Your questions, answered with clarity.

Yes — every advisor at Optimal Fund Reserve operates under a fiduciary standard, legally bound to act in your best interest at all times. Unlike broker-dealers held only to a "suitability" standard, we cannot recommend a product because it pays us more. We are fee-only, transparent, and accountable to you — not to product manufacturers.

We are licensed to serve clients in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Approximately 85% of our client relationships are fully remote — via secure video calls, e-signature platforms and our encrypted client portal. Our headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois is open by appointment for in-person consultations.

We are fee-only. Investment management fees range from 0.50% to 0.65% of assets under management annually, declining at higher asset thresholds. Tax preparation, estate planning and credit repair are flat-fee services, quoted before engagement. We never receive commissions from insurance carriers or lenders — when we recommend a policy or loan, you receive the same pricing you'd receive going direct.

Our Growth tier has no minimum asset requirement — only a $199 monthly membership fee. Investment management services typically begin at $250,000 in investable assets. Our Wealth private client tier is designed for households with $1M+ in investable assets, but we welcome introductory conversations at any asset level.

Personal and auto loans can be pre-qualified in minutes with a soft credit pull — no score impact. Formal approval typically takes 1–3 business days. Mortgage loans average 21 days from application to closing, with our fastest closings completed in 14 days. Business loans range from 5–15 business days depending on complexity.

Insurance applications never impact your credit. Loan pre-qualification uses a soft pull that has zero impact on your score. A formal loan application requires a hard inquiry, which may temporarily lower your score by 3–5 points — but we'll always confirm your approval odds before proceeding to a hard pull.

We employ bank-grade security across our entire platform: 256-bit AES encryption at rest, TLS 1.3 in transit, biometric authentication for mobile access, SOC 2 Type II certified infrastructure, and annual third-party penetration testing. We never sell client data — ever. All employees undergo annual privacy and security training, and all client portals require multi-factor authentication.

Yes. All memberships are month-to-month with no long-term contracts and no cancellation fees. If you cancel, we'll help transition your accounts, policies and documents to your next advisor or back to self-management. Any prepaid fees are pro-rated and refunded within 14 days.