A Facet membership runs between $2,600 and $8,700 a year, billed as a flat fee rather than a share of the balance, and it comes with a Certified Financial Planner assigned to the member.
How good a deal that is swings widely depending on the size and the complexity of the finances involved.
What the Flat Fee Costs and How It's Set
Facet doesn't bill on assets under management. Members pay a fixed annual fee in the $2,600 to $8,700 range, set according to the situation and the services involved. A straightforward plan sits toward the bottom of that range; someone juggling equity compensation, a business, and college costs sits higher.
Two details matter here. The fee doesn't move when your balances grow, and there's no separate charge layered on top for investment management. Facet also runs occasional sales, so the price a member sees at signup isn't always the standard one.
Worth knowing generally: a planning fee like this is usually its own line item, sitting alongside whatever the underlying funds in a portfolio charge and whatever the custodian charges. Those are separate costs from the advisory fee, and it's fair to ask any advisory firm for the full picture before signing.
Where the Flat Fee Beats a Percentage, and Where It Loses
The comparison that decides it for most people is arithmetic. A robo-advisor charging 0.25% a year on a $150,000 portfolio bills $375. Facet's lowest membership fee is $2,600. At that balance, the percentage model is far cheaper, and no amount of extra service changes the raw number.
Run it the other way and the logic reverses. As assets climb, a percentage fee climbs with them while Facet's stays put. Past a certain balance the flat fee is the smaller of the two, which is why Facet tends to make sense for people with larger or more tangled finances and to look expensive to people still building.
The difference is structural rather than a matter of degree. A couple whose portfolio doubles over a decade would see an AUM-based fee roughly double alongside it. Under a flat fee, that growth doesn't by itself raise the bill. The fee can still be adjusted, though, if the services they need change.
One Dedicated CFP, Backed by Specialists
Members are matched with a single CFP rather than routed to whoever picks up. That planner is supported by a wider team of specialists, so niche questions can be escalated without handing the relationship to someone new. Facet's CFPs are fiduciaries, meaning they're required to weigh the member's best interests when making recommendations and managing money.
Onboarding asks you to link your financial accounts so the planner can see income, debts, and investments together rather than advising on fragments. Facet also provides a dashboard where members can check their overall position, follow progress on goals, and book appointments with their planner.
Credentials and registration can be checked. Anyone evaluating an advisory firm can look up a planner's CFP credential and review the firm's regulatory filings, which spell out fees, conflicts, and disciplinary history in standardized form.
Meetings Are Phone and Video Only
Facet works with members across the United States by phone and video conferencing. There are no in-person appointments. For people who'd rather sort out a retirement plan across a desk, that's a genuine limitation; for people who'd rather not drive anywhere, it's the point.
Planning Covers Taxes, Insurance, Estate, and Benefits
Facet's scope goes well past portfolio construction. The services included:
- Retirement planning, with a step-by-step plan for setting and hitting savings goals, whether through a workplace plan or an IRA.
- Asset management, meaning a portfolio built around stated short- and long-term goals after a review of your needs.
- Retirement income, including which sources to draw from first once you've stopped working, and how to support your lifestyle.
- Education planning, mapping out how to pay for a child's college.
- Family planning, covering milestones like buying a home, marriage, or a vacation.
- Tax planning, with help reducing tax liability now and in later years.
- Insurance planning, which covers protecting assets, passing on wealth, and working through open enrollment and employee benefit choices.
- Estate planning, delivered through wealth.com, which builds a plan around your needs and your state's laws.
That benefits-selection piece is unusual for an advisory firm and can be the most immediately useful item on the list, since open enrollment decisions come with a hard deadline every year.
Account Types, Minimums, and Brokerages
It costs $0 to become a member. Facet's Short-Term Strategy portfolio carries a $250 minimum. Supported account types include brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, and trusts, and planners can advise on employee benefits. Facet works with Charles Schwab, Fidelity, and Apex as brokerages.
A CFP Can Advise on Outside Accounts but Not Trade Them
Facet builds and manages portfolios for accounts it holds. For accounts it doesn't directly manage, a CFP can recommend a strategy but cannot place trades or make adjustments. If a large share of your money sits in a 401(k) or an account you'd rather leave where it is, expect guidance you have to implement yourself.
Who Facet Is Aimed At
Anyone able to pay the flat fee can use it, but the fit is clearest for a few groups:
- Young professionals and couples with a growing net worth.
- People who are building investments but fall short of the account minimums other full-service firms require.
- People with complicated finances, where a flat rate can come out below a percentage-based bill.
- People heading into or through a major life event, such as a new baby, a house, or college costs.
None of that is a checklist. Someone outside those descriptions may still want comprehensive planning, and someone inside them may not need it.
Facet Started in 2016 and Reports More Than 20,000 Members
The firm was founded in 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland, and says it has more than 20,000 members. Its backers include Warburg Pincus, a global equity firm, and Multiplier Capital, a growth financing platform.
Signing Up Begins With a Free Intro Call
Onboarding runs in order:
- Schedule an introductory call from the "How It Works" tab on Facet's site, using the "Book Your Free Intro Call" button.
- Take the free call, where Facet learns your goals and explains how it works with members. If you continue, Facet matches you with a CFP suited to your needs.
- Sign up and choose the membership tier that fits.
- Meet your planner virtually to go deeper on goals and concerns, which Facet uses to build a personalized roadmap.
Betterment and Wealthfront Charge a Percentage Instead
The main alternatives price the opposite way, which is exactly why they're the relevant comparison.
Betterment is a robo-advisor that manages portfolios and also offers cash management products. Its tiers run 0.25% for accounts under $1 million, 0.15% between $1 million and $2 million, and 0.10% above $2 million. Premium members pay a 0.65% advisory fee, which includes access to CFP services.
Wealthfront charges a single management fee of 0.25% regardless of balance, with a $500 minimum to start investing. It offers 529 accounts for college, IRAs, and cash management products for shorter-term savings, plus automated tools for budgeting toward goals like a home purchase.
| Fee | Minimum | Dedicated CFP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facet | $2,600–$8,700 per year, flat | $0 to join; $250 for Short-Term Strategy portfolio | Yes |
| Betterment | 0.25% under $1M; 0.15% $1M–$2M; 0.10% over $2M; Premium 0.65% | Not stated | CFP access on Premium |
| Wealthfront | 0.25%, any balance | $500 to start investing | No |
With a smaller portfolio the robo-advisors cost less. Neither one delivers the customized plan or the single named planner that Facet is built around.
A Subscription Price for Planning, a Percentage for Automation
What the flat fee buys is a named fiduciary CFP, planning that reaches into taxes, insurance, estate, and benefits, and a bill that stays put while balances move. Households with real complexity, or with enough assets that a percentage fee would run past the flat one, get the most out of that structure. Someone with a modest portfolio and a simple question gets the least, since $2,600 buys a lot less per dollar there. Betterment and Wealthfront sit at the other end: cheaper at small balances, automated, and without the ongoing personal relationship. Facet, Betterment, and Wealthfront all revise pricing and service lineups periodically, and the figures above are the current published ones.
