SALT LAKE CITY (May 16, 2019) - North Capital Inc., an SEC Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) providing financial planning and portfolio management to individuals, families, businesses, and non-profit institutions, has introduced evisor.com, a free financial planning platform that individual investors can access online. Users of the platform create a customized financial review, which incorporates the firm’s proprietary “Lifetime Financial Analysis” tool, together with an investment policy statement. For a fee, they can implement their investment strategy under the supervision of a human advisor. All customer assets are custodied at Charles Schwab. North Capital was founded by Jim Dowd, CFA, CPA, in 2008, after spending more than 20 years on Wall Street, including twelve years as an institutional portfolio manager, with the goal of providing institutional-grade planning, advisory services and investment management to individual investors. “With the launch of evisor, we are taking this vision to an even broader group of investors, through an accessible and affordable digital solution designed to replicate the in-person experience that has helped our clients achieve their financial goals for over a decade,” said Dowd.

Unique Offering for Investors

evisor is a unique offering for several reasons:
  • Free financial planning platform for users with AI-powered recommendations, no minimum asset requirement, and no requirement to link external brokerage or bank accounts;
  • Investment program that utilizes institutional mutual funds to reduce brokerage charges and market slippage, including Dimensional Funds and ESG strategies;
  • Low asset management fee of 0.25% per annum;
  • Investors may receive bespoke advice from a professional financial advisor for an additional fee.

Benefits of a “Planning First” Approach

The financial planning component of evisor is an essential feature of the platform and a key differentiator compared to other robo offerings. The system guides the user through a familiar question and answer process that covers a wide range of possible needs and goals, including establishing an emergency reserve, planning for retirement, and saving for college.

The output is a comprehensive financial plan, which starts with a report that the firm calls a “Lifetime Financial Analysis” or “LFA.” Daren Dearden, an advisor who has been involved in the development of the platform for the past two years, refers to the LFA as the firm’s “secret sauce.” “We have prepared hundreds of traditional financial plans for our clients over the past ten years, and the comment we hear most often is that the LFA is both intuitive and easy to understand; it’s universally regarded as the most useful part of the comprehensive financial review.” In addition to the LFA, the platform incorporates artificial intelligence algorithms and heuristics developed by the firm’s advisors, to offer additional planning recommendations to users.

Financial planning on evisor is free for all users, whether or not they maintain assets on the platform. If a user decides to open an investment account, North Capital charges a 0.25% annual management fee to manage and monitor the investor’s portfolio. For accounts less than $250,000, this represents a 75% savings compared to the industry average. Through the evisor portal, users have ready access to experienced investment advisors who, for an additional fee, will advise on complex planning questions that may not be addressed by the online tool. “Financial planning is usually paid for by asset management fees, which is a huge problem for individuals and families who may need comprehensive planning the most,” said Bridgot Basile, another advisor who has been collaborating on the evisor platform design. “Our goal is simple: offer investors access to comprehensive, actionable financial planning, sound advice and low-cost implementation options that are typically reserved for institutional and high net worth investors.” For more information, contact [email protected].