You can purchase a single session or sign-up for discounted packs. Packs benefit from priority scheduling. For more than 4 sessions, please contact us.
Single Sessions Are Ideal For Ad Hoc Investing Questions & Portfolio Setup. Many coaching clients can solve most issues within an hour and start investing (Session time: 1h)
Ideal For Assisted DIY Portfolio Management e.g. Semi-Annual Check-Ins, Rebalancing and/or Portfolio Performance Explanations. Set up both sessions the way you like (Time: 2x 1h)
Ideal For initial Portfolio Setup (asset allocation questions, ETFs etc) and follow-up check-ins. You can set up the 4 sessions the way you like. You can also use it for family members e.g. parent portfolios (Time: 4x 1h)
* We always prioritise existing clients. We reserve the right to pause/stop accepting new clients if we run out of capacity. In that case, any client who had a session in the past will still have the ability to book new sessions.
With Assisted DIY (Coaching) you get a lot for a reasonable price
| Full DIY | Assisted DIY | Robo-Advice | Fair Advisor | Expensive Advisor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Face-To-Face Meetings |  |
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| Ad Hoc Meetings | |
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| Financial Planning | |
Coach Guidance | DIY | Advisor | Advisor |
| Asset Allocation | |
Coach Guidance | Algorithm | Advisor | Advisor |
| ETF Selection | |
Coach Guidance | Algorithm | Advisor | Advisor |
| Executing Transactions | |
Coach Guidance | Algorithm | Advisor | Advisor |
| Portfolio Rebalancing | |
Coach Guidance | Algorithm | Advisor | Advisor |
| Tax, Insurance & Estate Planning | |
|
|
Potentially Advisor | Potentially Advisor |
| Service Cost | None | Fixed Fee |  % Of Portfolio Fee |
% Of Portfolio Fee |
% Of Portfolio Fee |
“In investing, you get what you don’t pay for. Costs matter.” John Bogle.
*assumes on-going coaching. savings are even higher for one-off coaching.
Most coaching participants come from the EU or the UK. But we have consistent demand from all around the world as illustrated by the map. We provided coaching sessions to beginners or experienced investors from Guatemala to Japan. This map shows sessions held until October 2024.
Raph has a 15-year experience in the Asset Management Industry. He worked for some of the most prestigious names in the financial industry in London and Paris. He managed multi-billion multi-asset portfolios and led ‘Special Situation’ projects in multiple jurisdictions, including during the Global Financial Crisis and the European Debt Crisis.
Raph holds an MSc in Financial Engineering and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Sessions may be held in English, French or Polish. Raph is not affiliated with any Asset Manager. He only guides you in your best interest, unlike some financial advisors that often receive incentives from Asset Managers. In Europe, these retrocession fees are very common. The payments are often done discreetly and are not disclosed to you – the client – although they use client funds to pay the fees.
Below are some of the most frequently asked questions. If you have any other concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected]:
Our clients consistently tell us, “This is relatively cheap given the value you provide”. Why?
During the sessions, Raph often highlights tips on how to reduce your costs and generic taxes that add up much significant amounts than the cost of the session.
Also you pay a one-off fee, not a percentage of your portfolio, which compounds to a much higher amount as you can see in the above calculations. Also, while the fees you pay financial advisors typically stay for decades, you can reduce the number of coaching sessions once you’re comfortable managing your portfolio. Sometimes you only need a session to get started.
What you get:
✅ More Than Just an Hour: While you’re paying for a 1-hour session, the real value comes from over 2+ hours of work behind the scenes. We prepare a custom agenda, deeply understand your financial situation, and provide you with a detailed follow-up document with portfolio highlights.
✅ Expert Guidance: Raph brings 15 years of Portfolio Management experience on Wall Street, having worked with top-tier Asset Managers. His insight into markets goes beyond the average financial advisor.
✅ 100% Satisfaction Rate: Every single client we’ve worked with has been fully satisfied with the value they received.
The session fee assumes questions related to asset allocation, technical aspects, understanding of investments, reduction of fees, taxes and other doubts you may have. But, during the call Raph can also comment on a portfolio with up to 15 positions*. The fee that you pay includes Raph’s time analysing these types of portfolios before the call and providing you with a challenger view. These could be for example different mutual funds, ETFs or Stocks.
Complex portfolios are different. For you, they are often more costly and difficult to manage. For Raph – complex portfolios need more preparation time to assess exposure and overlaps. We can look at them, especially if you want to clean up your portfolio and simplify things, but they require an add-on to be analysed. After booking we may request – if applicable and if you like us to review a complex portfolio – an additional payment as per the grid below. The fee is only charged once should you have multiple sessions.
Is summary – Yes, there’s an extra fee, but the goal is to simplify your portfolio so you won’t incur more fees, taxes and waste your time in the future.
Additional Charges (On top of fee for a session)
| Standard Portfolio (up to 15 positions) | Included | |||
| Complex Portfolio Add-on (15-30 positions) | € 199 | |||
| Complex Portfolio Add-on (30-45 positions) | € 349 | |||
| Complex Portfolio Add-on (45-60* positions) | € 499 | |||
| * Please reach out for quote for portfolios exceeding 60 line-items | ||||
* For ETFs, we count different positions as ETFs tracking different index. E.g. If you have two ETFs tracking the same index in different accounts, this is of course treated as one combined exposure and counted as one as it doesn’t require additional analysis.
We have a no-discount policy. Prices may only be revised upwards. Why? Raph’s time is very limited. We also think discounts would be unfair towards clients that used us in the past.
In fact, we think that a fair policy is based on trust. We value readers that trust us early, as so the service will be cheaper the earlier you book.
Not necessarily. The 5 options above just show on-going portfolio management. But, you
can also hire someone like a coach or financial advisor to guide you on setting up your
portfolio and then manage it yourself. In fact, some of our coaching members only need a
session or two to set up their portfolio and understand how to manage it.
It really depends on your needs. We will share a form with you to best structure your questions so that you get the most out of the session. For a number of our readers, that gets them past their immediate concerns with investing. But we can proudly say that even more often they come back for more sessions, once they realise that the opportunity costs of not getting a session – through higher expenses, time lost researching or mistakes later in their journey – far outweigh the nominal cost paid for a session.
A significant part of our clients are professionals in the Tech sector, Lawyers or
Doctors that want to avoid costly mistakes when investing and optimise their
portfolios.
We also have a large group of entrepreneurs that e.g. receive large lump sums after
selling their company and want to invest it in financial markets. Some of our coaching
clients are in their 40s or 50s and want to set up customised, income-producing portfolios
or create bond ladders for their retirement. Our youngest client to date is in his early
20s. Our oldest – in her 70s.
Finally, we also coach 25-30 year old young professionals that want to maximise assets for early retirement.
Yes, in fact we also have clients with assets exceeding $100M. While they typically have
more complex needs e.g. taxation, we usually help them in a challenger role.
With this type of net worth they don’t always trust their advisors – no wonder, given the
quality of advice out there.
We can offer them guidance on asset allocation and reviewing whether their private bank/wealth manager is not overcharging them or offering products that e.g. could be replaced by better alternatives.
The sessions are available in either:
I am are still brushing up my German and Japanese skills!
It typically takes a few weeks to find a suitable slot in periods of high demand. However, we try to accommodate your needs and try to find a slot suitable for both of us as soon as possible. For multiple session packs we offer priority scheduling (within max 4 weeks).
No, there are no pre-requirements. You can be a beginner or an experienced investor. I adapt the language and concepts to your knowledge.
Some considerations are included above. For more details, consult your regulator’s
website.
A financial coach is: Trained but
not regulated, Skilled at reviewing your overall financial situation and goals, Able to
help you develop a financial plan to achieve those goals, Happy to discuss the pros and
cons of various financial products but can’t recommend a specific one for you, Comfortable
working with anyone, whatever their situation and Going to charge for their time.
A financial adviser
is: Regulated and authorised by the regulator to recommend
specific products to clients or is independent and able to offer ‘whole of market’
solutions. Often, going to charge a fixed or management fee, typically 1.5-2% of
their client’s assets with initial fees on top.
Why coaching? We are proud to say that our coaching service has empowered a number of clients to reconsider their financial advisers’ offerings. From our clients’ feedback, in a number of cases, clients were overcharged, and offered unsuitable products, often due to conflicts of interest. However, this is not a rule. The best choice between a financial coach and adviser depends on an individual’s unique circumstances, including their financial literacy, time availability, comfort with managing their finances, and complexity of their financial situation.
No. We do not provide financial advice, and Stock selection is not part of this service.
We are flexible, for example:
We are flexible, and discussions can be quite deep:
Get a list of questions, and we can go through them in detail during the session. I
understand that every investor will have different needs, and that’s why I tailor my
session completely to the individual’s requirement.
So whether you want to discuss your existing portfolio, gain the knowledge and skills to start investing, or simply have some specific questions you would like to ask me, a coaching session will be a good choice for you.
Yes, you will receive an agenda based on your questions.
Yes, you will receive a document after our call with recommended reading related to your specific questions.
Yes, while not all readers review us for privacy reasons, some of our coaching clients have kindly shared reviews on Google.
We use Microsoft Teams. A link will be shared ahead of the session. We can also accommodate other videoconference services if you have a strong preference. A couple of sessions were also conducted via phone.
Felipe from Argentina (Beginner)Felipe works for an American Firm, but he’s based in Argentina. Due to the lack of tax agreement between his country and the U.S., he chose to invest through UCITS ETFs. That brought him to us, in order to understand how to invest most cost-efficiently. Use the below toggles to get a feel of what Felipe achieved throughout the sessions.
Felipe was looking to understand how to determine the right amounts of Stocks and Bonds in his portfolio. Raph provided ways to look at Asset Allocation, explained broker counterparty risk, especially given his location, and Value vs Growth Stocks diversification. Felipe was able to understand ETF regulation in Europe and how he can reduce withholding taxes, and what are realistic expectations for long term portfolio returns based on his asset allocation. We also discussed risks of Cryptocurrencies and how Gold fits into his overall portfolio. Felipe also learned how he may be able to live off his investment portfolio in a couple of decades, and how he can simulate simple scenarios through online tools.
Impact: The session allowed Felipe to increase diversification, make his portfolio more robust, reduce taxes and Broker counterparty risk.
Felipe also set up an account to buy a property. However, in the next couple of years inflation may erode his savings, and he wanted to understand the trade-offs of putting money in a savings account and short-term Bond ETFs. He was also concerned about the fluctuation of currencies. We also discussed how deflation and inflation can affect the value of his long-term portfolio that he set up after our first session.
Impact: Immediate returns due to moving cash to interest some of the best yielding financial products. Understanding of Bank vs ETF counterparty risk. Felipe also has more knowledge about potential impact of deflation and how rebalancing benefits his simple, yet efficient portfolio.
Arthur from Singapore (Experienced)Arthur is an experienced international M&A Banker. He grew up in France, but is currently relocating from Singapore to Canada, and wanted to optimise his portfolio and understand his factor exposures, as he has access to Avantis and Dimensional Funds. He also wants to structure a portfolio for his mother living in France, which is in her 60s. Use the below toggles to get a feel of what Arthur achieved throughout the sessions.
Raph X-rayed the current portfolio and provided an overview of factor and geographical exposures. Arthur understood the limitations of a 100% Equity portfolio, but given his age he wanted to remain mainly allocated in Equities. To reduce the risk of a lost decade without using e.g. Bonds or Alternatives we discussed which Equity factors may help with diversification and how we can leverage Avantis and Dimensional Funds to add tilts to his Golden Retriever Porfolio. We also discussed different tools to manage his multiple goals inluding BoW Portfolio Tracker, which allows Retirement planning and having an overall wealth overview including counterparty exposure, asset class breakdowns, and goals-based sub-portfolios, but prioritising privacy (Excel based solution).
Impact: More robust portfolio from a factor perspective, ability to leverage tools to model his goals and track his net worth.
Arthur wanted to set up a portfolio for his Mum. Raph gave overview on how to think about asset allocation to live off the portfolio and leave inheritance to her kids. We discussed the pros/cons of dividend strategies for retirement portfolios. We also discussed which Bond ETFs are suitable and how to make the portfolio the most simple and efficient for her to understand.
Impact: Arthur decided on asset allocation and understood how to extract cash flows from a retirement portfolio.
James from United Arab Emirates (Intermediate)James is a crypto entrepreneur based in Dubai. He is a Ultra High Net Worth Individual who is very sceptical (with good reason!) about private bankers. That’s why he set up a series of 12 sessions to understand everything he needs to know about managing his portfolio as he exits his crypto business and liquidates his legacy porfolio. He will keep his private bank as execution-only counterparty but is managing his portfolio with Raph’s help as a coach.
Raph X-rayed the current portfolio, the proposed asset allocation from a private bank based in Switzerland and traps that UHNW typically fall into when dealing with private bankers. We discussed the best holistic approach to manage his portfolio, maximise returns, and reduce various risks. Raph performed ad hoc research to assess other possible execution-only banks. We also performed a deep dive into his legacy bond porfolio, and based on that James decided to use equivalent but more efficient ETFs.
Impact: Multimillon $ cost-savings over the coming decades, more efficient portfolio and full control over all decisions.
Raph performed ad hoc liquidity analysis for the ETFs that were being bought. Given these were each multimilion trades, the process helped James understand how to execute to reduce price risk. We also had separate sessions on Bond ETFs, various diversifiers, crypto, and factor investing.
Impact: James was able to better instruct his private banker on how to execute trades. His portfolio is tailored to his needs and based on his risk profile.
Victor from Belgium (Intermediate)Victor works for a Silicon Valley’s top Tech firm, but he’s based in Belgium. His net worth was very concentrated in his employers’ company shares. He also had a very inefficient pension fund and was looking to optimise Broker selection. Use the below toggles to get a feel of what Victor achieved throughout the sessions.
Raph reviewed the portfolio, asset allocation and pointed to potential weaknesses that may derail Victor’s Early Retirement plan. We discussed how much can realistically be withdrawn from the portfolio during retirement, limits to the historical models, tools to run scenarios, and what can be done to make the plan more resilient. Victor works in the Tech sector, and recently sold his vested shares, which accounted for the vast majority of his net worth. Equipped with academic evidence and data from the session, Victor decided to deploy the lump sum in pre-determined amounts. Raph also provided objective (not personalised) guidance related to ETF selection from tax perspective. Personal taxes were not discussed, as they are out of scope of this service. We also briefly discussed Bond ETF selection, whether setting up a Bond ladder is worth the efforts, and the pros and cons of Small Cap Value Factor Investing.
Impact: The session potentially accounted for significant long-term savings given tax and fee reduction, and likely a more robust portfolio to certain shocks.
After reviewing follow-up materials from the first session, Victor was equipped with the knowledge to deploy the funds. He shortlisted seven Brokers in Belgium and asked Raph to provide information on them. Prior to the session, Raph circulated a document showing a comparison of fees and some objective considerations related to safety. Victor decided to pick two of them based on his own research and inputs from the session. Raph provided a few ETF candidates that can be used to replicate the exposure Victor wanted.
Impact: Broker cost considerations, including hidden fees like custody, may have saved considerable amounts in the long run.
Prior to being in the Tech sector, Victor worked for an institution, where some of his retirement funds are now locked with a specific provider. Unfortunately, the available funds are only active. The selection is complicated, as it includes mutual funds with changing strategies, benchmarks, high fees, and asset classes and strategy implementations (e.g. based on target volatility) that Victor is not familiar with. Victor and Raph discussed criteria to narrow down the candidates, and accounting for Raph’s inputs, Victor was able to instruct the pension provider which funds to buy. He also voiced certain concerns related to these funds, that Raph highlighted during the session.
Impact: The session likely accounted for significant long-term savings in fees, and a possibly better match with Victor’s needs.
Nicole from the U.K. (Experienced)Nicole has a financial advisor in the U.K. His charges are high, but the advisor gives her access to certain factor funds that are typically not available to individual investors, like Dimensional Fund Advisors. She also wants a better view on corporate bonds. Use the below toggles to get a feel of what Nicole achieved throughout the sessions.
Raph reviewed the portfolio and X-rayed the ‘Mutual Fund Salad’ that the advisor created from a factor and geographical perspective. He ran a couple of scenarios to show the detrimental effect of advisor’s fees over time. However, Raph recognised that having access to some Funds is beneficial and we discussed strategies to minimise advisory costs while keeping a portion of assets with the FA to keep access to factor ETFs that are typically not available in Europe. We discussed the pro/cons of factor risk premia vs certain costs of the FA. We also discussed how to move to DIY Investing and tools to use to monitor his portfolio.
Impact: Potentially tens/hundreds of thousands saved given the size of his portfolio and time horizon, while providing understanding of factor exposures.
After reviewing follow-up materials from the first session, Nicole wanted to implement sustainability into her DIY portfolio. Nicole now understands factors, so we discussed ESG ratings, and why ESG under/out performs in the short to medium term. Raph gave insights into Green Bonds and why Sustainable Investing is different in the Fixed Income Markets. We also discussed how bonds react to changes in yields, and the 2x rule when holding Bond ETFs. Raph also introduced concepts like Option Adjusted Spread for Corporate Bonds and Convexity. Finally, we discussed the merits of iBonds.
Impact: Implementation of Sustainability while keeping high diversification. Nicole also set up a Bond Ladder for some of her goals.
Lara from Turkey
(Beginner)Lara’s Mother is a Turkish Fiscal Resident, although she is based in the Germany. She would like to manage a portfolio on her behalf in a tax-efficient, globally diversified, and resilient way with a 10+ years horizon. She prioritises stability, tax efficiency, and low maintenance. The investment is intended to support intergenerational wealth transfer as well.
Raph reviewed the choice of offshore tax wrapper. We discussed various risks and costs balancing it with some potential tax benefits.
Impact: Lara understood how to read the Insurance Firm’s Legal Documents and potential traps that expats fall into when selecting offshore wrappers.
We discussed how to manage the portfolio while her mother is the main beneficiary, and how the profile may change in the future. We set out a plan on how to minimise opportunity cost of large lump sum, and use the next months to smoothly invest it based on a pre-determined strategy.
Impact: Minimised immediate opportunity costs, accounting for reduced drag on returns. Prepared plan and implementation of strategy.
Pictures are not shown for privacy reasons.
Before each session we send you an agenda based on your inputs.
We hold a session at a convenient time for you via MS Teams/Zoom.
We follow up after the call with a PDF including additional reading materials.
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