Fees and Compensation
As compensation for solicitation services provided to CIRA, DFPA is sharing a portion of the referral
fees received by CIRA from clients introduced to CIRA by the Solicitors. If the referred potential
client engages CIRA to serve as the client’s investment adviser, then DFPA will receive a certain
percentage (on a negotiated basis with CIRA) of the referral fee charged to the client by CIRA.
DFPA does not enter into a contractual agreement directly with the potential CIRA client solicited
by DFPA, unless DFPA is providing financial planning services to that client. Under DFPA’s
agreement with CIRA, no additional fees, expenses or other transaction costs are charged to the
client solicited by DFPA. DFPA receives payment directly from CIRA and does not deduct any fees
from clients’ assets or bill clients for any fees incurred. The clients pay CIRA directly. While the fees
paid by clients to CIRA may be negotiable between the client and CIRA, the percentage paid to
DFPA for its services provided under the agreement with CIRA is negotiated separately between
DFPA and CIRA.
Fees for Financial Planning Services
As compensation for financial planning services provided by the Financial Planners, the client
may pay DFPA financial planning fees. Fees for financial planning services will be determined
before DFPA renders financial planning services to you and may be paid through a variety of
options determined by you and your Financial Planner. The fee arrangement should be
expressed in your agreement with DFPA. The fee options include the following:
• Flat Fee Agreement – The fee will vary depending on a variety of factors, depending on the
scope of services provided, complexity of the process undertaken, the types of issues
addressed and the frequency of services. Flat fees charged for financial planning services
generally do not exceed $25,000 for individuals. Frequency of payment can be one-time,
installment or ongoing at a frequency agreed upon by you and your Financial Planner.
• Hourly Fee Agreement – Financial Planners are generally not allowed to charge more
than $500 on an hourly basis. A conflict of interest is created if the client is charged an
hourly fee, because then the Financial Planners have an incentive to bill for more hours
of work.
Financial Planning fees described herein do not include any fees that you may incur for other
professionals (i.e., personal attorney, independent investment adviser, or accountant) in
connection with the financial planning process.
If a potential client elects to engage CIRA to provide investment advice, the client will pay advisory
fees to CIRA. CIRA may charge other fees or expenses. Additionally, clients may incur brokerage
and other transaction costs. Before deciding whether to engage CIRA, potential clients should
review the Form ADV Part 2 or other Brochure provided by CIRA, which will provide information
about the firm, as well as any potential fees and other expenses.
Page| 9
The Financial Professionals have a financial incentive to recommend that potential clients engage
CIRA as their investment adviser, instead of referring the potential clients outside of CIRA. Actual
fees received by DFPA for solicitation of clients are subject to the fee arrangement negotiated with
the client by CIRA. Please see Item 10, below, for additional information on financial incentives.
Each potential client should make an independent determination whether to engage CIRA as
his/her/its investment adviser.
Fees For Retirement Plan Services
For retirement plan sponsor clients, DFPA will charge a fixed annual fee. This fee is negotiable based upon
the complexity of the plan, the size of the plan assets and the actual services requested.
If DFPA charges a fixed annual fee, we typically charge an annual fixed fee of up to $30,000. Fees in excess
of this amount may be charged in excess of this amount in situations that pose extraordinarily
complicated conditions. These fee charges must be approved by the DFPA Compliance Department in
advance. The exact amount of the fixed fee will be specified in your agreement with DFPA. At our sole
discretion you may be required to pay a portion of the fixed fee up front in the form of a retainer;
however, at no time will we require payment of more than $1,200 in fees more than six months in
advance. Upon completion of the services, the fixed fee is considered earned by DFPA and any unpaid
amount is immediately due.
For individual participants, we charge a fixed fee. The fixed fee ranges from $250 to $10,000 per year.
Fees are negotiable based upon the actual services requested.
Either party may terminate services by providing written notice of termination to the other party. If
services are terminated within five business days of signing the client agreement, services are terminated
without penalty. Any prepaid but unearned fees are promptly refunded to the client at the effective date
of termination.
DFPA does not reasonably expect to receive any other compensation, direct or indirect, for its Services. If
we receive any other compensation for such services, we will (i) offset that compensation against our
stated fees, and (ii) will disclose the amount of such compensation, the services rendered for such
compensation and the payer of such compensation to you.
Fees for Business Succession Planning Services
We provide business succession planning services under a fixed fee arrangement whereby a mutually
agreed upon fixed fee is charged for the services provided. For our business succession planning, the fixed
fee is generally up to $30,000. The fixed fee will depend upon the size of the company, complexity of the
business structure, number of owners and scope of the report. Fees in excess of this amount may be
...