Facet financial planning uses a subscription-based approach to financial advice rather than charging clients according to the amount of money they invest. You pay an annual membership fee tied to your service level, with financial planning and investment management included.
That structure could make Facet worth examining if you want ongoing access to CFP® professionals, retirement guidance, investment management, tax strategies, insurance planning, and other financial services under one membership.
The cost is significant, though. Facet currently lists its main annual memberships at $2,600, $5,500, and $8,700 before temporary discounts. Deciding if that price makes sense depends heavily on the type of guidance you need and how frequently you plan to use the included services.
How Does Facet Financial Planning Work?
Facet financial planning combines virtual financial advice with ongoing access to CFP® professionals and an online member platform. The company is an SEC-registered investment adviser, and its regulatory filings state that its planners are CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professionals and registered investment adviser representatives.
Rather than calculating its planning charge as a percentage of assets under management, Facet uses a flat membership structure. Investment management is included in the planning fee, although custodians and third-party providers can impose separate charges.
Facet currently divides its primary memberships into Core, Plus, and Complete. A separate Foundations membership is available for people seeking a lower-cost entry point.
How Much Does Facet Cost?
Current standard pricing for Facet's three primary memberships is:
| Membership | Standard annual price | Planning meetings during year one | Annual meetings after year one |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core | $2,600 | 3 | 1 |
| Plus | $5,500 | 3 | 2 |
| Complete | $8,700 | 4 | 4 |
Facet periodically runs promotional pricing, so the amount displayed when you enroll can differ from the standard annual price.
Core, Plus, and Complete are annual, non-refundable agreements. They can currently be paid annually or quarterly. Facet charges a $300 enrollment fee for quarterly billing and waives that fee with annual payment.
Its regulatory filings provide a broader picture of Facet Wealth fees. Facet states that financial planning generally ranges from $900 to $10,000 annually across its service levels, depending on a member's planning needs.
That distinction matters when researching pricing. The advertised Core, Plus, and Complete rates represent the main membership tiers, while regulatory disclosures cover Facet's broader fee structure.
What Does Each Facet Membership Include?
The right membership depends primarily on the financial services you expect to use.
Core
Core currently costs $2,600 per year at its standard rate. It includes three designated planning meetings during the first year and one annual planning meeting afterward.
Services include retirement and life planning, savings and debt management, investment management, tax-saving strategies, insurance planning, and education planning.
Core may suit someone seeking ongoing financial guidance without advanced tax or equity-compensation services.
Plus
Plus has a standard annual price of $5,500.
It includes three designated planning meetings in year one and two annual meetings in subsequent years. Plus adds tax filing through a certified tax professional, employer stock and equity planning, and access to Facet's Alternative Income investment services.
The added equity-compensation support could make Plus particularly relevant to employees dealing with RSUs, ISOs, vesting schedules, or other employer stock arrangements.
Complete
Complete costs $8,700 annually at its standard rate.
Members receive four designated meetings during year one and four annual meetings afterward. Complete adds services such as detailed tax-saving analysis, withdrawal planning, estimated-payment strategies, Direct Indexing access for qualified members, private investment team consultations, concierge onboarding, and priority support.
This tier targets financial situations requiring a wider scope of ongoing planning.
What Services Does Facet Cover?
Every primary membership includes several areas of financial planning.
Facet lists services covering:
- Retirement and life planning
- Savings strategies
- Debt management
- Investment management
- Tax-saving strategies
- Insurance planning
- Education planning
- Employer retirement plan guidance
- Portfolio monitoring and rebalancing
- Tax-loss harvesting for Facet-managed accounts
Specific services differ by membership.
For instance, tax filing and employer equity compensation planning appear in Plus and Complete, while advanced tax analysis and Direct Indexing access are reserved for Complete.
Estate planning is available separately through Wealth.com. Facet currently lists the standard first-year price at $1,200, followed by a $100 annual renewal. Promotional pricing can reduce the initial cost.
How Does Facet's Flat-Fee Structure Work?
Facet operates differently from an adviser charging a percentage of your portfolio.
A flat fee financial advisor charges a predetermined amount rather than automatically increasing the advisory bill as managed assets rise. Facet's planning fee is based on service needs instead of the dollar amount invested.
For example, an adviser charging 1% of assets would collect $5,000 annually on a $500,000 managed portfolio. At $1 million, the same percentage becomes $10,000.
Facet's annual membership does not automatically rise because your investment balance increases.
That doesn't automatically make a flat fee cheaper. Someone with a relatively small portfolio could pay considerably less under a low-cost percentage-based service. The value calculation depends on portfolio size, planning needs, services used, and competing adviser fees.
Do You Get a CFP With Facet?
Facet states that its planners are CFP® professionals. A CFP financial planner must meet certification requirements established by the CFP Board, including education, examination, experience, and ethics requirements.
The level of planner access differs by Facet membership.
Core provides access to Facet's CFP professionals, while Plus provides a dedicated CFP team. Complete includes a dedicated CFP professional familiar with your financial situation.
All three primary memberships include unlimited planner messaging.
This structure may suit people who want an ongoing professional relationship rather than relying primarily on automated portfolio recommendations.
Does Facet Manage Investments?
Yes. Facet investment management is included in its financial planning memberships without a separate investment-management charge from Facet.
Services can include risk assessment, portfolio monitoring, portfolio rebalancing, ETF portfolios, tax-loss harvesting, retirement account guidance, and management of individual, joint, and trust taxable accounts.
There are still potential expenses outside Facet's membership charge. Custodians can impose transaction or account-processing fees, and underlying investments can have their own expenses.
Direct Indexing can carry another cost. Facet's regulatory disclosure states that its sub-adviser can charge up to 0.15% for recordkeeping and service expenses associated with that service.
Checking these additional expenses helps you calculate the actual cost rather than looking solely at the membership price.
Is Facet a Fiduciary?
Facet states in its regulatory filings that the firm and its planners act as fiduciaries when providing applicable advisory services.
A fiduciary has obligations to act in a client's best interest under applicable regulatory standards. That does not eliminate every potential conflict.
Facet's Form ADV identifies several possible conflicts, including circumstances involving recommendations to use Facet for implementation and certain third-party services.
Reading the firm's current Form ADV before enrolling can help you see how Facet describes its fees, business practices, conflicts, and advisory relationship.
Who May Find Facet Financial Planning Useful?
Facet could make sense when you need help across several financial areas instead of investment selection alone.
Potential use cases include people dealing with:
- Retirement planning
- Several investment and retirement accounts
- Employer stock compensation
- Tax-planning questions
- Insurance decisions
- College savings
- Debt repayment
- Major changes in household finances
A Facet financial advisor can address several connected financial decisions through the same planning relationship.
The flat-fee structure can become particularly relevant as portfolio balances rise because the membership price isn't calculated directly from managed assets.
Who Might Find Facet Expensive?
Facet can be harder to justify if your finances are straightforward or you primarily need basic automated investing.
Paying $2,600 annually for Core could represent a large percentage of a smaller investment portfolio. Someone who needs basic portfolio allocation and rebalancing may find lower-cost digital investment services elsewhere.
The comparison changes when you need retirement projections, tax strategies, insurance analysis, debt planning, or regular access to financial professionals.
This is why evaluating Facet solely against a robo-advisor's management fee can produce an incomplete comparison. The services are structured differently.
Facet Pros and Cons
Pros
Flat annual pricing: The planning fee isn't directly tied to the amount of assets Facet manages.
CFP access: Facet uses CFP® professionals across its planning service.
Investment management included: Facet does not impose a separate investment-management fee for its standard managed portfolios.
Broad planning coverage: Retirement, investing, taxes, debt, insurance, education, and related planning areas can fall within the membership.
Virtual access: Meetings are conducted remotely, which can be convenient if you prefer phone or video appointments.
Cons
Annual cost: Core begins at $2,600 annually at the standard listed price, while the higher tiers cost substantially above that amount.
No traditional office meetings: Facet primarily provides services through phone, video, email, and its web platform.
Certain services cost extra: Estate planning is an optional add-on, and some investment or third-party services can create additional charges.
Services vary by tier: Advanced tax planning, equity compensation assistance, and Direct Indexing aren't available across every membership.
Annual agreements are non-refundable: Core, Plus, and Complete memberships operate as annual non-refundable agreements.
What Should You Check Before Joining?
Before paying for a membership, identify which services you will realistically use.
Start by comparing the annual fee against your current advisory costs. Then list the financial decisions you expect to handle during the next year.
You can ask Facet:
- Which membership fits your current planning needs?
- Which services would you actually receive at that tier?
- How frequently can you meet with your planner?
- Which investments or accounts can Facet directly manage?
- What custodian, fund, or third-party expenses could apply?
- Could your membership tier or price change at renewal?
- Which services require an additional payment?
Those questions can make a Facet Wealth review far practical because they connect the published features with the services you personally expect to use.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Facet financial planning cost?
Facet currently lists standard annual prices of $2,600 for Core, $5,500 for Plus, and $8,700 for Complete. Its regulatory disclosures state that financial planning fees generally range from $900 to $10,000 annually across its broader membership structure.
Does Facet charge based on assets under management?
No. Facet's planning charge isn't calculated as a percentage of managed assets. The company uses flat membership pricing tied to service needs.
Does Facet charge separately for investment management?
Facet states that investment management is included in its planning fee. Other expenses can still apply through custodians, underlying investments, Direct Indexing, or third-party services.
Can couples use one Facet membership?
Yes. Facet states that spouses or partners can participate under the same membership.
Does Facet provide tax preparation?
Plus and Complete currently include tax filing through a certified tax professional provided through Facet's designated tax-filing partner. Core includes tax-saving planning strategies but doesn't include the same tax-filing service.
Does Facet provide estate planning?
Estate planning is available through Facet's partnership with Wealth.com as an optional service. Facet itself states that it isn't a law firm and doesn't directly prepare legal documents.
Evaluating Facet Before You Sign Up
Facet financial planning sits between low-cost automated investment platforms and traditional percentage-based advisory relationships. Its defining feature is the flat membership structure paired with access to CFP® professionals and financial planning across several areas.
The pricing means the service won't fit every budget. Core currently starts at $2,600 per year, while Plus and Complete increase substantially as additional planning services are added.
Before enrolling, compare the annual membership price with the services you expect to use and the total cost of competing advisers. Pay particular attention to planner access, tax needs, investment-management requirements, and possible third-party expenses.
That calculation provides a practical way to judge Facet based on your finances rather than assuming that either flat-fee or percentage-based advice is automatically cheaper.
