Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
We know that choosing a financial advisor comes with a lot of questions. Good. It should. Here are honest answers to the ones we hear most often.
If something isn’t covered here, reach out. We’re happy to talk through it before you decide anything.
Who we work with
Wild Iris Financial works primarily with women — women in transition, dual-income couples without children, women professionals and executives, and female content creators and non-traditional earners. If you’re navigating financial complexity and want an advisor who understands your specific situation, you’re likely the right fit.
Our firm is built around serving women, and that’s where our focus and expertise lives. That said, we work with couples — including those where one or both partners identify differently. What matters most is that you’re aligned with our approach and that we’re the right fit for your situation.
Yes. We work with dual-income couples, including couples without children who are building wealth intentionally around their own goals and lifestyle. In couples engagements, both partners are fully included in the planning process. A financial plan built around one voice in a two-person household doesn’t hold up.
That’s more common than you’d think — and it’s something we address directly in the planning process. Before we build any strategy for a couple, we spend time understanding each partner’s relationship with money, their individual goals, and where alignment exists or needs to be built. Different money personalities aren’t a problem. Ignoring them is.
We maintain a $250,000 minimum for portfolio management services. However, we believe access to quality financial planning shouldn’t be a barrier. If you’re below that threshold, standalone financial planning may be a better starting point — and there’s no minimum for that. If you’re unsure where you fall, reach out and we’ll figure it out together. You can find our full fee and minimum details on our [Fees page].
Yes. You don’t need to have it all figured out before you call us. In fact, getting started before things get complicated is often the best time to build a solid foundation. If you’re early in your financial life and motivated to get it right, we want to hear from you.
Absolutely. Many clients come to us with existing accounts, employer plans, or investments they’ve accumulated over time. We’ll review everything you have, help you understand how it fits together, and make recommendations based on your complete picture — not just what’s managed directly through us.
No. We’re a virtual-first firm and work with clients across Florida, Texas, and beyond. If you’re outside those states, reach out and we’ll confirm whether we’re able to work together based on current registration.
Both. Most of our client relationships are conducted virtually — by video or phone — which makes it easy to work together regardless of where you live. In-person meetings are available by appointment at our St. Petersburg, Florida office.
That’s exactly why this firm exists. There is no judgment here — not about where you are, how you got here, or what your financial picture looks like right now. We’ve worked with clients at every starting point. Feeling behind or overwhelmed is not a disqualifier. It’s often where the most important work begins.
Don’t let that stop you from reaching out. Part of what we do in the early phases of the planning process is help you get organized — pulling everything together, understanding what you have, and building systems that make staying organized manageable going forward. You don’t need to have it all sorted before you show up.
Everyone has. Financial mistakes are not a barrier to working with us and they won’t be held against you. What matters is where you want to go from here. We start from where you are — not where you think you should be.
Services
We offer comprehensive financial planning and ongoing portfolio management. Financial planning covers cash flow, tax strategy, retirement planning, investment planning, insurance review, estate coordination, and debt strategy. Portfolio management covers investment strategy, asset allocation, and ongoing account oversight. For a full description of our services, visit our [Our Process page].
Yes. Portfolio management is one of our core service offerings. We manage investment accounts on a discretionary basis, meaning we can execute transactions on your behalf without needing your approval for each trade. All investment decisions are made in accordance with your Investment Policy Statement and our fiduciary obligation to act in your best interest.
Yes. Retirement planning is a core component of comprehensive financial planning at Wild Iris Financial. This includes projecting retirement income needs, optimizing account contributions, managing retirement account distributions, and building a strategy that accounts for taxes, healthcare, and longevity.
Yes — tax planning is integrated throughout our process on a quarterly rhythm. We work to identify tax planning opportunities, optimize your account structure, and coordinate with your CPA where applicable. We do not prepare tax returns. If you need a CPA referral, we’re happy to help connect you with the right professional.
We review estate planning as part of the comprehensive planning process — beneficiary designations, account titling, and coordination with estate planning goals. We do not draft legal documents. For wills, trusts, and related legal work, we coordinate with your estate attorney or can help connect you with one.
No. Wild Iris Financial provides financial planning and investment management advice. We don’t prepare tax returns or draft legal documents. We work alongside your CPA and attorney — or help you find the right professionals if you don’t have them.
No. We are a fee-only firm. We don’t sell insurance products, annuities, or any commission-based investment products. If insurance is identified as a need in your plan, we’ll make a recommendation and help you source the right coverage independently. We have no financial incentive in what you choose.
Yes. Standalone financial planning engagements are available for clients who need a comprehensive plan without ongoing portfolio management. This is often a good starting point for clients who are earlier in their financial journey or who want a clear picture before committing to ongoing services. See our [Fees page] for details on financial planning fees.
Yes. Cash flow analysis is the foundation of our planning process — we build everything else on top of it. That includes understanding your real income, spending, debt obligations, and savings rate, then designing a framework that works for your actual life.
Yes. Benefits optimization — including employer-sponsored retirement plans, equity compensation, health savings accounts, and life insurance coverage — is part of the comprehensive planning process for clients with employer benefit packages.
Financial planning is the comprehensive strategy — cash flow, taxes, retirement, insurance, estate, and investments working together as a whole. Investment management is the ongoing oversight of your investment accounts specifically. At Wild Iris Financial, financial planning always comes first. Investment management without a financial planning foundation is just portfolio management without context. You can read more about our thinking on our [Our Approach page].
Fees and Compensation
Yes. Fee-only means we are compensated exclusively by our clients — no commissions, no referral fees, no third-party compensation of any kind. Our only financial incentive is to serve you well. For a full explanation of our fee structure, visit our [Fees page].
Portfolio management fees are based on assets under management. Financial planning fees are either fixed or hourly depending on the engagement. Full details, including our fee schedule, are on our [Fees page].
Yes — $250,000 for portfolio management services, which may be waived at our discretion. No minimum for standalone financial planning. Full details on our [Fees page].
Our advisory fee covers our services. Clients are also responsible for third-party costs including custodian fees, fund expense ratios, and transaction fees. We’ll walk you through the complete picture of what to expect before you become a client. More detail on our [Fees page].
Fiduciary and Trust
Yes. Wild Iris Financial is a Registered Investment Adviser and we are fiduciaries. That means we are legally required to act in your best interest at all times — not in our own interest, not in the interest of a parent company, not in the interest of a product manufacturer. Always yours.
A broker is held to a suitability standard — they must recommend products that are suitable for you, but not necessarily the best option available. A fiduciary advisor is held to a higher standard — we must act in your best interest, period. Combined with our fee-only structure, there is no financial incentive for us to recommend anything other than what’s genuinely right for your situation.
As a fee-only, fiduciary firm, our conflicts of interest are minimal by design. We don’t earn commissions, referral fees, or third-party compensation. Our fee structure is disclosed in our Form ADV Part 2A, which is available on the SEC’s website. We’re happy to walk you through our conflict disclosures directly.
No. Wild Iris Financial has no disciplinary history.
You can verify Wild Iris Financial’s registration and background through the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database at adviserinfo.sec.gov. Our CRD number is 341074. Nikki’s CFP® certification can be verified through the CFP Board at cfp.net.
No. Wild Iris Financial does not offer or sell proprietary investment products. We have no affiliated products and receive no compensation from product manufacturers.
Our Process
Our process moves through five phases — Ground, Clarify, Plan, Implement, and Protect. Each phase builds on the last, and the process adapts to your specific situation, pace, and needs. Full details are on our [Our Process page].
It depends on the complexity of your situation. Most comprehensive plans take several weeks from the initial discovery phase through plan delivery. We’ll give you a realistic timeline at the start of your engagement so you know what to expect.
Ongoing clients meet with Nikki quarterly or semi-annually depending on their situation and service tier. You’ll also hear from us proactively during periods of market volatility or when something in your plan needs attention. More detail on our [Our Process page].
Yes. Nikki works directly with her clients. You won’t be handed off to a junior associate or a support team. That’s a structural decision, not a talking point — it’s how this firm is built.
Reach out. We’re accessible between scheduled meetings for questions that come up — that’s part of what ongoing service means. If something significant comes up that needs a dedicated conversation, we’ll schedule time.
Yes. Your financial plan is delivered in writing, in plain language. You’ll understand every piece of it and why it’s there before anything is implemented.
Investments
We believe investment strategy should follow financial planning — not lead it. Portfolio construction is built around your specific goals, time horizon, risk tolerance, and behavioral reality. A portfolio you’ll abandon during the first significant market downturn isn’t a good portfolio regardless of how it looks on paper. More detail on our [Our Approach page].
No. Our investment philosophy is not built around market timing or performance chasing. It’s built around constructing a portfolio appropriate for your situation and helping you stay committed to it over time. Trying to beat the market is one of the most well-documented sources of investor underperformance.
We generally use mutual funds, ETFs, fixed income securities, equities, real estate investment trusts, and Treasury inflation-protected securities. The specific mix depends on your situation, goals, and investment policy statement.
We go deeper than a standard risk tolerance questionnaire. In addition to understanding your stated preferences, we explore how you actually respond to uncertainty and financial stress — because those behavioral factors are what determine whether you’ll stick to a strategy when markets get difficult.
We reach out proactively. One of the most important things we do during periods of market stress is communicate clearly and steadily — because that’s when reactive decisions do the most financial damage. We’ll help you stay grounded in your plan when headlines make that feel difficult.
In many cases, yes. We’ll review your existing holdings, assess how they fit your overall strategy, and make recommendations accordingly. We won’t recommend changes that aren’t in your best interest.
Yes. Tax-efficient investing — including asset location strategy and tax-loss harvesting where applicable — is integrated into portfolio management. Investment decisions don’t happen in a vacuum from your tax situation.
Yes. Clients may impose restrictions on their portfolio based on personal values or beliefs, including sustainability preferences. We’ll work within those parameters to construct a strategy that aligns with both your financial goals and your values.
Privacy and Security
We maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your information, consistent with requirements under Regulation S-P. For full details on how we collect, use, and protect your information, please review our [Privacy Policy].
Yes. Your personal and financial information is kept strictly confidential and is not shared with third parties except as required by law or as necessary to provide our services. We don’t sell your data. Ever.
Access to your information is limited to Wild Iris Financial and the service providers who assist us in delivering our services — custodians, financial planning software, and similar vendors. All third-party access is subject to appropriate data protection agreements.
Avoid sending sensitive information — account numbers, Social Security numbers, tax documents, or passwords — by unencrypted email. We’ll provide you with a secure document sharing method for exchanging sensitive financial information.
Yes. Your financial information belongs to you. We don’t share client information with family members, spouses, or outside professionals without your explicit authorization. If you have a situation that requires discretion, let us know and we’ll handle it accordingly.
The Client Experience
Calm, clear, and collaborative. We’re not here to impress you with complexity or overwhelm you with jargon. We’re here to help you understand your financial life fully and make better decisions — including during the moments when that’s hardest to do on your own.
Always. If something isn’t clear, we’ll say it differently until it is. Financial jargon as a power move isn’t something we do here.
As involved as your situation requires. We’ll tell you what we need from you at each stage and make it as straightforward as possible to provide it. You won’t be buried in paperwork or left wondering what comes next.
You’re not. We start from wherever you are. If you’ve never thought about investing before, that’s fine. If you have strong opinions and a lot of existing knowledge, that’s fine too. We meet you where you are.
By making sure you understand your own financial picture — fully, not just in summary. Confidence comes from clarity. When you can see your complete financial situation clearly, understand the strategy behind it, and trust the person helping you manage it, the anxiety starts to lift. That transformation is one of the most consistent things we see in client relationships over time.
It’s different for everyone — and that’s the point. For some clients success is retiring on their terms. For others it’s financial stability after a life-changing transition. For others it’s finally feeling in control of a financial life that’s always felt chaotic. We define success around your goals, not a benchmark.
Investment performance is one data point, not the whole picture. We also track progress toward your specific goals, improvements in cash flow and savings rate, tax efficiency over time, behavioral patterns during high-stress periods, and the overall clarity and confidence you feel about your financial life.
Life Transitions
Yes. This is one of the most important areas of our practice. We work with recently widowed clients to navigate the immediate financial decisions that need attention — account retitling, beneficiary updates, Social Security decisions, estate settlement — at a pace that respects what you’re going through. More detail on our [Women in Transition page].
Yes. Divorce is one of the most financially complex events a person can navigate. We help divorcing and recently divorced clients untangle joint finances, understand what a fair settlement means in practice, and rebuild a financial plan around their new reality. More detail on our [Women in Transition page].
That’s okay. You don’t have to be ready to act before you reach out. Sometimes the most valuable thing we can do early in a transition is help you understand what needs to happen now versus what can safely wait. You set the pace.
Yes. We work alongside your existing professional team — or help you build one if you don’t have it yet. Financial planning doesn’t happen in isolation from legal and tax considerations, and we treat coordination with other professionals as part of our service.
Deliberately and directly. One of the most important things we do during transitions is help you triage — identifying what genuinely needs to happen immediately and what can wait. Pressure to make big financial decisions before you’re ready is one of the most common ways people in transition get hurt. We don’t do that.
Getting Started
Schedule a free 30-minute consultation. It’s a conversation — no commitment, no obligation. We’ll talk about where you are, what you’re looking for, and whether Wild Iris Financial is the right fit. [Schedule here.]
We’ll respond within one business day to confirm receipt and follow up on next steps. If you’re ready to schedule directly, you can book a consultation without going through the contact form first.
None. The initial consultation is a mutual fit assessment. If it’s not the right match — for either of us — we’ll tell you honestly. If it is, we’ll talk about what next steps look like.
We’ll tell you. And if we know of a better fit for your situation — a different advisor, a different service model, a different type of professional — we’ll say so. Getting you to the right place matters more than getting you to sign with us.
Absolutely. That’s what the consultation is for. And if you have questions before you’re ready to schedule, you can reach us through our [Contact page]. We read every message and respond within one business day.
