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Frequently Asked Questions

Answers from a CFP®-led, fiduciary retirement planning firm, based in Boerne, TX and serving clients nationwide through virtual planning.

Here are clear answers to the questions we hear most, grouped by topic. If your question is not covered, the fastest way to get a direct answer is a free assessment. Jump to a category: About Kraus Capital, Working Together, Fees and Cost, Who We Help, Services and Planning, or Getting Started.

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About Kraus Capital

We build and manage coordinated retirement plans for people ages 55 to 70, planning around taxes, income, investments, Social Security, healthcare, and estate together as one strategy, with a fiduciary responsible for the whole picture.
We are an independent, fee-based fiduciary firm founded by Brian Kraus, CFP®, in Boerne, Texas. We are veteran-owned, and client assets are held at Charles Schwab, an independent custodian.
Our office is in Boerne, Texas, in the heart of the Hill Country. For clients outside the area, we work entirely through virtual planning, including secure video meetings, a dedicated client portal through Charles Schwab, and the same full Legacy Blueprint process our local clients go through. Distance has never been a barrier to a well-built retirement plan, and we work with families across the country who found us looking for a fiduciary CFP® who takes a whole-picture approach. If you are not in the Hill Country, virtual is not a workaround. It is how we do this work with clients everywhere.
Yes, and for many of our clients that is the only way we have ever met. Our virtual planning process uses secure video calls for all meetings, a Charles Schwab online portal for account access and reporting, and encrypted document exchange for everything in between. You do not need to be in Boerne or in Texas to get a fully coordinated retirement plan. We have worked with clients from coast to coast who wanted a CFP® fiduciary with a real planning process, not just a portfolio manager. If you are considering working with us from outside the Hill Country, the free assessment is the right first step. It takes about 15 minutes and you will know quickly whether we are a fit.
Yes. We are a fee-based fiduciary firm, which means we are legally and ethically required to act in your best interest at all times.
A fiduciary is a person or firm with a legal and ethical duty to act in your best interest, not their own. Most people assume every financial advisor operates this way. They don’t. Advisors who are not fiduciaries are held to a suitability standard, meaning their recommendations only need to be suitable for you, not necessarily the best option available. At Kraus Capital in Boerne, Texas, we uphold the fiduciary standard. As a Registered Investment Adviser and CFP® professional, Brian Kraus is bound by the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the CFP Board’s Code of Ethics, both of which require placing your interests ahead of all others. That means no undisclosed conflicts, no hidden commissions driving recommendations, and no advice that benefits us at your expense.
The CFP® certification is one of the most rigorous credentials in financial planning. To earn it, a professional must complete an approved course of study at an accredited university, pass a comprehensive national exam that tests the application of financial planning knowledge to real client situations, accumulate several years of direct financial planning experience, and agree to uphold the CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. Those standards require CFP® professionals to act as a fiduciary, placing your interests first at all times, and to demonstrate ongoing competence through continuing education. Brian Kraus has been a financial planner for over 27 years and has held the CFP® certification for over 22 years.
A Registered Investment Adviser is a firm registered with either the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or a state securities regulator to provide investment advice and manage client portfolios. Unlike broker-dealers, RIAs have a fiduciary duty to put client interests first. Kraus Capital is an RIA based in Boerne, Texas, registered to serve clients across Texas and the ability to serve clients anywhere in the United States. That means we are legally required to act in your best interest, disclose any conflicts, and provide advice based on accurate, complete information.
Yes. Kraus Capital is veteran-owned and operated. That background is part of who we are and shapes the way we approach our work, with a long-term perspective and a genuine commitment to the people we serve.

Working Together and The Legacy Blueprint

It organizes your plan around three pillars, Keep, Grow, and Leave, and moves you through four phases: a Clarity Session, a Blueprint Build, an Optimization Review, and an ongoing Legacy Launch. You can see the full path on The Legacy Blueprint page.
The Clarity Session is the first conversation. The Blueprint Build is where we engineer your written plan. The Optimization Review stress-tests it against downturns, long life, and tax changes. The Legacy Launch is the ongoing relationship that keeps the plan current.
Typically two to four times a year once your plan is in place, plus communication as life changes. Early on, building the plan usually takes a few working sessions over several weeks up to a couple of months.
You will work directly with Brian Kraus, CFP®. Not a junior associate, not a rotating team. Brian handles the planning, the meetings, and the ongoing relationship personally. That direct access is part of why most of our clients, whether they are in Boerne or working with us virtually from across the country, have been with us for more than a decade.
More than most firms. We schedule your reviews months in advance so you always know when you will hear from us next. Between meetings, we send a quarterly financial focus, email updates on anything relevant to your plan, and market and planning commentary through our newsletter. We are never more than a phone call, a Zoom, or an email away, and we are available year-round for any question that comes up. The most common reason people leave a financial advisor is a lack of communication. That does not happen here.
Yes. The free assessment is genuinely free and carries no obligation. It is how we both decide whether working together makes sense.

Fees and Cost

We are a fee-based fiduciary firm, so our compensation is transparent and discussed openly before you commit to anything. The right structure depends on your situation, and we will walk through it during your free assessment. There are no hidden commissions driving our advice.
For investment management, we charge a fee based on a percentage of the assets we manage for you. For accounts up to $1 million, that fee is between 1.25% and 1.50% annually, and it covers everything: strategy meetings, the full Legacy Blueprint process, ongoing planning, portfolio management, and annual tax reviews. Lower rates apply to household balances over $1 million. In some cases, insurance recommendations may involve a commission paid by the insurance company. We will always disclose this clearly, in writing, before any decision is made.

Who We Help

Individuals and couples ages 55 to 70 with at least $700,000 in investable assets who want a coordinated, written plan rather than a single product. Most fall into one of three groups: pre-retirees, retirees, and business owners.
We work best with households that have at least $700,000 in investable assets. If you are close or unsure, the free assessment is the best way to find out if we are a fit.
We accept 12 to 15 new families per year. We limit new client relationships intentionally so that every Legacy Blueprint receives the time and attention it takes to build a real plan. Most of our clients have been with us for a decade or more, which tells you something about what that relationship looks like over time.
Yes. Kraus Capital is a comprehensive retirement income planning firm that combines our planning and modeling process with ongoing investment management. The clients who get the most from our work are those who want to delegate investment decisions to a trusted partner, not those looking for a one-time plan they manage themselves. If we determine through the planning process that we are the right fit, you would set up accounts, transfer assets, and Kraus Capital would take over ongoing oversight of your investments alongside your full retirement plan.

Services and Planning

Most advisors manage your portfolio. We engineer your entire financial life. There is a difference between having an investment manager and having a strategic partner. At Kraus Capital, we go beyond returns. We build a tax-efficient strategy, coordinate your estate, time your Social Security, advise on asset protection, and design a wealth transfer strategy that reflects your values. The Legacy Blueprint is how we do it, a proprietary comprehensive process built for families in Boerne and across the country who want more than the standard approach, with an advisor whose only incentive is your outcome, not a product sale.

Yes. We help you optimize your Social Security claiming decision and plan for Medicare, premium surcharges, and long-term care as part of your coordinated plan.
We coordinate your financial plan with your estate documents and work alongside your estate attorney, who would draft any wills or trusts. We are not a law firm.
We are licensed to sell some insurance products. However, our focus is fiduciary advice, not insurance sales. When coverage genuinely improves your plan, we help you identify the right kind and amount and explain the tradeoffs clearly, with your interests first. In most cases, we refer insurance business out to specialists we trust, because the right coverage matters more to us than the commission.
We build portfolios matched to your income needs and time horizon, custodied at Charles Schwab. We invest with purpose rather than chasing returns, and we coordinate your investments with your tax and income plans.
These are the areas we focus on most with clients in the years leading up to and through retirement: A retirement income plan that accounts for inflation over a 20 to 30 year horizon; An investment strategy built to support that income plan, not just grow a number; Social Security claiming strategy, including spousal and survivor benefits; A life insurance and survivor plan that protects your household if something changes; Long-term care planning before it becomes an emergency decision; Medicare and supplemental healthcare coverage, including IRMAA surcharge planning; An estate plan that reflects your wishes and minimizes friction for your family; A tax efficiency strategy across your accounts, especially in the years before RMDs begin.

Getting Started

Start with a free assessment. Pick a time, and in about 15 minutes we will help you see your picture and whether we are a fit.
Nothing is required for the first conversation. If you would like, a rough sense of your accounts and your goals helps, but we can begin with just your questions.
If we are a fit and you choose to move forward, we begin building your written Blueprint. If we are not, you will leave with clarity and, where we can, a pointer toward a better option.

Still have questions?

The fastest way to get a direct answer is to ask. Your free assessment takes about 15 minutes, with no cost and no obligation.
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Prefer to talk first? Call us at 210.224.1600 or Schedule a Call. There is no cost and no obligation.

Disclosures

Investment advisory services are offered through Kraus Capital, a registered investment adviser. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Kraus Capital and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure.

Brian Kraus is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. The CFP® marks are owned by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. and are used in accordance with CFP Board guidelines.

Charles Schwab serves as the independent custodian for client assets. Kraus Capital is not affiliated with, and does not receive compensation from, Charles Schwab for custodial services. No strategy assures success or protects against loss. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. 

See our Privacy Policy, Form CRS, and Disclosures for more information. These documents are provided by our compliance vendor.