MacDougall Financial Counseling

The firm provides comprehensive financial planning and portfolio management to individuals, trusts, charities and occasional organizations, advising on allocations, manager selection, tax and estate matters, and insurance needs. It works with both individual and high-net-worth clients and manages accounts on a discretionary basis.

Investment implementation centers on diversified allocations built largely from no-load mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, with a preference for funds with multi-year track records and lower expense ratios; portfolios typically have an equity bias and fixed-income exposure via established bond managers. The firm generally exercises discretionary authority but seeks client input on recommended changes and will move forward with transactions on a reasonable timetable if clients do not object.

Noteworthy for a supported firm, it manages roughly $425 million in discretionary assets with a small, three-person advisory team and uses negotiated retainer arrangements rather than a standard percentage-of-assets billing model. The firm also facilitates life insurance purchases and receives commissions through an outside insurance brokerage relationship (clients may decline commissions), a combination of commission income and a small-team, high-asset base that is less common among peers.