Skaggs Financial Planning, LLC

Skaggs Financial Planning, LLC provides fee-only financial planning and portfolio management to individual and high-net-worth clients and also accepts hourly and occasional pro bono engagements. The firm is owned and operated by Brian Skaggs, CFP, and generally manages client assets on a discretionary basis (the brochure reports directly managed assets of about $22.4 million) with a stated $500,000 AUM minimum that may be waived.

The firm’s investment philosophy treats markets as generally efficient and follows Modern Portfolio Theory, emphasizing asset allocation as the primary driver of returns and implementing strategies primarily with no‑load, institutional mutual funds and ETFs rather than stock‑picking or market timing. Portfolios seek broad diversification but commonly overweight segments such as value and small‑company stocks, shorter‑term and higher‑quality bonds, U.S. equities relative to non‑U.S., and developing‑market exposure, and the adviser will make exceptions for client‑specific situations (low‑basis stock, stock options, legacy holdings) with authorization.

Compared with peers, the practice is a long‑standing solo firm (in operation since 2003) with a small client roster (29 clients reported), resulting in a relatively high assets‑per‑client concentration. The brochure also discloses several operational features that may be atypical for similar firms, including use of directed brokerage and receipt of research/soft‑dollar benefits, a stated trade‑error policy where the firm absorbs losses on corrective trades, and limited monitoring for clients engaged only on an hourly or pro bono basis.