FAQ
Click on a question below to learn more.
What do you do at Schrette and Lee Wealth Management?
At Schrette & Lee Wealth Management, we really do two separate and distinct things.
1) Paul D Schrette & Joseph V. Lee (we) manage money for individuals and families on a fee-only basis as Investment Advisor Representatives (IAR) of a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA). We are not a hedge fund nor do we represent any hedge funds. Rather, we use institutional-caliber third party money management firms that offer various investment strategies, utilizing listed securities, that aim to provide reasonable rates of return with a level of risk tailored to each client’s risk tolerance. This is the largest and fastest growing segment of our firms business.
2) As an accommodation to the diverse group of clients we have acquired over the years and in order to hold and service various investment securities that are not part of our managed account programs, we are also licensed as registered representatives of a broker-dealer. In addition, we are also licensed as insurance brokers and have the ability to shop and compare various insurance products as needed and appropriate for our clients.
If you become a client of Schrette & Lee Wealth Management, we will assess your financial situation and work with you to define your short and long-term goals–from taxes and real estate purchases to college funding and retirement distributions. Then, we will map out a plan to get you there and work with you to stick to it. We offer a wide range of expertise which allows us to bring your entire financial picture into balance, giving you time and freedom to focus on the more enjoyable aspects of life.
We are dedicated to education–both for our clients and the public–and offer free information in a variety of formats.
Read more about our services here, or call us at 1.888.743.1943 for more information.
Why should I hire Schrette & Lee Wealth Management instead of managing my own money?
Regardless of the investment program you choose to implement in your portfolio, managing money is difficult to do well on your own. It is time consuming and requires a tremendous amount of discipline. That’s where we can help.
We will work with you to create a detailed investment plan and then will work on your behalf, making sure it gets implemented and keeping your portfolio appropriately structured over time.
In addition, chances are we might have access to some institutional-caliber money managers that may be very appropriate for what you are trying to accomplish that you may not be able to access on your own. Some money management firms we utilize do not market directly to the general public, they only work through Investment Advisors Representatives of RIA’s like us. Other firms are open to the public but may have very high minimums, like $1M, $5M or $10M or more. We may be able to give you access to those very same firms for minimums as low as $25,000, $50,000 or $100,000 in some instances and we have the ability to look at hundreds of portfolio’s from a variety of firms all on one investment platform verses researching them one at a time.
We will also keep you moving in the right direction, offering advice and guidance to counter the emotional element that can derail the best of investment plans.
To see first-hand if one of our money management programs might be right for you click here, to request a free initial consultation.
If I choose Schrette & Lee Wealth Management where are my assets held?
Through our affiliation with Madison Avenue Securities, Inc. (“MAS”), which is a registered Broker-Dealer (BD) and a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), and a member of FINRA and the SIPC, we currently have access to a variety of custodians when we are working as an IAR to hold your assets.* As an example, through just one of the investment platforms we currently utilize as an IAR we have access to Fidelity, Schwab, and Pershing, LLC, a Bank of New York Mellon company, to act as custodians and hold our clients assets.
Fidelity, Schwab, and Pershing, LLC are not affiliated companies.
They are each members of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).
*If we were to work with you as a registered representative of the Broker-Dealer we currently only have access to Pershing, LLC as custodian.
How much do you charge?
The fee for our investment advisory services utilizing one of our institutional-caliber money management firms is charged on a fee-only basis*. Our fees are based on a percentage of your account balance, and they are tiered based on assets under management. Each investment program we offer has a standard rate structure.
For more information about our investment programs and fees, call us at 1.888.743.1943 or click here to request a free initial consultation.
*Certain brokerage offerings and insurance programs that are not part of the investment advisory part of our business may impose a commission to the client or the provider may pay us a commission. Please ask us for details on any of this. We are happy to discuss this and disclose it to you.
How do I choose who to work with at your firm?
From the beginning, we have always felt that two eyes, two ears and two minds were better than one. Therefore, we generally always do joint first, second and third meetings with new clients and work jointly on case preparation with our administrative staff. We do not compete for business in the office. Any client can feel free to call either one of us any time. In addition, if one of us on vacation, or out of the office, chances are the other is well enough versed on a clients affairs that they can handle most anything that comes up. We have found that over time some clients end up gravitating more toward one of us than the other. It does not matter to us. We and our staff are here to serve our clients in whatever capacity is needed.
If I just have one or two quick questions; can I talk to someone at Schrette & Lee Wealth Management without scheduling a consultation?
The ability to meet regularly with us or have a question answered at any time is something our clients really appreciate about us. For that reason, our first priority is to our clients.
However, with that being said, you are always welcome to submit a question via email or to give us a call at 1.888.743.1943 and we will do our best to answer your questions. Please understand that in order to give a thorough and accurate response to some questions that might get asked, we generally need additional information about your background and your goals. This format allows us to give the high-level answers that may help point you in the right direction and help others who may be in a similar situation. To receive personalized advice, click here to request a meeting with one of us.
Also remember that we cannot fulfill any trade or money transfer requests by email so please call us and speak to us to further discuss these issues.
Where can I find information about the returns on various money managers and programs offered through Schrette & Lee Wealth Management?
We think it’s important to look at returns and risk at the same time when evaluating investment programs. It allows you to focus on the programs and returns that are most suitable to you and your risk tolerance, and keeps you from being distracted by those that are not appropriate.
Since it is difficult to provide comprehensive return and risk information in an effective format, from all the various money managements firms we have access to, it is not possible for us to publish returns online.
However, we would be happy to go over the historical returns for our different investment programs with you in person. Click here to request a free initial consultation.
Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Where do you have office locations?
At the present time we have offices located in Lewiston, Idaho and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to service our growing list of clients.
If you don’t live in either of the immediate areas, you can still get all the benefits of our services by phone, fax, regular mail, email and web-conference via WebEx, or other forms of electronic communication. We have clients outside Idaho and Washington who have never visited our office.