Common Questions About Our Fee-Only Advisory Service

NarStar LLC is a state-registered investment adviser, CRD #337496, registered in Utah and conditionally registered in Texas. You can verify the registration yourself on IARD (opens in new tab) (search by firm name or CRD number to confirm current status, registration history, and any disciplinary record). Our background, fees, and all conflicts of interest are documented in Form ADV, filed with state regulators.

Nothing changes for your existing accounts. You open a new account at Interactive Brokers (opens in new tab) and fund it with whatever amount you want managed. We only have authority over the IBKR account you specifically set up with Narstar. We can't access, move, or trade anything held elsewhere.

Individual and joint taxable accounts, IRAs (Traditional, Roth, Rollover, SEP), trust accounts, and entity accounts. All accounts must be at Interactive Brokers. Your active 401(k) at a current employer stays with the plan. A rollover IRA funded from a previous 401(k) and held at IBKR is managed normally. See the 401(k) rollover guide for the full process.

$3,000 per portfolio account. Clients whose advisory agreement was signed before July 6, 2026 keep the minimum that was in effect when they signed. If you'd like to start with less, ask about the Starter Account option. See the next question for how it works.

One Starter Account per client. The minimum to open it is $100, in any of our three model portfolios. To stay open, the account must reach $3,000 by the last day of the sixth calendar month after opening. That threshold is met as soon as cumulative net deposits reach $3,000 or the account value reaches $3,000 at any point, whichever comes first. Hit it early and the account converts permanently to a standard account. Miss the deadline and we may close and liquidate the account on 30 days' written notice, or extend the deadline. Liquidation is a taxable event. Any capital gains or losses from the sale belong to you.

Yes. Narstar works exclusively through Interactive Brokers. You open an account at IBKR, fund it with whatever amount you want managed, and grant Narstar limited trading authority over that account. Your existing accounts at other brokerages stay exactly where they are. We have no access to them. IBKR is a publicly traded, SIPC-member brokerage with $500,000 in standard SIPC coverage plus $30 million in excess coverage. Account setup takes about 15 minutes online.

Robo-advisors build portfolios from index funds, usually based on a short questionnaire. Narstar selects individual stocks for each portfolio: dividend-paying companies selected for cash flow in Income, durable competitive advantages in Growth, and a small number of concentrated positions in Speculative. You get a human investment adviser bound by fiduciary duty. Robo-advisors are cheaper. Our fees are higher because the portfolios are actively managed by a person, not an algorithm. See the full comparison in Robo-Advisor vs. Fee-Only Adviser.

NarStar LLC is a sole-owner, single-adviser firm. If I'm incapacitated or die, trading activity stops. The succession plan documented in Form ADV covers wind-down procedures: clients are notified, advisory agreements terminate, and you retain full control of your account at Interactive Brokers. Your assets stay in your account. Nothing is automatically liquidated. You would need to choose a new adviser or manage the account yourself.

Narstar earns revenue from one source: your advisory fee. Many advisers are compensated by the products they sell or recommend. We can't earn that way. This removes the biggest structural conflict in financial advice, though not all conflicts. Remaining ones are disclosed in Form ADV.

0.60%/yr for Income, 1.20%/yr for Growth, 1.60%/yr for Speculative. Billed quarterly in arrears and deducted in cash directly from your account by the custodian. The standard minimum is $3,000 per account. There are no signup or exit fees. Interactive Brokers charges its own brokerage fees separately. Those go to them, not to us. Use the fee calculator on the homepage to see exactly what you'd pay at any balance.

No. Narstar is an investment adviser, not a tax adviser. We don't provide tax planning, prepare returns, or advise on tax strategy. When managing taxable accounts, we're mindful of the tax implications of trading decisions, but that's not the same as tax advice. For tax questions, consult a CPA or tax attorney.

The advisory fee is calculated as a percentage of your average daily net liquidation value for the quarter, as determined by Interactive Brokers. Each quarter we bill one-fourth of the annual rate. For the Growth Portfolio at 1.20% per year, that's 0.30% per quarter. On a $50,000 average daily balance, the quarterly fee is $150. The fee is deducted in cash directly from your IBKR account by the custodian. You don't receive a separate invoice. If your account has little or no cash when the fee is due, we may sell a position to cover it. Any tax from that sale is your responsibility. No fee is charged while your account is below the custodian's minimum billing threshold, and no fee is back-charged once you cross that threshold. If the deduction briefly creates a negative cash balance, it will normally settle within the same day. If you have margin enabled, it may appear as a short-term margin loan, and any margin interest that results is your responsibility.

Yes. Interactive Brokers charges its own commissions and fees on trades placed in your account. These go directly to IBKR, not to us. IBKR's commissions are low relative to most brokerages. We have no financial incentive to trade frequently. Our advisory fee is based on account value, not transaction volume, so there's no reason for us to churn your account.

Short answer: probably not. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 suspended the deduction for investment advisory fees paid in taxable accounts, and that suspension is still in effect as of 2026. IRA fees work differently since they're paid from pre-tax money. Tax rules change, and your situation matters. Talk to a CPA.

Fee-only means the adviser earns compensation from client fees and nothing else. Fee-based means they can also earn commissions from product sales. A fee-based adviser may have a financial incentive to recommend products that pay them, even if those products aren't the best option for you. Narstar is fee-only. See the full breakdown in fee-only vs. fee-based adviser.

At Interactive Brokers (opens in new tab), in an account in your name. IBKR is a SIPC member with $500,000 in standard coverage plus $30 million excess coverage. You can verify SIPC coverage on IBKR's site (opens in new tab). SIPC protects against brokerage failure, not market losses. Your money is invested in equities and can go up or down. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal.

No. We have limited trading authority: we can buy and sell securities inside your account, but we can't withdraw funds or transfer them anywhere. You're the only person who can move money out. IBKR's custodial setup enforces this at the account level.

Yes, with no lock-up period and no exit fee. Send an email and we remove trading authority from your account. Your holdings stay at Interactive Brokers. You choose whether to keep them, liquidate, or transfer to another broker. If you leave mid-quarter, the advisory fee is prorated to your exit date.

Log in to Interactive Brokers directly. IBKR shows real-time positions, transaction history, and statements. Narstar doesn't have a separate portal. Everything happens in your IBKR account, and you can set up alerts there for any account activity.

You can request a withdrawal from your Interactive Brokers account at any time. We have no ability to block or delay it. Most withdrawals process within one to three business days depending on the method. If you need the full balance, you would typically sell holdings first, wait for settlement (usually two business days for equities), then withdraw. Contact us to terminate the advisory agreement and the fee is prorated to your exit date.

Dividends paid by stocks in your account are deposited directly into your IBKR account by the paying company. We don't automatically reinvest them. The cash sits until the next portfolio review, at which point it goes into positions below their target size, or stays as cash if nothing fits. The Income Portfolio is built around stocks that pay dividends regularly. Dividend amounts are set by each company and can be reduced or eliminated at any time.

Yes. You can fund your Interactive Brokers account at any time. New cash is invested in the model portfolio at the next portfolio review, directed toward positions below their target size or new ideas. There's no minimum for subsequent contributions and no maximum. Adding funds doesn't change your portfolio assignment or advisory agreement.

Reach out via the contact form below, email, or phone and we'll help figure out the right fit. Generally: Income is for investors who want stocks selected for cash flow and are comfortable with equity risk. Growth is for long-term investors who won't need the money for at least five years. Speculative is for a small portion of capital you can genuinely afford to lose, not retirement savings and not money you need soon. Each portfolio page goes deeper on who it's built for and what the risks are.

Yes. All three portfolios hold stocks, which means account values can fall as well as rise. Income and Growth carry normal stock market risk. The Speculative Portfolio is more concentrated in smaller companies and can decline sharply, including 30%, 40%, or more. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal.

Income and Growth tend to have low turnover. We buy positions we intend to hold, not trade frequently. The Speculative Portfolio may see more activity when positions are entered or exited based on changing conditions. We don't churn accounts. Our advisory fees are based on account value, not transaction volume, so there's no financial incentive to trade more than necessary.

Yes. Some clients hold multiple accounts at Interactive Brokers, each managed under a different portfolio. For example, a taxable account in Growth and an IRA in Income. Each account has its own advisory agreement and is billed separately at the applicable rate. Reach out via the contact form below to discuss how to structure multiple accounts.

The Income Portfolio holds dividend-paying stocks and preferred shares selected for cash flow. Dividends are deposited into your account when paid by the underlying companies. Fee: 0.60% per year. It carries normal stock market risk. Dividends can be cut and share prices can fall. It's not a fixed-income product and doesn't guarantee any level of income. See the Income Portfolio page for full details on what it holds and who it's built for.

The Growth Portfolio holds companies selected for durable competitive advantages, with the goal of long-term compounding. Positions are intended to be held for years. Fee: 1.20% per year. It's suited for investors who won't need the funds for at least five years and are comfortable with price swings, including extended periods of underperformance. See the Growth Portfolio page for full details.

The Speculative Portfolio holds a small number of positions in smaller companies. It carries much more risk than the other two portfolios and can decline sharply, including 30%, 40%, or more. Fee: 1.60% per year. It's not suitable for retirement savings or money you need access to. It's intended for a small portion of capital you can genuinely afford to lose. See the Speculative Portfolio page for full details.

No. These are fixed model portfolios. All clients assigned to a given portfolio hold the same positions. After you reach out, we send a short questionnaire about your goals, timeline, and how much loss you're comfortable with to find the right match, but the portfolio itself doesn't change from client to client. Narstar doesn't build custom portfolios.

Individual stocks and preferred shares only. Narstar doesn't use index funds, ETFs, or mutual funds. Income holds dividend-paying companies selected for cash flow. Growth holds companies with durable competitive advantages. Speculative holds a concentrated set of smaller companies. This is an active, opinionated approach that costs more than indexing and depends on whether our picks are right. If you'd rather buy the whole market at low cost, a robo-advisor is probably a better fit.

Narstar works well for people who want their money actively managed and don't want to spend time doing it themselves. You'd want to understand that stocks go up and down, be comfortable opening an account at Interactive Brokers, and prefer talking to an actual person rather than an algorithm. If that sounds right, reach out via the contact form or email.

Narstar is probably not the right fit if you need financial planning, budgeting help, debt advice, or insurance guidance. It's also not right if you want a portfolio built entirely around index funds (a robo-advisor would cost less), if you need your money back within the next one to two years, or if you're not comfortable with the possibility of losing principal. Being clear about fit saves time on both sides. If you're not sure, send a message and ask.

Investment management only. Narstar manages your portfolio at Interactive Brokers. We don't provide financial planning, budgeting advice, debt management, insurance analysis, estate planning, or tax planning. Those are separate disciplines. If you need a full financial plan first, a fee-only financial planner who charges by the hour and doesn't manage assets may be a better starting point.

Yes. Narstar is a one-person firm. I'm the only investment adviser representative, and every trading decision and every reply to your messages comes from me directly. At larger firms, your account may be managed by someone you've never spoken to. Here, there's nobody to hand you off to. That said, it also means the relationship depends on one person continuing to operate the business, which is disclosed as a risk in Form ADV.

Reach out using the contact form below, email, or phone. I'll send you our disclosures and a short questionnaire covering your goals, timeline, and how much loss you're comfortable with. I review your answers and reply within two business days with a recommended portfolio and any follow-up questions. If it looks like a fit, you open an account at Interactive Brokers (about 15 minutes online), fund it with whatever amount you want managed, and grant Narstar limited trading authority. We take it from there. No lock-up, no contract, stop anytime.

We don't try to time the market or shift to cash in anticipation of declines. Our approach is to hold positions through volatility unless the underlying business case for a company has changed. Selling in a panic is how investors lock in losses and miss recoveries. For the Income and Growth portfolios, short-term price drops don't change why we own a company. For the Speculative Portfolio, sharp declines are expected and should be planned for from the start. If market volatility causes you serious anxiety, that's worth discussing before you invest, not after.