Flat-Fee Financial Advisor in Dallas–Fort Worth

7 Saturdays Financial is a fee-only, flat-fee retirement planning firm in Dallas. We charge $15,000 per year, billed quarterly at $3,750, for financial planning and investment management combined. That fee does not change if your portfolio grows. There are no commissions, no products, and no percentage-of-assets billing.

At a 1% assets-under-management fee, a $2 million household pays about $20,000 a year, and a $3 million household pays about $30,000. Below roughly $1.5 million, a percentage fee is cheaper than we are — we say so plainly further down.

What does a flat-fee financial advisor cost in Dallas?

Most Dallas–Fort Worth wealth management firms bill a percentage of the assets they manage, typically 0.75% to 1.25% a year, often on a sliding scale. A flat-fee firm charges a fixed dollar amount based on services provided.

Our standard fee is $15,000 a year, billed quarterly at $3,750. It covers ongoing financial planning and investment management together. Situations with above-average complexity (e.g. closely held businesses, multiple real estate holdings, net worth above $10 million) require a custom proposal above that figure.

We do not offer hourly work, one-time financial plans, or advice-only engagements where we plan but don’t manage the portfolio. The fee buys an ongoing relationship, not a document.

Flat fee vs. 1% AUM: what you actually pay

Here is the arithmetic, without the softening language most firms wrap around it.

Portfolio	1.00% AUM	0.75% AUM	Our flat fee	Difference vs. 1%
$1,000,000	$10,000	$7,500	$15,000	You pay $5,000 more
$1,500,000	$15,000	$11,250	$15,000	Break-even
$2,000,000	$20,000	$15,000	$15,000	You save $5,000
$3,000,000	$30,000	$22,500	$15,000	You save $15,000
$4,000,000	$40,000	$30,000	$15,000	You save $25,000
$5,000,000	$50,000	$37,500	$15,000	You save $35,000

As you can see, legacy asset-based pricing can cause many high-net-worth families to overpay for financial services. One thing that table doesn’t show: a percentage fee rises every year your portfolio does. A flat fee doesn’t. However wide the gap in the right-hand column looks today, it widens on its own from here — without an increase in services provided.

It is reasonable to expect the cost for a flat-fee advisor’s services to increase over time as inflation and the cost of doing business rise. These increases are unrelated to the size of your portfolio.

For the reasoning behind why we chose to structure pricing this way, see why we charge flat fees. For how the model works generally, see what is a flat-fee financial advisor.

Which Dallas firms offer flat-fee advisory services?

Flat-fee firms are still rare in Dallas–Fort Worth. Most fee-only firms in the area bill a percentage of assets. “Fee-only” and “flat-fee” are not the same thing, and the distinction is where most people get tripped up.

Rather than publish a list that goes stale, here is how to find every flat-fee advisor serving DFW, in about ten minutes:

1. Flat Fee Advisors (flatfeeadvisors.org) — the best source to find advisors operating under the flat-fee model.
2. NAPFA (napfa.org) — search by ZIP code. NAPFA members are all fee-only, so this gets you the universe of non-commission advisors. You’ll still need to ask each one how they bill.
3. Fee-Only Network (feeonlynetwork.com) — searchable by city, with fee structure listed on many profiles.

When you have a shortlist, ask each firm one question: “Is your fee a fixed dollar amount, and does it change if my portfolio grows?” If the answer involves a percentage or a sliding scale, it’s an AUM firm regardless of how the website describes it.

Fee-only vs. fee-based vs. commission: what the labels mean

	Fee-only, flat	Fee-only, AUM	Fee-based	Commission
What you pay	Fixed dollars	% of assets	Fee + commissions	Product commissions
Grows with portfolio	No	Yes	Yes	Varies
Sells products	No	No	Yes	Yes
Built-in conflict	Minimal	Discourages paying off a mortgage, gifting, or annuitizing	Product incentives	Product incentives
Best suited to	High-net-worth households	Smaller portfolios	Insurance-heavy needs	Transactional buyers

We are fee-only and flat-fee. We hold no insurance licenses, receive no commissions or referral compensation, and hold no products.

Who we work best with — and who we don’t

We do our best work with households who:

• Are approaching retirement or recently retired
• Have $1 million or more in investable assets from years of disciplined saving
• Want to delegate investment management rather than run it themselves
• Would rather pay a logical flat fee than a percentage
• Prefer a defined retirement income system over rules of thumb or a vague “probability of success” score

We are probably not your best option if:

• You have under about $1.5 million invested. At $1 million our flat fee costs more than a typical 1% advisor. We’d rather tell you that than take the engagement.
• You want a one-time financial plan. We don’t do one-off plans or hourly work.
• You want planning without investment management. We don’t offer advice-only engagements.
• You want to trade actively or pick individual stocks. We build low-cost, evidence-based portfolios that put our clients in the best position for success – without the guesswork.

Do you have an asset minimum?

$1 million in investable assets. That said, the more useful threshold is the one above: below roughly $1.5 million, a percentage-fee advisor is cheaper than we are, and we’d point you toward one.

Can we work together if I’m not in Dallas?

Yes. We’re based in Dallas and meet clients across the DFW metroplex in person — Plano, Frisco, Southlake, Highland Park, University Park, Fort Worth, McKinney, Colleyville. We also work with clients nationwide by video. See how virtual planning works.

A meaningful share of our clients are current and former employees of North Texas employers with complex retirement benefits — Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop Grumman, L3Harris, Texas Instruments, AT&T, PepsiCo, Toyota, and Bell Textron among them. If your retirement decision involves a pension election, a lump sum window, or company stock inside a 401(k), that’s the work we do most.

How to verify any Dallas advisor before you hire them

Do this for every firm you consider, including us. It takes five minutes.

1. Look them up on the SEC’s IAPD database at adviserinfo.sec.gov. Read Form ADV Part 2A — Item 5 states exactly how they’re compensated, and Item 9 lists any disciplinary history.
2. Ask whether they’re a fiduciary 100% of the time, in writing. Not “do you act as a fiduciary,” which almost everyone can say. The word is always.
3. Ask what they earn if you follow their advice — on an annuity, an insurance policy, a rollover. If any answer is nonzero, they’re not fee-only.
4. Verify credentials directly. CFP® at cfp.net, CFA at cfainstitute.org.

Ours: Allen Mueller is a CFA charterholder and a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. 7 Saturdays Financial is a member of NAPFA and the Fee-Only Network.

Frequently asked questions

Is a flat-fee financial advisor cheaper than 1%?

It depends entirely on portfolio size. Our $15,000 flat fee is more expensive than a 1% fee below about $1.5 million, break-even at $1.5 million, and progressively cheaper above it. At $3 million you’d save roughly $15,000 a year; at $5 million, roughly $35,000.

What’s included in the $15,000?

Ongoing financial planning and investment management together — retirement income strategy, lifetime tax planning, portfolio management, Social Security and pension decisions, insurance review, and estate coordination. It is not an à la carte menu.

How is the fee billed?

Quarterly, at $3,750 per quarter.

Does the fee go up if my portfolio grows?

No. That’s the entire point. If your account doubles, your fee doesn’t move. Note: it is reasonable to expect the cost for our services to increase over time as inflation and the cost of doing business rise. These increases are unrelated to the size of your portfolio.

Do you earn commissions on anything?

No. No commissions, no referral compensation, no product sales, no insurance licenses. Our only revenue is the fee our clients pay us directly.

Where are you located?

We have several offices in the Dallas area. We serve the DFW metroplex in person and clients nationwide by video.

This page is general education, not personalized financial, tax, or legal advice. Fee comparisons are illustrations based on stated assumptions and are not projections of investment results. Consult your own advisors regarding your situation.