Financial Planning Center, LLP

Financial Planning Center, LLP provides personalized financial planning and consulting to individual clients and acts as a referral intermediary to third‑party money managers. The firm charges fixed planning fees (up to $2,500) or hourly fees ($200/hour) for its planning services and assists clients with paperwork, ongoing liaison, and review of statements, but it does not custody or directly manage client assets.

FPC’s planning process uses fundamental analysis for insurance and cash‑flow reviews and technical analysis for mutual funds and stocks, documenting client objectives with investment policy statements and risk tolerances. For investment management the firm typically places clients with third‑party managers (notably Gradient Investments and Absolute Capital Management), reviewing reports and coordinating changes while retaining non‑discretionary relationships with clients.

Distinctive features disclosed in the brochure include a March 2021 consent order and $7,500 fine related to compliance deficiencies (including minimum net‑worth and documentation failures). The firm’s model — foregoing in‑house portfolio management and percentage‑of‑AUM billing in favor of fixed/hourly planning fees plus referral and incentive arrangements with third‑party managers — is atypical among similar supported firms and creates disclosure‑noted conflicts (including affiliated insurance sales and fee‑sharing incentives) that the firm says it mitigates through disclosures and fiduciary procedures.