Frequently asked questions

Weinstat Wealth Management, Inc charges an annual fee of 1% per year based on the market value of equities and equity based mutual funds at the end of each quarter. Weinstat Wealth Management reserves the right to raise the fee for managed equity accounts to 1.5% per year if the balance of the account falls below the $ 500,000 minimum as a result of the client making a withdrawal from the account. Fees are paid each quarter by the client. Fees for fixed income are  of 1% based on the value of those assets at the end of the quarter.

Fidelity Investments receives a $4.95 transaction charge for equity trades and they occasionally charge change $30 to $25 transaction fee for certain mutual funds. As part of the asset management process, the mutual funds themselves charge a management fee. They also charge fees for their operating expenses. The fees for the funds that we invest in are generally 1% or less. Some are between 1-1.5%. The mutual fund returns for our clients are net of all mutual fund fees. Allthe mutual fund fees are clearly outlined in their back to topprospectuses.

The minimum investment is $ 250,000 for mutual funds. The minimum for equity managed accounts is $ 500,000. There is, however, flexibility to make exceptions for family members of existing clients, primarily, their children. Weinstat Wealth Management reserves the right to increase the management fee to 1.5% for equity accounts if the balance of the account falls below $250,000 as a result of the client withdrawing funds from the account. The fee will not be increased because of stock market fluctuations.

As “fee-only” investment advisers, Weinstat Wealth Management, Inc. is compensated solely by client fees. We do not accept commissions or any other form of compensation from any other source. Commission-based planners and brokers are compensated entirely or in part on commission from products recommended or sold. As such, they have an incentive to invest their clients monies in products that pay the highest commissions. Weinstat Wealth Management, Inc. believes this is a significant conflict of interest.

Yes. Weinstat Wealth Management, Inc. eats our own cooking. Michael Weinstat owns every equity and equity mutual fund that the firm purchases for its clients. On the fixed income side, since Michael Weinstat does not require fixed income, he does not own the same bonds as his clients.  There are two clients that own some equities that Michael Weinstat does not own because they are more suitable for those particular clients. There is no guarantee that just because we own what our clients do that the investment will work out well. However, actions speak louder than words. By putting our money where our mouths are, we show the courage of our convictions and demonstrate to our clients how much we believe in the mutual funds and equities that we invest for our clients.

We are a niche firm. We are not for everyone. Anyone who feels it is necessary to be associated with a large organization with name recognition might not be comfortable with Weinstat Wealth Management, Inc. Clients who come to us after being with large organizations find our personalized, down to earth approach refreshing, never mind our market beating long term after tax returns. One of the greatest benefits when you hire Weinstat Wealth Management, Inc., is that you hire and deal only with the shareholder. The shareholder you hire isn’t going anywhere. When you go to a large organization, if the person who you deal with leaves to go elsewhere, you get shifted to another representative. At Weinstat Wealth Management, Inc., you are always in the care of the “top gun.”‘

Michael Weinstat has been investing in equities for himself since 1985. He has been investing in mutual funds since 1994. He does all the research himself. When a client calls and has a question on a stock, a mutual fund or the stock market in general, Michael answers all the questions. He doesn’t press a button and read off a screen and respond with “we like this or we like that” as is the case with most larger firms. His response is based on all the research he has done himself.

Michael reads the Wall Street Journal, Barrons and Value Line. The firm also subscribes to the Morningstar premium service. That is the starting point. Once Michael sees an equity that meets his criteria, he then goes to Yahoo finance to check out the details of the fundamentals. If they check out, it is off to the SEC reports to read the 10K and recent 10Q on an as needed basis. The devil is in the details, especially the foot notes where some companies tend to hide the bad stuff.

Morningstar is a good starting point for evaluating mutual funds. The next step is to read the funds previous annual reports and most importantly to review their holdings. Michael can tell more from a managers response to a question than the funds past performance. Our clients do not benefit from a funds past performance, but only from the funds future value after purchase.