Frequently Asked Questions

You may be a good fit for Overture if:

• You have spent decades building wealth and want a thoughtful plan for using, preserving, and transferring it.
• You are approaching retirement or already retired and want comprehensive advice that integrates investments, taxes, retirement income, and legacy planning.
• You value a transparent fee structure and want to understand how a flat-fee approach may benefit your long-term financial plan.
• You value a long-term relationship with your advisor and want the person you trust to remain directly involved in your financial planning—not be transitioned to a junior advisor as your needs evolve.
• You want to work with an advisor who brings deep expertise in investment management, tax planning, and comprehensive wealth planning.

Overture was founded around a different approach to wealth management: providing comprehensive retirement advice without the conflicts that can come with traditional asset-based pricing.

Clients work directly with their advisor and receive coordinated guidance across investments, retirement income, taxes, and legacy planning. Because Overture charges a flat annual fee rather than a percentage of assets, the focus remains on helping clients make sound financial decisions—not gathering more assets.

Many wealth management charge a percentage of assets they manage (an AUM fee). While this model is common, it means the fee grows as your portfolio grows–sometimes significantly over a multi-decade retirement.

Overture uses a flat fee model because we believe clients should know exactly what they are paying and because the cost of advice should not automatically increase simply because markets perform well.

For many clients with portfolios of $1 million or more, this approach can meaningfully reduce long-term advisory costs, allowing more wealth to support their retirement lifestyle and legacy goals.

Overture primarily works with individuals and families who are approaching or living in retirement and want thoughtful guidance on how to use, manage, and preserve the wealth they have built.

Many clients have spent decades accumulating retirement savings and are now facing more complex financial decisions—when to retire, how to create sustainable income, how to minimize lifetime taxes, how to invest appropriately, and how to transfer wealth to the people and causes that matter most.

While every client situation is unique, Overture clients often value:

• A comprehensive retirement strategy rather than isolated financial advice
• Personalized guidance from an advisor who knows their circumstances
• Tax-efficient investment and withdrawal strategies
• A transparent fee structure that is not tied to the size of their portfolio
• A long-term relationship focused on their goals and priorities

Overture does not have a strict asset minimum. The firm is best suited for clients whose financial situations benefit from ongoing planning and a coordinated approach to retirement, investments, taxes, and legacy decisions.

Yes. Overture works with clients throughout the United States. While I am based in Pennsylvania, I currently serve clients across several states, and most meetings take place virtually, making it easy to work together regardless of location.

Overture’s preferred investment strategy utilizes low-cost, commission-free Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and mutual funds to provide investment diversification. We use both passively-managed and actively-managed ETFs from Vanguard, BlackRock iShares, and Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA), among other providers. When deemed beneficial to the client (e.g. for tax reasons), we may also retain a client’s existing mutual fund, ETF, and/or individual stock and bond investments.

No. You can elect to have both managed and self-managed investments. Additionally, Overture will not recommend moving investment accounts under Overture’s management when not deemed to be in your best interest.

We are solely compensated by the flat fee that our clients pay to us. We receive no commissions or incentives for any products or services we recommend, and do not receive referral fees from third party professionals (e.g. tax, estate planning, and insurance professionals) to whom we may refer you.

Your money is held by a third-party custodian whose primary job is to safeguard client assets. For Overture’s wealth management clients, Overture is only granted limited authority to perform transactions on your behalf. The vast majority of our client accounts are custodied at Charles Schwab & Co. Clients receive account statements and transaction confirmations directly from Schwab. Schwab also provides clients with secure online account access.

As with all regulated financial advisors, more information can be found on the SEC’s website. Sean’s profile can be found here. Overture’s profile can be found here.

“CFA” stands for Chartered Financial Analyst and “CFP” stands for Certified Financial Planner.  “EA” stands for Enrolled Agent. These designations are awarded by the CFA Institute and CFP Board, and the Internal Revenue Service, respectively.

The CFA Program is a globally recognized, graduate-level program offered by the CFA Institute. It is widely considered to be the gold standard for demonstrating advanced knowledge in investment analysis and portfolio management.  The CFA charter is commonly held by mutual fund managers and institutional asset managers. To be awarded the CFA charter, charterholders must pass three rigorous exams and have 4,000+ hours of investment-related work experience. Additionally, charterholders must adhere to the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.

The CFP certification is widely considered to be the gold standard for financial planners.  The CFP Program is a multi-year, multi-step program offered through the CFP Board. It focuses on delivering holistic financial planning services, including investment planning, tax planning, insurance planning, and estate planning.  In addition to passing a rigorous exam, CFP professionals must have 2+ years of financial planning experience and must commit to following a code of ethics enforced by the CFP Board. CFP professionals must also meet ongoing continuing education requirements.

An Enrolled Agent is a person who has earned the privilege of representing taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service by either passing a three-part comprehensive IRS test covering individual and business tax returns, or through experience as a former IRS employee. Enrolled Agent status is the highest credential the IRS awards. Individuals who obtain this elite status must adhere to ethical standards and complete 72 hours of continuing education courses every three years.

Enrolled agents, like attorneys and certified public accountants (CPAs), have unlimited practice rights. This means they are unrestricted as to which taxpayers they can represent, what types of tax matters they can handle, and which IRS offices they can represent clients before.