Frequently Asked Questions

At Rebalance, we are always happy to discuss portfolio performance. This topic is often confusing, in part because returns must be evaluated in the context of inherent risk. Please schedule a time to speak with a Rebalance advisor, who can review performance in a way that is relevant to you and your situation.

Yes, Rebalance is an investment management firm, and has highly qualified CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERS™ on our team. They can create a personalized financial plan for you to ensure that you are on track for retirement. If you are, great! If not, our advisors will recommend adjustments to your plan and your investments.

Your portfolio is built directly from your comprehensive financial plan. Your Rebalance team starts by gaining a deep understanding of your goals, income needs, risk tolerance, tax situation, time horizon, and life priorities, then designs a disciplined, globally diversified, and tax-aware portfolio that supports those objectives. Rather than “fitting you” into a model, Rebalance aligns your investments to what your plan requires today and what your future needs demand. Guided by our renowned Investment Committee and supported by your dedicated team of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERS™, your portfolio is reviewed regularly and adjusted as your life, markets, and tax considerations evolve, so your investments always stay connected to your plan and your goals.

ETF stands for “exchange-traded fund.” These funds trade on the stock exchange just like any stock. ETFs are no secret, but investment professionals such as brokers cannot’t earn fees from most of them, so they go ignored. Each ETF is a “basket” of stocks that represents a particular index. For example, if you wanted to own every stock in the S&P 500 Index, you would buy one of several ETFs that follow that index. One example is the State Street Global Advisers SPDR S&P 500 (the ticker is SPY). By owning one share of SPY, you own 500 stocks in one. Mutual funds are six to 10 times more expensive than ETFs because they hire pros, who attempt to select a few stocks within the index that they believe will beat the entire index. By owning the ETFs we use, funds that are widely held and used by millions of investors every day, you get nearly the exact return of the index that fund tracks. Since computers manage the stock buying, rather than a highly paid fund manager, the fees are very low.

Rebalance’s investment methodology is shaped by a world-class Investment Committee made up of some of the most respected minds in finance. This includes Burton Malkiel, author of A Random Walk Down Wall Street; Charley Ellis, former chairman of the Yale University Endowment; Jay Vivian, who led IBM’s $100+ billion retirement investment funds; and Kristi Craig, CFA, a seasoned institutional investor currently overseeing the National Geographic Society’s endowment. Their combined decades of academic insight and real-world experience guide the design, selection, and ongoing oversight of your portfolio, grounded in low-cost, diversified, evidence-based principles rather than short-term market trends, so your investments are positioned to work toward your long-term goals.

Rebalance manages a wide range of investment accounts to support your full financial life, including Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, Rollover IRAs, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, taxable brokerage accounts (individual and joint), and Trust accounts. We also works with inherited/beneficiary IRAs, custodial accounts for children, and Donor-Advised Fund investment accounts. When clients have multiple accounts in different places, our team of financial advisors and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERS™ can coordinate them into one cohesive strategy designed to support long-term goals.

Required Minimum Distributions are withdrawals that the IRS requires from retirement accounts as you reach a certain age or when you inherit certain types of retirement accounts. The exact rules and ages may change over time, but the idea stays the same: the IRS requires you to take money out and pay taxes on it. At Rebalance, we make this process simple and stress-free. Our team tracks your required amount each year, carefully builds it into your investment strategy, and helps automate distributions so the right amount is withdrawn on time. We coordinate tax withholding if desired, ensure the funds go where you need them, and keep everything aligned with your broader financial plan so you do not have to worry about deadlines, calculations, or changing rules.

Getting started with Rebalance is a guided and supportive process. First, our Client Service team helps you sign the necessary paperwork and link or move your existing investments. Your investments are then managed at either Charles Schwab or Fidelity, two of the most trusted custodians in the industry. From there, you will work with your CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ to build your comprehensive financial plan. That plan informs how we design, allocate, and manage your portfolio, so we typically wait to invest until your plan is complete and we are confident everything is aligned with your goals.

The minimum size portfolio to get started is $1 million.

Rebalance is a fee-only, fiduciary firm, which means the only compensation we receive is the advisory fee you pay us. There are no commissions, no product incentives, and no hidden revenue streams. Our incentives are fully aligned with your best interests, and our fees are clearly disclosed in our SEC-filed ADV for complete transparency. You should always understand exactly what you are paying and the value you are receiving.

Please see our legal page to learn more about our fees in our ADV document.

There are two kinds of investment managers: an Investment Advisor, which Rebalance is, and brokers, such as those found at Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, or UBS. As a Registered Investment Advisor under the Securities Act of 1940, we are required to act as a fiduciary, that is, to put your interests above our own and to declare any conflicts of interest that may arise. Be assured that Rebalance constructs portfolios to meet your goals and put your interests above all else. Comparatively, a broker, or Registered Representative, is required only to recommend investments that are “suitable” for you. Legally, he or she can put his or her own interests above yours when recommending investments.

Your money will be at either Schwab or Fidelity in an account under your name. You will be able to log on to their site any time, day or night, to check your account balance and to download statements. Because of our partnerships with these firms, Rebalance is able to open accounts and buy and sell securities on your behalf, with your agreement, as part of our service. These firms have ample government and private insurance covering your account.

All personal information given to Rebalance is held in the strictest confidence and protected under our written privacy policy. Rebalance is fully committed to safeguarding your information using state-of-the-art data security and encryption services. Our partners help us to maintain these security levels. We are also required by the SEC to comply with privacy laws. Privacy Policy. As an investment advisor, we comply with strict, federally regulated privacy policies. Form ADV 2A. We file an updated version of this document with the SEC each year. It describes our services, fees, and all practices that relate to our role as your fiduciary. The SEC requires that it be written in “plain English” so that it is easily understood by the average investor. Investment Advisory Agreement. This is a one-page agreement that we sign with clients who wish to have us manage their IRA.

No. Rebalance is completely independent and not affiliated with Charles Schwab or Fidelity in any way. We do not receive fees, commissions, or incentives from them. We simply partner with these firms as custodians. Client accounts and assets are safely held at Schwab or Fidelity, while Rebalance provides the advice, management, and ongoing guidance. This structure gives you the security of world-class institutions combined with the personal, fiduciary service of Rebalance.

Schwab and Fidelity will send you monthly statements through email or via U.S. mail. In addition, you can access your account with them online 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, providing account balances, trades, cash flows, and past statements.