Financial Design Group, LLC

Financial Design Group is a small advisory firm that serves individual investors (including high‑net‑worth individuals) and retirement plan sponsors and participants, offering discretionary asset management, retirement plan fiduciary consulting, participant education, and the option of non‑managed “courtesy” accounts. The firm provides ongoing portfolio management on a percentage‑of‑assets basis and also delivers retirement plan services such as investment due diligence, investment monitoring and QDIA recommendations.

The firm’s investment approach emphasizes strategic asset allocation and long‑term holdings with periodic rebalancing, primarily using mutual funds while also incorporating ETFs, individual equities and fixed‑income positions as appropriate; it will adapt strategies for special situations such as low‑basis stock, legacy holdings or option positions. Advisory services are tailored through client interviews and questionnaires, and the firm provides non‑discretionary ERISA fiduciary advice on rollovers and plan investments while disclosing and managing conflicts of interest related to rollover recommendations.

Noteworthy differences from many peers include a two‑advisor team managing roughly $113 million in discretionary assets and a recent transition from state to SEC registration, a requirement that asset management clients custody assets through TradePMR (with clearing at First Clearing/Wells Fargo Clearing Services), and a policy of executing client trades on an individual rather than aggregated block basis. The firm does not vote client proxies (clients retain proxy voting responsibility), maintains an insurance‑licensed representative who does not sell commission‑based insurance products to clients, and does not impose a formal account minimum.