Who We Are and What We Do

Introduction

Retirement Planning Services, Inc. is a subsidiary of Ticknor Atherton & Associates, a fee only adviser in Reston, VA using Charles Schwab & Company for its custodian services.

Ticknor Atherton and Associates is a Fee-Only® financial adviser dedicated to serving investors seeking disciplined consistent, long-term growth of assets and comprehensive financial planning. Fee-Only® financial advisers are compensated solely by their clients. We do not receive commissions from the sale of any products or services, nor do we receive any referral fees.

TAA offers financial planning and investment advice services as part of a comprehensive Assets Under Management (AUM) business structure. Fees for financial planning and other planning services in four quarterly fee assessments. Charges are based on a declining rate based on the amount of investable assets under their annual management. Annual fees are lowered as more assets are taken under management and accumulated in the client’s accounts.

This service appeals to investors who want to reduce the day-to-day concerns of managing investments themselves and who want an adviser on call to help them analyze and implement financial planning strategies and decisions.

Investment Strategy

Our investment strategies are based on extensive academic research. We believe that diversification is one of the most important principles of investing and that investors should be rewarded for the level of risk taken. Using these principles, we design portfolios tailored to the unique needs of individual clients. We invest for the long term and do not believe in market timing.

Our primary investment vehicles are the specialized no-load funds developed by Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA). Since 1981, DFA has been a leader in developing value-oriented asset class ("index") portfolios for corporate and public retirement plans, endowments and foundations, and clients of selected registered financial advisors, such as Ticknor Atherton & Associates. DFA currently manages over $120 billion and works with some of the world’s leading financial economists to develop and enhance its strategies. (For more information on DFA, please visit their web site www.dfafunds.com.)

Expenses and taxes matter and we make every effort to reduce the costs to our clients of investment management. The DFA funds that we use extensively are low cost, no sales charge ("no load") institutional index-type funds. DFA is a leader in developing tax-managed funds for use in taxable accounts.

We hold client accounts at the Institutional Division of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Schwab Institutional provides high quality, discounted services for investment advisers and their clients. (We will consider other custodians that can provide comparable services.) We strive for the- highest level of personal service and client satisfaction.

Goals

Investment Goals

• Achieve the target investment goals of each client over full market cycles
• Low portfolio volatility
• Reduce risk in difficult markets as a result of portfolio diversification and discipline
• Eliminate or reduce the risks and errors of active management
• Enhance predictability for strategic planning
• Reduce tax liability for taxable accounts through use of tax managed and tax efficient investment vehicles

Client Relationship Goals

We want to:

• Serve our clients as their primary financial adviser
• Help our clients realize the major financial goals of life
• Build greater investor understanding and confidence
• Simplify the investment process
• Give our clients a disciplined, stable and consistent investment and financial relationship and peace of mind

We believe that investors need a long-term focus and a disciplined strategy to achieve investment success. We work with each client to set realistic expectations and goals.

Services

Our services include comprehensive financial planning and investment services as part of an annual retainer agreement and hourly consultations.

Comprehensive Services

• Comprehensive financial planning/ retirement planning and investment management
• Investment research and asset management
• Investor education
• Portfolio design, implementation, continuous supervision and monitoring
• Disciplined strategies to rebalance the investment mix to target allocations
• Comprehensive quarterly performance reporting and review
• Year-end statements for tax reporting
• High quality personal service and communication
• Estimates of Federal Annuity Benefits for Federal Employees

Fees

Our minimum annual fee is $5000. This fee will increase in relation to the sum of investable dollars for which the client requests services.

Investment Management and Financial Planning

Our fees for investment management include comprehensive, continuous financial planning services. The fee is based on a percentage of assets under our management and supervision, billed quarterly, in arrears, as follows:

How To Get Started

We begin a relationship with a personal meeting to determine your financial planning and investment goals.

We review all costs and services in advance of any engagement and provide a copy of our disclosure brochure, SEC Form ADV, Part II.

Please contact us to get started!

Call Jerry Cannizzaro at Retirement Planning Services Inc. at 703-716-1233

OR

Jerry Cannizzaro on Extension #5 at the phone number below.