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Investing Articles from a Fee-Only Fiduciary

Short reads on the things worth understanding before you invest. These guides are educational and are not advice for your situation. Narstar manages three model portfolios you can be matched to. How we write and correct these.

A woman at a kitchen window taking notes during a phone call

Choosing an Adviser7 min read

How to Find a Fee-Only Financial Advisor

Where to search, what public records to pull, and the questions worth asking before you hire anyone. No directories that charge advisers for placement.

An antique brass balance scale on a windowsill with both pans empty

Fiduciary8 min read

What Is a Fiduciary Financial Advisor?

Fiduciary duty is a legal obligation, not a marketing claim. This covers what it actually requires, who it applies to (and who it doesn't), how it differs from the Regulation Best Interest standard, and where to look up an adviser's status on public records.

River stones of increasing size arranged in a row, from a small pebble to a large boulder

Investing Basics8 min read

Micro-Cap to Mega-Cap: What Company Size Means

What market cap actually measures, the five size tiers from micro-cap to mega-cap, why size and risk move together, and where each Narstar model portfolio sits on that spectrum.

A hand lifting one slice of pie away from the whole pie on a wood table

Investing Basics9 min read

What Is a Stock?

Owning a share means owning a small piece of a real company. This covers how companies raise money by issuing stock, the two ways you can make money from a stock (and how you can lose it), and where individual stocks fit in Narstar's portfolios.

Hands cutting a red ribbon with scissors on a wooden table

Investing Basics9 min read

Why You Shouldn't Chase an IPO

What actually happens on IPO day, why the 180-day lockup period matters, and what 45 years of return data show about waiting for a real public record before you buy.

Hands placing an apple into one of two woven baskets on a wooden table

Investing Basics9 min read

ETFs vs Mutual Funds

What each one is, how they compare on cost, taxes, and trading, and why Narstar invests in individual stocks instead of either.

A faded painted wall with a pale rectangle and a bent nail where a framed notice used to hang

Fiduciary5 min read

The DOL Fiduciary Rule Is Gone. Here Is What It Means for You

A federal court vacated the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule in March 2026. The rule is gone. This covers what it would have required, how the court threw it out, and the legal standards that still apply to your retirement accounts.

Hands pouring dried beans from an old tin canister into a glass jar

Retirement11 min read

How to Roll Over a 401(k) to an IRA: Step by Step

A rollover moves your old 401(k) into an IRA without a tax hit, but only if you do it right. Covers the direct vs. indirect difference, what happens to the money while it's moving, and what Narstar manages at IBKR once the transfer settles.

Four old keys of different sizes laid in a row on a linen cloth

Retirement8 min read

Types of Retirement Accounts: 401(k), IRA, Roth, and SEP

Traditional, Roth, SEP, 401(k): each one has different tax rules, different contribution limits, and different constraints on what you can invest in. Covers the key differences and which of these Narstar manages at Interactive Brokers.

A single envelope beside an envelope with three smaller ones fanned behind it

Choosing an Adviser8 min read

Fee-Only vs Fee-Based Financial Advisor: The Real Difference

"Fee-only" and "fee-based" sound the same. They're not. One adviser earns money only from you; the other can also earn commissions from the products they sell you. Here's what each one actually means and how to tell which you're dealing with.

A hand writing in a paper notebook beside a tablet showing a plain app screen, on a wood desk

Choosing an Adviser7 min read

Robo-Advisor vs Fee-Only Advisor: Who Each One Fits

The basic robo plan runs on a portfolio of ETFs, costs about 0.25% a year, and no person looks at your account. Where that works, and where it doesn't.

Our editorial standard

These articles are educational and are not investment, tax, or legal advice for your situation. Every tax, legal, and regulatory claim is cited inline to a primary source (the IRS, the Department of Labor, the SEC, a court order, academic research, or our own Form ADV), linked where the source publishes one. We review these articles on a rolling basis and correct them when the underlying rule or data changes. If you find something that has gone stale, tell us and we will fix it.

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