Please read over our F.A.Q.’s below; you may find answers to some of your questions.
GENERAL
What is the benefit of working with Timbuktu Capital Management (TCM)?
Here are the six ways we can help you achieve your financial goals:
We will help you plan your overall financial life. We will help you set up a budget, a saving plan, an investment plan, a retirement plan, an insurance plan, and an education plan if you need one. We will also work with you to write a will, a healthcare directive and other important documents regarding your financial security.
We will build a balanced, investment portfolio that reflects your personal goals, risk profile, time horizon, and preferences. The portfolio will also consider other factors such as the business cycle and attractiveness of various investments.
We use fundamental and technical analysis as well as our market experience to invest for you. We work hard to outperform your personal market benchmark, although there are no specific guarantees on investment return.
We will keep you and our other clients abreast of what is going on in the financial markets. If you desire, we will invest time to help you learn about financial products and the financial markets.
We will always be on the lookout for you and our other clients regarding any new opportunities that can be beneficial to you.
We are straightforward and clear about our fees and charges. We work to avoid any conflicts of interest by not accepting any commissions or kickbacks.
What kind of services do you provide?
We offer several services including:
– Investment Management
– Financial Planning
– Retirement Planning (individuals and small businesses)
– Life Changes Planning (new job, new baby, inheritance, divorce, etc)
– Consulting Services (small businesses)
What is the minimum dollar amount to get started?
There is NO minimum amount necessary for us to build a financial plan for you. Everyone benefits from a financial plan whether or not you are investing in the financial market.
However, for long-term money management services, we have a quarterly retainer fee. We meet with clients quarterly to review their investments.
Do you manage funds for the long term or short term?
We focus on long-term investments. However we will help you if your specific needs require that we invest your funds for the short-term. We will actively manage your accounts and re-balance them as often as we deem necessary.
Do you have a contingency plan?
Yes, we do have contingency plans in case of rare circumstances like prolonged sickness, incapacity, death, or national emergency. Our custodians holding your assets (TD Ameritrade, TIAA CREF, Schwab, Vanguard, or Fidelity) also have their own contingency plans. Finally, since your assets are under your name, you will always have access to them at all times.
How do I get started?
Please give us a call at (201) 388-6554. Once we connect and establish a client-advisor relationship, we will send you a confidential client questionnaire to capture basic personal information, your financial accounts, assets, liabilities, and your investment risk profile. After review of your questionnaire answers, we will build a complete financial plan for you and start right away on the execution of the plan.
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
What kind of investments do you focus on?
We invest in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) for our clients’ portfolios because they have lower fees than mutual funds while offering the same level of diversification with better tax efficiency.
While we occasionally buy individual stocks for our clients, it is a rarity. We believe that stocks are very volatile and it is very difficult to know what is really going on within any given company. As a result, we use ETFs to diversify our clients’ portfolios.
How can I track my investments?
We work with several major US brokerage companies including TD Ameritrade, Schwab, Fidelity, TIAA CREF, Interactive Brokers, and Vanguard. These institutions will keep your assets in your name and provide online access to your accounts. You may elect to receive email updates whenever there is activity in your account.
How often will I get my statements?
You will get monthly statement via email, and you will have 24 hour online access to your monthly statements and financial information. We will sit down with you and help you understand your first couple of statements and answer any questions you may have.
Do you have access to my money; am I protected from any fraud or scam?
We do not have access to your money. Funds can move only to another account in your name. Your account will be opened with TD Ameritrade under your name, and you and TD Ameritrade alone will have access to withdraw funds from it.
As part of the account opening process, you will give permission to TD Ameritrade to withdraw our advisor fees, which are charged quarterly, when we send TD Ameritrade a statement of fees. TD Ameritrade usually automatically verifies that the fees are reasonable before making the deduction from your account.
In general, it is our opinion that you can significantly reduce the risk of fraud by taking these 3 measures:
Ensure your assets are kept in accounts in your name (or with your spouse).
Verify the company investing and managing your funds on your behalf (in this case “Us”) and the company keeping, counting, and reporting to you (in this case “TD Ameritrade”) are separate and cannot influence each other.
Review your statements at least quarterly or semi-annually.
This is the set up we offer all our clients to protect and assure them of our commitment to safeguarding their funds.
Do you manage funds for the long term or short term?
We focus on long-term investments. However we will help you if your specific needs require that we invest your funds for the short-term. We will actively manage your accounts and re-balance them as often as we deem necessary.
How do I know you have my best interest at heart?
We do have your best interest at heart because we only benefit when you are financially successful. We depend on our clients to grow our business through referrals as we do not advertise. We focus our energies on the financial success and satisfaction of our clients so that they advertise for us. We do not accept any kickbacks or commissions for products we select for you.