Headquartered in Irvine, California, Index Fund Advisors (IFA) is a fee-based advisory firm offering a range of wealth management services to individual and institutional clients. The firm holds a spot on SmartAsset's list of the top financial advisor firms in Irvine. It has also won many different awards from entities like the Financial Times, Barron's, CNBC, WealthManagement.com and more.
Index Fund Advisors offers an extremely robust selection of investing and financial planning content and tools. These include consistent articles and videos that highlight things happening in the market, as well as investing books and movies. But perhaps the most unique tool is the IFA mobile app for Apple and Android phones. Through the app, clients are able to check on their account's performance, contact a wealth advisor directly, read investing articles and more.
Index Fund Advisors Background
Founded by owner and president Mark T. Hebner, Index Fund Advisors has been providing investment advisory services since 1999. The firm is a registered investment advisor (RIA) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and it says it specializes in providing risk-appropriate, return-optimized globally diversified and tax-managed investment management.
Of the advisors who work at this firm, several are certified financial planners (CFPs) and accredited investment fiduciaries (AIFs).
Index Fund Advisors Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
Index Fund Advisors almost entirely serves individuals with and without a high net worth. However, the firm also works with a relatively small number of retirement plans and charitable organizations.
The firm generally requires new clients to have at least $100,000 in investable assets when opening an account. The firm may decide to waive this requirement, though.
Services Offered by Index Fund Advisors
Index Fund Advisors specializes in the following services:
- Investment management
- Risk-adjusted investment recommendations
- Asset allocation planning
- Quarterly performance reporting
- Rebalances
- Financial planning
- Retirement planning
- College planning
- Charitable gift planning
- Trust planning
- Insurance planning
- Tax planning
- Accounting services
- Trust, estate plan and insurance referrals
- Pension consulting
- Fiduciary services
- Education, enrollment and advice for plan participants
- Investment advice and management for plan sponsors
Index Fund Advisors Investment Philosophy
As its name makes clear, Index Fund Advisors tends to invest client assets in a collection of index funds. It has chosen this philosophy as a result of its belief that strategies that look to beat the market tend to be unsuccessful over the long term. The firm invests throughout global capital markets through index portfolios that it has designed. Each of these portfolios utilizes a different risk tolerance level in order to ensure that every client will find one that meets their needs.
Specific portfolio construction is based on the tenets of modern portfolio theory. As such, the firm will build your portfolio in a way that's designed to maximize returns for your specific risk tolerance. Many of the index funds your money is invested in will include fixed-income securities and real estate investment trusts (REITs).
Fees Under Index Fund Advisors
For its investment advisory services, IFA charges fees which are billed quarterly and payable in advance. Additional fees include transaction and/or brokerage fees and other custodial charges. Below, we’ve listed the firm’s fee schedule for investment advisory services:
| Index Fund Advisors Fee Schedule | |
| AUM | Annual Fee |
| First $500,000 | 0.90% |
| Next $500,000 | 0.75% |
| Next $1,000,000 | 0.60% |
| Next $2,000,000 | 0.45% |
| Next $2,000,000 | 0.30% |
| Next $4,000,000 | 0.25% |
| Above $10,000,000 | 0.20% |
For clarity, here's an estimate of what you'll pay for advisory services at Index Fund Advisors:
| *Estimated investment management fees do not include brokerage, custodial, third-party manager or other fees, which can vary in amount. | |
| Estimated Investment Management Fees at Index Fund Advisors* | |
| Your Assets | Index Fund Advisors Fee Amount |
| $500K | $4,500 |
| $1MM | $8,250 |
| $5MM | $26,250 |
| $10MM | $39,250 |
Should you take advantage of IFA's tax services, you'll adhere to a different fee schedule. This is highlighted by a fixed fee of anywhere from $200 to $5,000.
What to Watch Out For
Index Fund Advisors' SEC-filed Form ADV doesn’t list any legal or regulatory disclosures. The firm may earn additional compensation when recommending tax services through its tax division. This creates a conflict of interest because IFA has a financial incentive to recommend in-house tax services instead of external services that may be more appropriate. However, keep in mind that the firm is a fiduciary and must act in your best interests.
Opening an Account with Index Fund Advisors
The easiest way to become a client of Index Fund Advisors is to call the firm's Irvine, California headquarters at (949) 502-0050 and set up a meeting with an advisor. The firm also offers an online contact form, which you should fill out if you want an advisor to reach out to you.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
Tips for Finding a Financial Advisor
- There are many financial advisor firms to choose from, but the work can be done for you. Finding a financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
- Before choosing an advisor, it's important to ask certain questions to ensure the best quality of service. It's useful to ask whether your advisor honors a fiduciary standard. This ensures that your advisor works in your best interest. You'll also want to ask whether you're advisor has a fee-based or fee-only fee structure. In doing so, you can learn how your advisor is compensated and also anticipate any potential conflicts of interest.
