Commencement Financial Planning LLC

Commencement Financial Planning LLC is an independent Fee-Only Registered Investment Advisor in Tacoma, Washington offering comprehensive financial planning services to individuals and families who wish to effectively manage their investment portfolio and other financial affairs.

Commencement Financial Planning LLC is a Registered Investment Advisor with the Washington Department of Financial Institutions and a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA). Check out NAPFA's Comprehensive Financial Planning Checklist & Smart Money Decisions brochure.

Troy Sapp, CPA, CFP^® formed Commencement Financial Planning LLC to help you achieve your goals by providing objective investment and financial planning advice using a consultative approach, not one based on sales. Troy's financial services are unbiased because as a NAPFA Registered Fee-Only financial planner he receives no commissions or any other compensation from vendors.

Troy's mission: Help you identify and implement the best financial planning alternatives given your unique situation while keeping fees and taxes low.  

Commencement Financial Planning LLC serves clients at every stage in life, but works best with those that understand the need for a sound investment and financial planning process. Whether you are accumulating assets for retirement or other goals, relying on your investment portfolio for living expenses, planning for your children’s future, or simply want to gain comfort that your investments and financial planning are in order, a sound financial planning process will optimize the likelihood you will meet your goals. 

The financial planning process begins with understanding you and your vision for the future. We then review your current financial situation, identify potential solutions, and implement planning strategies consistent with your goals and values. Your investment and financial planning strategies are then monitored and adjusted for new opportunities that arise as well as for changes in your life. 

Many financial advisors focus only on your investment portfolio while Commencement Financial Planning LLC takes a comprehensive financial planning approach. Without adopting a comprehensive financial planning approach, avoidable risks are often overlooked. A comprehensive financial planning approach coordinates all aspects of your unique situation so you can sleep comfortably knowing all your financial affairs are in order, not just those that garnered an advisor’s attention because of the commissions they might earn.

You want a trusted advisor who can help you organize your finances using a thoughtful disciplined approach as well as act as a sounding board for ideas you might have. You want an understanding of the pros and cons of each alternative before they are implemented. You want a sound financial plan so you can focus on living well with family, friends, and community.  

For more information on what to look for when seeking the assistance of a financial advisor, check out NAPFA's Pursuit of a Financial Advisor Field Guide and the SEC's Top Tips for Selecting a Financial Professional.

Be sure not to confuse "fee-based" with "fee-only". Fee-based financial advisors are somewhat like fee-only advisors, but fee-based advisors do, in fact, receive commissions from product sales in addition to flat advisory fees. This creates conflicts of interest that are difficult to ignore. To make matters more confusing, some financial advisors are dual registered as both a broker-dealer and a registered investment advisor. This creates the problem of not knowing which "hat" the financial advisor is wearing at any given time. That is, a registered investment advisor must put your interests first while broker-dealer interests are more in line with the "house". When working with a dual registered advisor it is virtually impossible to know which they are functioning as at any given time.

If you would rather employ a stock broker to help manage your investment portfolio instead of a Fee-Only Registered Investment Advisor, be sure to first check the background of both the Brokerage Firm & Individual Broker using FINRA's BrokerCheck^® .

Contact Troy to schedule a no-cost, no-obligation initial consultation. If there's a good fit, we can talk about working together to take the worry out of your finances and help you achieve true financial well-being.

Commencement Financial Planning LLC is proud to be able to offer its clients access to DFA mutual funds.  Click here to learn more about Dimensional Fund Advisors.

_{Commencement Financial Planning LLC is a Registered Investment Advisor in the State of Washington.  The advisor may not transact business in states where it is not appropriately registered, or excluded or exempted from registration.  Individualized responses to persons that involve either the effecting of transaction in securities, or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, will not be made without registration or exemption.}