Q01
What is a fee-only fiduciary, and how is that different from a broker or insurance agent?
A fee-only fiduciary is paid only by clients — never by fund companies, insurance carriers, or product sponsors — and is legally required to put the client's interests first. A broker is generally held to a 'best interest' standard that still allows commissions, revenue sharing, and product-based incentives. The shorthand: a fiduciary's only conflict is the fee on the engagement letter; a broker's incentive structure is built into every recommendation. Camba Capital is fee-only and fiduciary by registration, with all advisory services described in the firm's Form ADV.
Q02
What does Camba Capital actually cost?
The fee schedule is published in full on the pricing page. The headline numbers: 0.90% on the first $500,000 of assets under management, 0.80% from $500,000 to $1.5 million, and 0.70% above $1.5 million, blended across the household. A $250,000 portfolio costs roughly $2,250 a year. A $1,000,000 portfolio costs roughly $8,500 a year — about 0.85% blended. Standalone planning is available on a flat-fee or hourly basis, with scope and pricing agreed in writing before any work begins. There are no commissions, no platform fees, no 12b-1 trails, and no kickbacks of any kind.
Q03
Is there an account minimum?
No. Camba does not enforce a hard minimum. Engagements are evaluated on fit — whether the household has a real planning problem the firm can help with — not on the size of the balance sheet. Many initial conversations focus on the rollover and pension decisions in front of the household; the AUM relationship is a downstream consequence of doing that work well, not the gating criterion.
Q04
Should I roll over my old 401(k), or leave it where it is?
It depends on five things: total cost (advisory + fund expense ratios + platform fees inside the old plan), investment menu quality, creditor protection in the relevant state, the client's planned retirement date, and whether consolidation actually simplifies the household's reporting. Rolling over is right for many Long Island households leaving a former employer, but not all of them — some legacy plans have institutional share classes that are genuinely cheaper than a retail IRA. Camba runs the numbers both ways and shows the side-by-side before recommending anything. Try the inactive 401(k) fee calculator on the calculator page to see the cost picture for an old account.
Q05
Lump sum or annuity — how do you decide on a pension election?
The honest answer is: you compare the actuarial present value of the annuity stream at a reasonable discount rate against the lump-sum offer, then layer in life-expectancy distribution (joint vs single life), inflation-adjustment terms (COLA or no COLA), spousal survivor needs, the household's other guaranteed income (Social Security, second pension), and the household's tolerance for sequence-of-returns risk if the lump sum is rolled to an IRA and invested. A handful of pensioners genuinely come out ahead taking the lump sum; many do not. Camba walks through the math on both elections, side by side, with no product attached to the recommendation.
Q06
Single life or joint-and-survivor — which pension election is right?
Joint-and-survivor reduces the working spouse's monthly check in exchange for a continuing benefit to the surviving spouse. The math depends on the size of the reduction (commonly 50%, 75%, or 100% J&S), the age gap between spouses, the survivor's other income, and whether life insurance can replicate the survivor benefit at lower total cost (the so-called 'pension max' strategy). The default answer for most working-couple households is some form of J&S, but the right percentage and the right alternative are household-specific. The firm runs the survivor cash-flow scenarios before any election form gets signed.
Q07
When should I claim Social Security?
Almost never at 62 if you are still working. Often around full retirement age if you have a pension or steady income. Frequently at 70 if you are healthy, the higher earner, and the household is married — because the surviving spouse inherits the higher of the two benefits. The break-even age math is straightforward; the harder question is what claiming age does to the household's cash flow, Roth conversion windows in the 60s, and tax bracket management. Camba models the claiming decision against the rest of the retirement income plan rather than as a standalone decision.
Q08
Where does Camba custody client assets?
Retirement assets — IRAs, rollover IRAs, Roth IRAs, inherited IRAs — are custodied at Fidelity Institutional. Tax-efficient taxable strategies are custodied at Altruist. Both are independent, well-capitalized, SIPC-member custodians; Camba never takes physical possession of client funds and is not a custodian itself. Client statements come directly from the custodian; client logins are at the custodian. The firm has discretionary or non-discretionary authority based on the engagement, but the assets sit in the client's name at the custodian, not at Camba.
Q09
Does Camba do tax planning and estate planning?
Camba is not a CPA and is not a trust and estates attorney, and the firm refuses to pretend otherwise. What Camba does is coordinate. The firm models multi-year Roth conversion ladders, capital gains harvesting, RMD timing, and beneficiary designations — and then works directly with the household's CPA and estate attorney to make sure the implementation is clean. For households without an existing CPA or estate attorney, Camba refers to a vetted network of Long Island professionals. There are no referral fees or revenue-sharing arrangements behind any of those introductions.
Q10
Where does Camba meet with clients?
At the kitchen table, the workplace, the office, or over Zoom — whichever is easiest for the household. Camba serves all of Nassau and Suffolk Counties: Garden City, Mineola, Hicksville, Plainview, Syosset, Massapequa, Long Beach, Rockville Centre, Huntington, Smithtown, Commack, Stony Brook, Port Jefferson Station, Port Jefferson, Hauppauge, and Patchogue, among others. Most clients have never had an advisor come to them. That is how the firm thinks it should work for working families.
Q11
Do I have to be retired to work with Camba?
No. A meaningful share of the firm's work is with households that are five to ten years away from retirement — the years where the rollover, pension, Social Security, and tax planning decisions are actually made and where the cost of doing them poorly is highest. Mid-career households with stock comp, concentrated employer positions, or career-transition decisions are also a fit. The common thread is a real planning problem, not an arbitrary age.
Q12
How do I get started?
Schedule a free 30-minute call with Dan Zimon directly. The first call is a conversation about the household's situation — income, accounts, pension, decisions on the horizon — and an honest read on whether the firm is the right partner for the work. There is no cost, no obligation, and no sales pitch on that first call. If there is a fit, the next step is typically a deeper review using statements the household sends in advance through the secure prep page. If there is not a fit, Camba says so and points the household toward the right resource.
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