Frequently Asked Questions
Who does Query Capital serve?
We primarily serve queer and trans people in their late 20s to early 40s who are starting to have some money to worry about. Many don't relate to the typical image of a finance person because they are people of color or from a working class background. They want to be successful but don't want to sell their souls in the process. Everyone is welcome, and we are happy to serve those of other identities who feel drawn to our practice.
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How does it work with partners/households?
We encourage partners/households to approach their financial planning together. If you share a large part of your finances and are saving towards the same goals, it can be counterproductive to work with only one person in your household unit. Depending on your situation, individuals in couples or polycules may benefit from doing separate but simultaneous initial financial plans to allow for more time and individual attention, before proceeding into ongoing planning as a unit.
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What is a financial plan?
A financial plan is a written document that lays out your financial situation and makes recommendations for the future. It's a distillation of your story + a game plan for your future.
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What happens after Query Capital's financial plan?
After the financial plan, we assess if you would benefit from having ongoing financial guidance. It may be to help you stay tuned into your finances at regular intervals, to provide a sounding board when questions come up, or because you need professional investing.
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What does it cost?
Query Capital is a mission-based business with pricing designed to be more accessible than financial advisors with similar breadth and depth of service.
The initial financial plan is a one-time sliding scale fee. Ongoing financial planning is charged as a recurring fee of based on your wealth and income.
Calculate your sliding scale fees here.
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Is there a long-term commitment?
During the initial financial plan, we can tailor our advice to either a DIY future or professionally supported financial life. Ongoing planning is month-to-month. If you sign up for ongoing services and later feel you have learned enough to be your own financial planner, we'll help prepare you to launch.
That said, people who live busy lives or are primarily interested in something other than financial planning may enjoy having a professional advisor long-term.
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Can I pay for an hour of your time?
Query Capital doesn't currently offer hourly planning. We pride ourselves on providing advice that is underpinned by a deep understanding of your entire financial situation. That is tricky without the initial plan, or without being in touch as an ongoing client. We think about you a lot, proactively managing your progress and bringing issues to your attention, and that may be fraught if you then owed us extra for the time.
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Would Query Capital invest my money without doing a financial plan?
We believe investment management is practiced best within a full service financial planning relationship for a multitude of reasons. However, we do allow clients to opt out of financial planning and take an investment-only track. These clients would meet with us annually and pay a fee of the greater of 1% of assets under management or $1,000.
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What is your investment philosophy?
Query Capital provides diversified portfolios with investments that aim to reduce harm to people and the environment. Our goal is to seek returns that make your future possible.
Many people are not aware that their investment portfolios often contain shares in private prisons operators, oil, gas and coal companies, or weapons manufacturers. If you currently own investments you can plug your mutual fund or ETF into FossilFreeFunds.org to see a rating and the underlying holdings. This site is run by a non-profit and free to use.
For investment and retirement accounts that Query Capital manages on your behalf, we work with you on a values-based investment strategy that prioritizes companies advancing clean and renewable energy, strong worker protections, public benefit companies (B Corps), diversity and LGBTQ+ rights. In addition to mutual funds and ETFs we are able to create portfolios of individual stocks and bonds - an approach that allows for more focused strategies while also cutting out underlying fund expense ratios (which in some cases can be costlier than financial advisor fees!).
We actively and rigorously screen all investments for financial return potential, diversification, risk and costs, while simultaneously incorporating your personal values.
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Are you a fiduciary?
Yes, as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional providing financial planning services, Landon must abide by the fiduciary standard, as defined by CFP Board. The fiduciary standard of care requires that a financial adviser act solely in the client's best interest when offering financial advice.
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Your financial life impacts you so intimately, and your financial stability impacts your loved ones and our whole community. We consider the relationship between us to be sacred.
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What is a Certified Financial Planner?
A financial planner generally works with individuals and families to broadly review the issues that touch their financial life and provide strategies given their goals and values.
A CFP® professional is someone who has completed coursework in financial planning, gotten a bachelor’s degree, had three years of experience, passed a board exam, and subsequently submitted to continuing education and ethical standards of the CFP® Board. Learn more at letsmakeaplan.com.
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Do you prepare taxes or make wills?
No. While Query Capital brings an awareness of legal and tax issues to financial planning, we cannot give legal advice or file taxes. We are always making an effort to meet other professionals in the community so that we can help you find the right person to answer all of your questions. With your consent, we partner with your other advisors to coordinate strategy and lower the time burden on you.
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Have questions not answered here? Just ask.
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