Lido Advisors is an independent, fee-only financial planning firm serving professionals, families, and business owners across the Bethesda metro. We translate complex balance sheets into clear, durable decisions.
Lido Advisors was founded on a simple premise: that financial planning should be more conversation than sales pitch. For over fifteen years we have worked with Bethesda families, physicians, attorneys, and small-business owners who want a steady hand on the tiller — not a quarterly marketing call.
As an independent, fee-only fiduciary, we sit on your side of the table. We do not earn commissions on the products we recommend, and we do not custody your assets. Our only revenue is the fee you pay us for advice. That structure is rare in this industry, and it is the foundation of everything we do.
"A good plan is not the one that impresses your neighbor. It is the one you can live with through every market."
We build each engagement around a written financial plan, reviewed annually and updated whenever life shifts — a job change, a second home, an aging parent, a child's college timeline. The investment portfolio is a tool that serves the plan, not the other way around.
Every engagement begins with a flat-fee comprehensive plan. From there, clients engage us on an ongoing basis for investment management and annual planning refreshes. Below is a clear picture of what we charge — no percentage-of-assets surprises, no hidden products.
A written, multi-year plan covering cash flow, insurance, retirement projections, education funding, and estate basics. Delivered in two meetings with a 40-page bound report.
Discretionary portfolio management across taxable, retirement, and trust accounts. Low-cost ETFs and individual bonds, rebalanced quarterly with tax-loss harvesting throughout the year.
For clients within five years of retirement: a withdrawal sequence plan, Social Security optimization, Roth conversion ladder, and a cash-reserve buffer strategy for market drawdowns.
Year-round tax review in coordination with your CPA: charitable bunching, QBI analysis, RSU/ISO strategy, and backdoor Roth execution. We do not file returns — we make sure the plan minimizes them.
Coordination with your estate attorney to align trusts, beneficiary designations, and gifting strategy with the financial plan. Includes a documents audit and a family-meeting facilitation.
For Bethesda-area LLC and S-corp owners: cash flow mapping, owner compensation strategy, retirement plan selection (SEP, Solo 401(k), defined benefit), and eventual exit planning.
We are bound by law to act in your best interest. Not "suitable" — best. The distinction matters, and we will show you the difference in writing.
No commissions, no kickbacks, no proprietary products. You see exactly what we charge and exactly what you own. The fee schedule is in your engagement letter.
Our office is on Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda. We meet clients in person, walk through the plan on paper, and know the school zones, the commute, and the local tax quirks.
We start with the plan. The portfolio follows. Insurance follows. The estate documents follow. We will not lead with a fund recommendation before we understand your life.
The first meeting is complimentary, by phone or in our Bethesda office. We will listen to where you are, sketch the shape of a plan, and tell you honestly whether we are the right firm for the work ahead.