Portfolio management by a fiduciary. No commissions. $100 account minimum.

Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. The Speculative portfolio is not appropriate for all investors.

Fee calculated on average daily net liquidation value. Your brokerage (Interactive Brokers) may charge its own separate fees.

• How do I know you're legitimate? +

  NarStar LLC is registered with the State of Utah (CRD #337496) and conditionally registered with the State of Texas. You can verify both on IARD (opens in new tab) at any time. The adviser holds Series 65 and SIE credentials. Full background, fees, and how Narstar operates are disclosed in Form ADV, which is linked on this page. IARD is the SEC's public database for all registered investment advisers. If a firm isn't listed there, that's a red flag. Narstar is. Learn more about what fiduciary duty actually requires.

• What does fee-only mean, and what are the fees? +

  Fee-only means the adviser's only revenue comes from client fees. No commissions, no product sales, no referral payments. At Narstar, you pay one annual rate based on which portfolio you're in: 0.60% for Income, 1.20% for Growth, 1.60% for Speculative. Billed quarterly on the average daily value of your account. That's it. No signup fees, no exit fees. The fee-only structure removes the most common conflict in the industry, but not every possible one. Remaining conflicts are in Form ADV.

• Where is my money held, and is it safe? +

  Your money is held at Interactive Brokers (opens in new tab), a publicly traded brokerage, in an account in your name. Narstar has trading authority to manage your investments but can't withdraw your money or move it anywhere. You can log in and see everything anytime. Interactive Brokers is a SIPC member, which means your cash and securities are covered up to $500,000 if the brokerage fails, plus $30 million in excess SIPC coverage. You can verify SIPC coverage on IBKR's site (opens in new tab). But SIPC coverage doesn't protect against market losses. Investing still involves risk, including the possible loss of principal.

• What happens to my existing portfolio when I move to you? +

  Your existing accounts stay exactly where they are. You open a new account at Interactive Brokers (opens in new tab) and fund it with whatever amount you want managed. We review your existing holdings before we start. Our scope is limited to that IBKR account under the advisory agreement. Trading authority on it only. Nothing else changes.

• Why not just use an index fund or ETF? +

  Index funds and ETFs are a legitimate choice and the right one for many investors. The difference here is selection. An index fund buys every company in the index regardless of quality. We pick specific companies and skip the ones we wouldn't want to own. That focused approach comes with more risk from individual picks: if one company has a serious problem, it affects the portfolio more than it would in a broad index. If that selectivity isn't worth the tradeoff to you, a low-cost index fund is probably the better fit. And that's fine. We're not the right choice for everyone. For a deeper comparison, see ETFs vs Mutual Funds.

• What does "discretionary management" mean? +

  It means we place trades without calling you first. You authorize this in the advisory agreement. You still keep your own login to Interactive Brokers (opens in new tab) and see every transaction in real time. Want to terminate? You can, anytime, and the authority ends immediately. Important: discretionary authority covers trading only. We can't withdraw money or move it anywhere.

• How do I get started? +

  Send a message using the form below or email directly. We'll ask a few questions about your goals, timeline, and what you're working with. If there's a good fit, we walk you through opening an account at Interactive Brokers and signing the advisory agreement. The whole process takes about a week. There's no obligation until you sign.

• What happens to my account if markets drop sharply? +

  When markets decline, your account value goes down. That's not a malfunction, and it's not a reason to sell everything. Active stock management doesn't protect against market losses, and we don't move to cash to avoid extended declines. Nobody can reliably predict when to exit and re-enter markets. What we do during a decline is the same as any other time: hold the companies we believe in, or exit positions where the reason we bought has changed. But if a sharp decline would cause serious financial hardship, that may be a sign the position size or portfolio doesn't match your situation. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal.