ongoing advisory structure that includes scheduled strategy meetings, regular check-ins, and continuous access to our advisory team throughout the year.
This relationship is often a good fit for individuals and families whose financial lives involve ongoing decisions across taxes, investments, and long-term planning. Rather than revisiting their plan only periodically, they prefer structured guidance and proactive support as new opportunities, risks, and financial decisions arise.
What does the Signature Coaching Program include?
Clients in the Signature Coaching Program receive:
- A custom strategy built on The Scholar Method
- Semi-annual strategy meetings
- Comprehensive annual review (built in, no extra fee)
- Quarterly check-ins
- Direct access to your advisory team year-round
- Joint coordination calls with your CPA, attorney, and other advisors
- Evaluation of new investment opportunities
- Webinars, economic reports, and the annual Personal Wealth Conference
Your strategic framework becomes a living plan that we refine and update as your financial situation evolves, rather than a static plan that requires you to reach out to us proactively between separately priced annual renewals.
Do you work with our CPA or attorney?
Yes. Many of the individuals and families we work with already have relationships with CPAs, attorneys, or other professional advisors. A key part of our role as your advisory team is helping coordinate financial decisions across those relationships so that tax planning, investment strategy, and long-term planning work together effectively.
As financial situations grow more complex, this coordination often becomes one of the most valuable parts of the Signature Coaching Program. We can meet with you and your CPA or attorney, whether to align on a specific decision, provide context on the broader financial plan, or ensure that recommendations across your professional team are fully coordinated.
Is implementation support included?
Yes. Clients in the Signature Coaching Program receive implementation guidance and ongoing advisory support as part of their monthly advisory fee. This includes practical meetings to guide you through the process of making account changes or walking you through specific trades.
How is the Signature Coaching Program different from a Limited Scope Engagement?
A Limited Scope Engagement provides a complete plan built on The Scholar Method and allows clients to engage us for additional work on an hourly basis when new planning needs arise, along with optional annual renewals to refresh the plan.
The Signature Coaching Program is designed for clients who prefer a structured, long-term partnership with regular meetings, proactive planning guidance, and continuous access to our advisory team throughout the year. After the initial Scholar Method engagement, the relationship continues through a custom monthly retainer with the annual review built in.
Limited Scope Engagement
Who is the “typical” client for a Limited Scope Engagement?
A Limited Scope Engagement is designed for early-career professionals, adult children of current clients, and others whose financial complexity does not yet require ongoing advisory. Clients who choose this path typically want a complete financial framework built on The Scholar Method without entering into a long-term advisory relationship.
They are often looking for an advisor to organize their financial picture, develop a strategy, and provide guidance as specific financial decisions arise during the year following their plan presentation.
Can we meet for one hour to answer a few of my questions?
We do not offer standalone one-off consultations outside of an established client relationship. The Scholar Method is built on a rigorous, collaborative process that examines your situation from every angle, and meaningful advice on a single decision requires that broader context. Without it, any guidance we offered would risk missing the connections that often matter most.
Once you have engaged us through The Scholar Method, you have ongoing access to our team for questions that come up along the way. Clients in a Limited Scope Engagement have access to hourly advisory support during the 12 months following their plan presentation. Clients in the Signature Coaching Program have direct, on-demand access to their advisory team year-round, with no hourly billing.
If you are unsure which path fits your situation, we’re happy to have an introductory conversation to find out.
How long will it take for my plan to be created?
Our goal is to complete The Scholar Method within 30–45 days. This timeline depends on both the client providing requested information and our advisory team completing the planning analysis.
What does The Scholar Method include?
The Scholar Method is our flat-fee planning methodology and the foundation of every client engagement at Scholar Advising. The work begins with your dedicated Financial Advisor supported by our advisory team, who together guide the onboarding process, review documents, and develop a full understanding of your financial goals.
Deliverables include a plan presentation, written recommendations, net worth statement, retirement simulations, a planning dashboard used during the meeting, and guidance on implementation if needed.
To learn more about how The Scholar Method works, including its five core components, visit our Services page.
Do you assist with implementation of the plan if I need help?
Yes. We are available to provide guidance as you begin implementing your financial plan. For clients engaged in a Limited Scope Engagement, hands-on implementation support may be provided at our hourly rate within the 12 months following their plan presentation.
Will I be billed for follow-up questions after the presentation meeting?
Clarification questions related to your plan are always welcome. If additional planning work or one-off questions are raised outside of the original scope, that work may be billed at our hourly advisory rate for clients with a plan presented within the past 12 months.
How far into the future will the plan be for and how many hours are expected for reviews? Is an annual review required?
Your Scholar Method plan serves as a strategic roadmap for the next year while modeling long-term outcomes such as retirement projections, multi-year tax strategies, and generational planning.
For clients in a Limited Scope Engagement, annual renewals revisits assumptions, reviews your portfolio, and adjusts your strategy as life changes. Renewals also extend hourly advisory access for another 12 months following the renewal. Renewals typically range between 70 and 80 percent of the original engagement fee, depending on complexity.
What’s Next?
Every engagement begins with a brief intake form so your advisory team can prepare ahead of time and align the conversation to your financial picture and goals. From there, you receive a tailored proposal built around your specific situation, walked through with you in detail so every question is answered before any commitment is made.