Frequently Asked Questions

About Hager Investments

Q. Where are your offices?

We are located in historic New London, New Hampshire, in the beautiful Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee Region. 

Hager Investment Management Services, LLC
280 Main Street
P.O. Box 1019
New London, NH 03257

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Tel. (603) 526-4099
Fax (603) 526-2305
Email: info@hagerinvestments.com

Q. When was your firm established?

Hager Investments was established in 1983 by Peter Hager. Today, Peter’s son, Andrew, is the managing partner, joined by CFP® Robin Brigham and Investment Associate Michael Bechtold. We have over 45 years of combined experience and work in partnership to help you meet your life goals.

Meet Our Team.

Q. What type of investment management firm are you?

We are a 100% independent, fee-only investment advisory firm. We are family-owned and state-registered. We are fiduciaries, providing financial planning, retirement planning, and investment portfolio management and advice.

Q. Do you offer tax preparation or legal services?

No. We can however refer you to the right professionals to manage tax preparation and filing, will and trust formation, and more.

Q. Who do you help?

We serve individuals and their families, family businesses, nonprofits, and foundations throughout New England and beyond. Our clients tend to be retirees or those close to retirement, clients in transition, high-net individuals, multi-generational families, small business owners, and charitable organizations.

Learn more about Who We Serve.

Q. Do you have a minimum account balance?

​​Because we provide all of our services for one fee based on assets under management, our new clients should have a minimum of $500,000 in investable assets.

Q. What are your fees?

We are a fee-only advisory. Our fee covers both investment management and financial planning. The standard fee is 0.75% per year for the first $2,500,000 under management and 0.50% for assets under management over $2,500,000.

Visit our Fee Structure page for more detailed information.

Q. What is a fee-only financial advisory firm?

Fee-Only planners are compensated directly by their clients for advice, plan implementation, and for the ongoing management of assets. Hager Investments relies exclusively on a fee-only model. One fee covers all of our services and the firm does not receive commission or fees from any source other than its clients. The fee-only model is the most transparent and objective method available for billing clients.

Q. What is a fiduciary responsibility and why is it important?

Fiduciary means to hold confidence or trust. CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERS™ and independent registered investment advisors (RIAs) both have a fiduciary obligation to always put their clients’ best interests needs ahead of their own.

Q. How are you different from the broker I use?

Hager Investments offers a different value proposition than is typically available through financial brokerage firms. Some of these differences include:

Our Fiduciary Responsibility
Independent registered investment advisors (RIAs) have a fiduciary obligation to always put their clients’ needs first. Advisors who are employed at brokerage firms are held to a lower “suitability standard” (which is not a legal standard), under which a broker is supposed to recommend suitable investments. However, they do not necessarily have to put a client’s best interests ahead of their firm’s needs.

Our Fee Structure and Independence
Our firm does not receive commissions or fees from any source other than its clients. In contrast, many brokers are paid via commissions. They have a strong incentive to invest you in products that carry high commissions or loads, which may or may not be appropriate investments.

Our Integrated & Personalized Services
Few brokers are trained to provide comprehensive financial planning support, nor are their firms set up to provide financial planning support. It is not uncommon for a single broker at a large institution to manage 100-200 accounts. In contrast, we limit our services to a select group of clients in order to provide comprehensive advice in favor of close, long-term relationships.

We have a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ on staff to provide comprehensive financial planning. We take a holistic and personalized approach to bring all of the pieces of your financial life together through incorporating financial planning with investment management. This combination allows us to maximize our clients’ potential for meeting their goals.

Q. What is your process?

We offer a complimentary consultation for us both to get to know each other and find out if we’re a good fit. Then, after understanding your goals, we thoroughly analyze your financial situation and review the findings. Next, we develop a custom-tailored plan to meet your goals. We implement the plan when you are ready and then continue to monitor and adjust our strategies based on your evolving circumstances, market conditions, tax laws, and more.

Visit our How We Get Started page for more details.

Q. Is the information I provide confidential?

Absolutely! Your information is held in the strictest confidence. Stringent compliance and good practice demand that no information you share with us is ever sold, rented, or traded, and is held in the strictest confidence with the best security measures available. Everything you provide us is returned to you upon request.

About Financial Planning Services

Q. What do your financial planning services include?

Our CFP® professional is rigorously trained and prepared to advise you on: Goal setting, risk management, investment planning, education planning, income tax planning, retirement planning, estate planning, and more. Our financial planning services are completely integrated with our investment management services.

Learn more at our Certified Financial Planning Services page.

Q. What is a Certified Financial Planner?

CFP® professionals are individuals who meet extensive training and experience requirements and commit to CFP Board’s ethical standards that require them to put their clients’ interests first. CFP® professionals also agree to meet ongoing continuing education requirements.

Learn more at CFP.net

Q. How much does financial planning cost?

At Hager Investments, our certified financial planning services are available to clients at no additional cost.

About Retirement Planning Services

Q. What do your retirement planning services include?

Our retirement planning services will help you understand income sources and expenses, develop a savings program, and manage assets and risk. This includes: Social Security strategies, pensions distribution choices, retirement withdrawal strategies, tax reduction strategies, investment approaches, healthcare planning, estate planning, and more.

Learn more at our Retirement Planning Services page.

Q. How much does retirement planning cost?

At Hager Investments, our retirement planning services are available to clients at no additional cost.

About Investment Management Services

Q. What do your investment management services include?

Our investment management services are based on your unique goals, timeline, and risk tolerance. Investment advisory and management at Hager Investments includes: Integrated financial planning and integrated retirement planning; customized portfolio design and portfolio management; retirement rollovers like 401(k), 403(b), Simple IRA, and SEP IRA; quarterly reviews; access to a personalized client portal; and a transparent fee structure.

Learn more at our Investment Management Services page and Fee Structure page.

Q. Where will my assets be kept?

All of the assets we manage on our clients’ behalf are held by our custodian, Charles Schwab.  We work with Schwab to set up new accounts and to transfer our clients’ assets from their current financial institution. Schwab will send monthly account statements and all clients have 24×7 online access to their accounts via the Schwab Alliance website.

Have More Questions?

We're happy to help. Call 603-526-4099 or contact us today