A note from the desk
Andrew Karr is an independent, fee-only fiduciary. That means no commissions, no proprietary products, no quiet incentives. Just advice you could actually explain to a friend over coffee at Quartermaine's.
Fiduciary · Fee-only · Independent
Andrew Karr is an independent financial planner in Bethesda, guiding households through retirement, equity, education, and legacy decisions — without commissions, conflicts, or jargon.
01 — Approach
Most of our clients are people the industry forgets — dual-income families in Chevy Chase, a founder vesting into her first liquidity event, a physician three years from retirement who has never once had a plain-English conversation about her portfolio.
Andrew Karr built this practice in 2011 around a simple premise: advice should be portable, transparent, and free of the quiet conflicts that plague commission-based brokerages. We charge a flat fee or a transparent asset fee — never both, never hidden, never layered with mutual fund kickbacks.
What you get is unhurried. Two scheduled reviews a year, a written plan refreshed annually, and a planner who picks up the phone when the market drops 4% on a Tuesday and you want to talk before the school run. We work with roughly forty households at a time, by design, so that the work stays personal.
If you have ever finished a meeting with an advisor and felt less certain than when you walked in, this is the practice that fixes that.
02 — Services
— 01
A full written plan covering cash flow, insurance, taxes, retirement, estate, and education — refreshed annually with two strategy reviews.
— 02
Sequencing withdrawals across 401(k), Roth, brokerage, and Social Security to minimize taxes and protect against sequence-of-returns risk.
— 03
Low-cost, globally diversified portfolios built with index funds and tax-aware rebalancing. Held at a third-party custodian in your name.
— 04
For tech and biotech employees in the D.C. corridor — ISO/NSO timing, RSU sell-to-cover, AMT modeling, and concentrated stock risk review.
— 05
529 plan setup, Coverdell ESA comparisons, and grandparent-gifting strategies for Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. residents.
— 06
Beneficiary audits, trust structures, and coordination with your estate attorney — including Maryland estate tax thresholds and gifting logic.
A good plan is not the one that predicts the market. It is the one you can actually live with when the market does the thing nobody predicted.
Andrew Karr — CFP®, founder of the practice
03 — Process
A 30-minute call to understand your household, your numbers, and the questions keeping you up at night. No fee, no pressure.
~30 min · complimentaryWe gather statements, tax returns, benefit elections, and estate documents through a secure portal. You get a checklist; we do the heavy lifting.
~2 weeksA written, plain-English plan covering cash flow, investments, taxes, retirement, and estate. Delivered in person, walked through page by page.
~3 weeks after onboardingTwo scheduled reviews a year, ad-hoc calls when life happens, and an annual plan refresh. You hear from us, not a quarterly newsletter.
continuous04 — The work
Andrew is the first advisor who ever explained our equity in a way my wife and I both understood. He told us what to do, what not to do, and what was optional. We have slept better every quarter since.
M. & L. Hsu — dual-income household, Chevy Chase, MD
05 — Begin
Book a complimentary 30-minute consult. We will listen first, ask a few honest questions, and tell you whether we are the right fit — or whether you do not need a planner at all.