Frequently Asked Questions

Our minimum investment is $250,000 in investable assets. This allows us to properly diversify your portfolio across our SMA strategies and provide the level of personalized service our clients expect. If you’re close to the minimum and serious about getting started, we’re happy to have a conversation.

It starts with a complimentary discovery call — no obligation, no commitment. Or, if you’d rather move at your own pace, begin with the Client Intake Form and Risk Tolerance Questionnaire on our Client Resources page. Either way, we’ll learn about your financial situation, goals, and concerns, and you’ll learn about our approach. From there, we handle the rest: risk assessment, proposal, account opening, asset transfers, and technology setup. Most clients are fully onboarded within two to four weeks.

Fee-only means our sole compensation comes from the advisory fee you pay us based on your assets under management. We do not earn commissions, referral fees, or revenue from any product we recommend. This eliminates conflicts of interest entirely — every recommendation we make is driven by what’s best for your portfolio, not by what generates a payout for us. That’s a meaningful distinction from “fee-based” advisors, who may charge a fee and earn commissions on certain products.

We can open and manage virtually any account type through Charles Schwab: individual and joint brokerage accounts, Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, inherited IRAs, SEP IRAs, custodial accounts (UTMA/UGMA), 529 education savings plans, trust accounts, and more. For business owners, we also offer retirement plan solutions — including 401(k) plans and cash balance plans — through our Workplace Solutions division. And if your current employer’s 401(k) offers a self-directed brokerage window (PCRA/SDBA), we can manage that as well, provided your plan allows it.

A standard ACAT transfer from another brokerage typically takes five to seven business days. We initiate the transfer as part of the Schwab account opening paperwork, so there’s no separate step for you. During the transfer window, your assets remain invested at your prior custodian and move over in-kind — meaning your existing positions transfer without being sold, unless we recommend liquidating specific holdings as part of your new allocation plan.

Yes — if you’re currently employed and contributing to your employer’s 401(k), that account stays where it is. We can still incorporate it into your overall financial plan and monitor its allocation alongside your other accounts through Black Diamond. And if your plan offers a self-directed brokerage window, we may be able to manage a portion of it directly.

Rolling over an old 401(k) from a former employer is straightforward. You contact your old plan provider, request a direct rollover to Charles Schwab, and they send a check directly to Schwab for deposit into your new Traditional IRA (for pre-tax funds) or Roth IRA (for Roth 401(k) funds). We walk you through the entire process, and our Schwab 401(k) Rollover Instructions cover it step by step. Most rollovers are completed within one to two weeks.

After your risk tolerance assessment, we determine the right blend of our four proprietary SMA strategies for your profile. Each strategy holds a concentrated portfolio of individual equities selected through fundamental research — not ETFs, not mutual funds, not model portfolios from a third party. Chris Passarelli, our Founder and Portfolio Manager, makes every buy and sell decision. We have trading authority over your accounts, meaning we execute trades on your behalf without needing approval for each one — so we can act quickly when opportunities or risks arise.

A separately managed account is an investment portfolio managed individually for you — not pooled with other investors like a mutual fund or ETF. You directly own every stock in your portfolio, which provides full transparency, the ability to customize holdings, and significant tax advantages like harvesting losses on individual positions. Our four SMAs — Innovation, Growth, Core, and Low Volatility — each target different risk and return profiles.

We rebalance tactically based on market conditions and portfolio drift — not on a rigid calendar schedule. In practice, our higher-growth strategies like Innovation are rebalanced more frequently (typically at least once or twice per quarter) because they experience more volatility. Our Core and Low Volatility strategies are rebalanced less often, which is advantageous because fewer trades mean fewer taxable events. This is one reason we prefer placing higher-turnover strategies in tax-advantaged accounts like Roth IRAs when possible.

Each strategy has specific benchmark targets. Our Equity Low Volatility SMA aims to track the S&P 500 with lower drawdowns. The Equity Core SMA is designed to outperform the S&P 500 over full market cycles. The Equity Growth SMA targets outperformance against both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100. And our flagship Equity Innovation SMA benchmarks against the S&P 500, the Nasdaq 100, and the BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index. You can view detailed performance history on our strategy pages and interactive fact sheets.

Both portals are accessible directly from our website. Hover over the Login dropdown in the top-right corner of the navigation bar, and you’ll see links to Black Diamond, RightCapital, Charles Schwab, and other tools. Click the one you need, and it takes you straight to the login page. You’ll receive your credentials from us during onboarding.

Yes — this is one of the most valuable features of Black Diamond. You can link virtually any outside account: bank accounts, a 401(k) at your current employer, cryptocurrency accounts, brokerage accounts at other firms, real estate values, and more. This gives you a single, consolidated view of your complete net worth and financial picture, all in one dashboard. There’s no additional charge for this feature.

Yes. Both Black Diamond and RightCapital offer native mobile apps for iOS and Android. The Black Diamond app gives you access to your portfolio, performance, accounts, document vault, and direct contact with your advisory team from your phone. The RightCapital app lets you track your financial plan, probability of success, budget, and tasks on the go. Search for “Black Diamond Wealth Platform” or “RightCapital” in the App Store or Google Play.

As often as you’d like. Most clients meet with us quarterly to review portfolio performance, the financial plan, and any changes in life or goals. Some prefer annual reviews; others are in touch more frequently. We adapt to whatever cadence works best for you — there are no hourly charges for meetings or communication. At minimum, we conduct at least one comprehensive review per year.

Absolutely. You can call, email, or message us anytime — there’s no limit on communication and no additional charge. Whether you have a question about a transaction, need to discuss a life event, or just want to check in on markets, we’re accessible. You work directly with your portfolio manager, not a support queue.

We reach out to you proactively — you won’t need to wonder what’s happening. During periods of volatility, we send communications explaining what’s driving the market movement, how your portfolio is positioned, and what actions, if any, we’re taking. Our strategies are built to capitalize on recoveries, and historically our portfolios have significantly outperformed the S&P 500 during rebound periods. We believe volatility creates opportunity, and we want you to feel confident in that approach.

Yes. We conduct tax-loss harvesting on an ongoing basis across all client accounts as opportunities arise. Because our SMAs hold individual equities rather than ETFs, we have much more granular control — we can harvest losses on specific positions without disrupting the overall strategy. Toward year-end, we also reach out to discuss any client-specific tax planning needs. If you have a particular situation, like a large capital gain from selling a home, we’ll coordinate with you and your CPA to optimize the outcome.