Daniel M.. Stern, LLC

Daniel M. Stern, LLC provides as-needed, fee-only financial planning and investment advice to individuals and trusts, addressing cash flow, debt management, tax and estate planning, retirement planning, and specific investment selection. Services are delivered on an hourly, engagement-by-engagement basis and typically conclude when the plan or recommendations are delivered; ongoing or automatic reviews are not provided unless the client re-engages.

The firm follows a fundamental, long-term buy-and-hold approach that emphasizes passive, low-cost index funds and ETFs, recommending asset allocation and periodic rebalancing to meet client objectives. Advice is non-discretionary: the firm recommends allocations and specific investments but does not take custody of client assets or trade on clients’ behalf, and clients retain responsibility for implementing recommendations and voting proxies.

Distinctive features include the exclusive use of hourly, fee‑only billing rather than percentage-of-assets or performance-based fees and an explicit policy of not taking custody of client assets, arrangements that are less common among firms that principally manage pooled or institutional assets. The advisory personnel are CFP‑certified and participate in a fee‑only professional network, the principal performs multiple operational roles (with policies in place to address segregation-of-duties concerns), and the firm discloses ancillary activity in writing and publishing.