Educators Asset Management
A service provided by D.R. Harris and Co.
Looking out for those that advance the cause of knowledge
Educators Asset Management is a flat fee only service providing tax efficient and cost effective portfolio management and financial advice. It is a service provided by D.R. Harris & Co, a Registered Investment Advisory firm based in the UTC area of San Diego, CA. Educators Asset Management serves university professors, educational administators and high school level or above science teachers. Educators Asset Management serves clients locally and across the country.
Educators Asset Management's philosophy is centered around low costs, including passive (index) investments, tax management, and equitable and transparent dealings with clients, as reflected in our flat fee retainer structure. We are committed to the financial planning process as a precursor to asset management. Investment policy for each client is an important process and should be integrated around specific and personal financial goals.
Who are we?
Daniel Harris is the owner of D.R. Harris & Co. and provides financial planning, investment advice and asset management for Educators Asset Management. Daniel was a beneficiary of a top rate education from his public high school, his local community college, Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley.
Daniel is a registered investment advisor and an anticipated CFP candidate (expected July 2016) who has spent his career in the investment management and financial advisory industry, helping clients manage their portfolios and plan for retirement, legacy and lifetime goals. Daniel received his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley. His past experience includes working with clients on a $500 million team at Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith. His disillusionment with the inefficient and unhelpful behavior of financial firms in the last recession led to the creation of D.R. Harris & Co. in 2009 and the Educators Asset Management Service in 2016.
A California native, passionate Stanford sports fan, avid traveler and fan of ethnic food, Daniel lives in San Diego, CA with his wife (who is UCSD alum) and his newborn son.
Our Philosophy
D.R. Harris & Co. believes that efficiency and precision in your investments are the key to reaching your financial goals. Index funds efficiently provide broad exposure to a variety of assets and often create instant diversification for investors. They can do this at a surprisingly low cost, which can efficiently deliver to investors their share of the returns of the capital markets.
However, many investors falsely see index funds as a one size fits all solution – but sophisticated investors know this is an inaccurate view. Index funds carry significant risks that are usually at least partially avoidable if you pay attention to the cost and the composition of the underlying assets. There are multiple indexes that you can choose from and buying one with really expensive assets in it will reduce your likelihood of a good outcome and increase your risk of loss. Markets are sometimes portrayed as static but the evidence overwhelmingly shows that they are actually extremely dynamic and constantly changing.
Instead of charging a percent of assets under management where clients may be overpaying for services rendered, Engineering Asset Management operates on a flat annual retainer fee, or on an hourly basis for smaller investors. For more on our fee structure see the fee section below.
What is included in the retainer fee?
We provide comprehensive financial planning, investment advice and investment management for the annual retainer fee.
A financial plan should be at the heart of your long-term investment plan. Investing isn't just about growing your assets; it's about aligning your portfolio with your specific goals. Whether it is saving for retirement, a car, a home, paying for graduate school or a child’s education, or simply doing something fun with your money, your goals come first in developing an investment strategy.
Our Financial Planning Services Included in the retainer fee are:
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Retirement Income Planning (what will your pension produce and how to supplement it with voluntary contributions)
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Education Savings Planning (which 529 to use, whether the use the ESA)
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Life, disability, and insurance review (Why disability and life insurance are critical to protecting your biggest asset (your career). How much insurance you need, where to get the best deals based off your specific situation and which insurers and professional organizations cater to clients like you)
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Charitable Gifts (if you want to support a charity – how to do it as tax efficiently as possible)
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Major Purchase Planning (what to put your money in and how much to save if you want to buy a house, a car, or help with a child's education expenses in the next x number of years)
Our Investment Management Services Included in the retainer fee are:
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Development and Review of Investment Policy Statement for discretionary accounts (accounts where we place trades for you to save time).
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A written quarterly performance monitor for discretionary accounts
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Discretionary asset management of index fund investments
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Portfolio rebalancing for discretionary accounts
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Tax loss harvesting for discretionary accounts
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Nondiscretionary (you place the trades instead of us) investment advice for index funds and other securities
Our Fee Structure
We have two fee schedules depending on what you would like us to do for you. Both schedules include the cost of financial planning, but in the first schedule our advice is limited to fixed income (bond) investments which are more simple to manage. Our second schedule includes the full range of investments as well as financial planning.
Fee Schedule for Financial Planning and Asset Management of Fixed Income Investments only:
Under $50,000: $30 per hour
$50,001 - $150,000: $112.50 per quarter
$150,001 - $300,000: $187.50 per quarter
$300,001 - $750,000: $375 per quarter
$750,001 and up: $385 per quarter
Fee Schedule for Financial Planning and Asset Management of all investments in securities:
Under $50,000: $50 per hour
$50,001 - $150,000: $142.50 per quarter
$150,001 - $300,000: $247.50 per quarter
$300,001 - $750,000: $525 per quarter
$750,001 and up: $535 per quarter
Our fees are often 1/2 the price that you might pay at a firm like TIAA-CREF and usually cheaper than Vanguard as you have an increasing amount of assets. Additionally, our services are very comprehensive focusing not just on investing but also insurance, inexpensive estate planning, educational planning, and tax strategy. At other firms you will typically pay between 0.3%-1.15% for some of these services - but our flat fee rates for asset ranges tend to be much cheaper.
Your investment advisory and asset management contracts will designate that this service is part of our Educators Asset Management service. This is important because we give some of our lowest rates to educators. We benefitted tremendosuly from the interest and attention we received from our teachers and professors along the way, and we think we got a first rate education. Providing highly competitive rates for professors, administrators and teachers is our way of saying thank you to next group of people who are helping students benefit so much.
Because our rates are so cheap we can not provide refunds. All fees other than our hourly fee are due in advance by the first day of the quarter. A client can cancel service in any future quarter - but once paid they may not cancel the current quarter and the service would terminate on the last day of the quarter paid, in accordance with the investment advisory contract.
To learn more or begin today please click the following link below:
Contact
Phone: 858-210-6470