Frequently Asked Questions

As an independent fee-only investment advisor, Zhang Financial upholds fiduciary duty to all clients. We are responsible for providing fair and full disclosure of all material facts and must act solely in the best interests of our clients at all times—we have no “hidden agenda” through commissions or other incentive to sell any particular financial product that is not optimal for our clients’ financial well-being. As a NAPFA-Registered Fee-Only Financial Advisor we have committed ourselves to working within the highest ethical standards.

We believe working with a fiduciary fee-only financial advisor is crucial. Many advisors may misrepresent themselves as being fee-only because it is preferred by most clients. The best way to ensure your financial advisor is a truly fee-only CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ is by visiting NAPFA's website at http://www.napfa.org/. We have also prepared a video describing fee-only vs. fee-based and commission-based financial advisors. The link is below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzuXPk3VgPY

Zhang Financial utilizes the custodial services of LPL Financial LLC (LPL) and Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab), both independent, unaffiliated third-party custodians. Client assets are held in accounts at these custodians, which generate and deliver account statements directly. Cash distributions are made by the custodian to the account owner’s address of record or designated bank account. LPL and Schwab are members of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which provides limited protection if a brokerage firm fails or customer assets are missing. SIPC does not protect against losses resulting from market fluctuations or investment performance.

Click Here for the Fee-Only Advisor tab.

Our clients are intelligent, kind, diligent and oftentimes leaders within their industry. We serve clients across a broad spectrum, including millionaires, billionaires, institutions, and endowments. A Zhang Financial client is seeking a long-term professional relationship built on trust and on-going unbiased investment counsel. Many of our clients have had experience with self-management or with the traditional financial advisory sales model. Zhang Financial clients recognize the need for professional, objective, and competent advice to manage their wealth successfully.

The investment requirement for new clients of Zhang Financial is $1,000,000 in Michigan, $2,000,000 outside of Michigan, and $5,000,000 for international clients. This minimum amount refers to cash, stocks, and various investment accounts available to be managed directly by Zhang Financial.

Our process to plan for your finances is customized for your personal situation. Our firm-wide general guidelines for the financial planning process are as follows:

Step 1: Identify and Prioritize Objectives - You will meet with one of our financial advisors to discuss your goals, concerns and needs to develop a clear vision of your financial future.

Step 2: Gather Information - We will ask you for various documents including tax returns, trusts, insurance policies and retirement plans for us to review.

Step 3: Analyze Information - We will review your risk tolerance, current investment positions, tax concerns, unrealized gains, and other important information while developing recommendations.

Step 4: Develop Your Personal Financial Plan - Charles Zhang and his investment team will create a personalized investment strategy, portfolio, and financial plan for you after analyzing your information.

Step 5: Take Action - Your Zhang Financial Team will implement the recommendations and changes suggested in your financial plan. Any items you need to address should also be taken care of during this step (i.e. making changes within your employer's 401k plan).

Step 6: Review Your Progress - We will hold periodic service meetings to review your portfolio progress and re-evaluate your goals. Financial planning is an ongoing process, and is important that your investment strategy is in alignment with your investment goals.

We ask all of our clients to commit to bi-annual portfolio reviews. By adopting a holistic approach to financial planning, we manage and advise on all aspects of our clients’ financial situation, including but not limited to: tax planning, investment planning, retirement planning, insurance planning, education planning, and estate planning. In the event we are unable to provide needed expertise, we consult with our trusted affiliates, which include local CPA firms and attorneys. Because financial planning is an ongoing, dynamic process, we offer our clients services such as periodic service meetings and portfolio re-balancing. As your needs change, we adjust our investment strategy to optimize your current financial situation.

Zhang Financial focuses on a disciplined, low-cost approach to investing.

As independent advisors, we enjoy access to thousands of no-load mutual funds, DFA funds, ETFs and alternative investments. Free from the constraints imposed by propriety products and investment banking relationships, we work with our clients to determine which investment options are best suited to their unique financial situation.

Some traditional financial advisory practices house several financial advisors that share compliance and administrative duties; however, they all operate independently in terms of investment management and client service. In those models, the client receives a different experience, investment strategy, and level of service depending on which advisor they have a relationship with.

At Zhang Financial we practice a team-based, collaborative approach to serving your investment needs. Charles Zhang and his research team provide investment research, perform due diligence and make investment recommendations for a consistent firm-wide strategy. Charles’ team of Client Service Managers and Financial Advisors meet with clients to communicate recommendations and address client questions. Our team approach enables us to blend multiple fields of specialties and expertise to best service your assets.

Barron’s List of Top 100 Advisors ONLY includes advisors who are FINRA licensed as stock brokers to sell commissioned products.  In other words, only advisors who are compensated by commissions earned by generating transactions in client's accounts or a combination of commissions and fees are able to participate in the Barron’s List of Top 100 Advisors rankings. Charles Zhang is a fee-only advisor, he does not hold commission licenses, which precludes him from participating in the Top 100 Advisors rankings. Barron’s ranks fee-only advisors on the Top Independent Advisor list.

The Zhang Financial Team takes pride in holding industry-recognized designations and educational credentials including:

1. CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM (CFP®)
2. Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
3. Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
4. Masters in Business Administration (MBA)
5. MS in Accountancy
6. PhD and MA in Economics
7. MS in Financial Services (MSFS)
8. Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC)
9. Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU)

It is important to note that not all designations are equally rigorous. While the CFP® requires an extensive background check, comprehensive coursework, successfully passing a ten-hour, 285-question exam, at least three years of experience in the financial planning industry, the fulfillment of numerous requirements concerning standards of professional conduct and the adherence to strict fiduciary standards, certain designations are earned with just a few days of coursework. If you run into a designation that was not included in the list above, we encourage you to do your research to find out the requirements for obtaining these designations as many credentials only require paying a fee and minimum training and coursework.

We have prepared a video entitled "Not All Financial Designations are Equal". Please see the link to the video below:

https://youtu.be/pn_ZU948Bp8

No. Zhang Financial does not participate in paid referral platforms or search-based lead generation websites.

Search-based "find an advisor" platforms may operate on revenue-sharing models, charging advisors significant, ongoing fees for successful client referrals. The cost of participating in these networks can result in higher advisory fees being passed down to the client. Because we are committed to keeping our costs highly competitive for our clients, we choose not to incur these third-party fees.

We encourage investors to look closely at the structure of referral-based websites. Often, the advisors featured are simply those who have agreed to pay the platform's fees, which introduces a potential conflict of interest. If you are currently working with an advisor you found through a paid referral program, we strongly encourage you to bring your portfolio to Zhang Financial for a second opinion. We are confident our fee-only structure is highly competitive.

To find an independent, fee-only advisor you can trust, we recommend utilizing the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) directory at https://www.napfa.org/find-an-advisor