FEE-ONLY FIDUCIARY · CFP® · CFA · BOULDER, CO
Thoughtful financial planning, without the sales pitch.
Kestrel Financial is a fee-only fiduciary practice working with professionals, couples, and founders who want a trusted partner — not another product.
FIDUCIARY · FEE-ONLY · TRANSPARENT FEES · NO COMMISSIONS
WHY FEE-ONLY MATTERS
"The advisor you want is one who's paid to help you, not sell to you."
Fiduciary
As a fiduciary, we're legally required to act in your best interest — always, not just sometimes. This is not the default standard in financial services.
Fee-Only
We're paid by you — directly, transparently. Not by commissions, kickbacks, or product trails. Our incentives and yours point in the same direction.
Transparent
Our fees are agreed before any work begins. You'll always know what you're paying and why. No hourly surprises, no hidden platform fees.
"Only about 5% of financial advisors in the US are true fee-only fiduciaries. The other 95% can legally put their interests ahead of yours — and often do."
WHO WE WORK WITH
Three types of clients.
Dual-income professionals
Couples with good combined income who haven't had the bandwidth to think carefully about what they're building toward. Career growth, family planning, aging parents, a house — we help you make these fit together.
Tech employees with equity comp
RSUs, ISOs, ESPP, secondary transactions — equity comp is complicated and undertaxed by default. We model the scenarios, plan the exercises, and help you not end up writing an enormous check to the IRS in April.
Small business owners
The business balance sheet and the personal one are deeply entangled. We help you separate them, optimize what you pay yourself, plan for exit, and build personal wealth alongside the company.
WHAT WE DO
Comprehensive, not cafeteria-style.
Comprehensive Financial Planning
included in ongoing engagement
Retirement projections, tax strategy, cash flow optimization, equity compensation planning, insurance analysis, estate coordination, education planning. Not a checklist — an integrated plan.
Equity Compensation Planning
specialty focus
AMT modeling, ISO exercise strategy, ESPP optimization, RSU vesting strategy, concentration risk, tax-loss harvesting. We speak the language of startup and public-company equity.
Investment Management
optional, 0.75% AUM
Low-cost, evidence-based portfolios using index ETFs. No actively managed funds, no alternatives with high fee loads. We rebalance and tax-loss harvest as the year progresses.
Project-Based Planning
one-time engagement
A complete financial plan in 2–3 months. Ideal for those who need clarity before a life event: marriage, home purchase, equity liquidity event, retirement transition.
FEES & ENGAGEMENT
Clear pricing, before we start.
Project-Based Planning
$6,500 flat
2–3 months. One complete financial plan + implementation guidance. Best for: pre-major-life-event clarity, equity liquidity events, divorce financial planning.
Ongoing Planning
$9,500/year
Billed quarterly. Unlimited access. Annual plan refresh. Meetings as needed. Includes all plan updates as your life changes. Best for: clients who want a financial partner, not a one-time transaction.
Investment Management
0.75% AUM
Optional add-on to ongoing planning. No minimums. Evidence-based portfolios, rebalanced and tax-loss harvested. Best for: clients who want an outsourced investment solution alongside their plan.
ABOUT MARIANA
I left the commission world in 2018 and didn't look back.
I spent my first seven years in financial services at Schwab, which taught me a lot — about planning, about markets, about the difference between advisors who serve clients and advisors who manage relationships.
I left in 2018 to start Kestrel because I was tired of feeling the structural pull toward products and AUM. I wanted to work with people who needed a thinking partner, not an asset gatherer.
I hold the CFP® designation and the CFA charter. The CFA is unusual for a planner — it's primarily an investment credential — and I pursued it because I wanted to be able to evaluate investments honestly, not just choose from an approved product list.
I grew up in Tucson, lived in San Francisco for a decade, and moved to Boulder in 2016. I was drawn by the mountains and stayed for the community. On weekends I run trails and read things that have nothing to do with finance.
We don't pick stocks. We don't time markets. We don't chase last year's hot fund. Most of wealth-building is boring — low costs, global diversification, tax efficiency, and time in the market.
What's not boring is making sure your financial life is structured so you can actually stick with the plan when things get hard. That's what we do.
— MARIANA ALVAREZ, CFP® · KESTREL FINANCIAL
HOW WE BEGIN
Four steps to get started.
Intro call
Free, 30 minutes. We talk about where you are, what you're hoping for, and whether I think I can help. Honest conversation, no sales.
Discovery meeting
90 minutes, at no charge. We go deeper — your financial life, your goals, the things that are keeping you up at night.
Plan delivery
The actual plan. Written, clear, and built around your life — not a template. We walk through it together.
Implementation + review
Ongoing. Quarterly check-ins, annual refresh, and open access between meetings.
CLIENT STORIES
From the people we work with.
Testimonials shared anonymously, with permission.
"We were making good money but had no idea if we were on track. Mariana gave us a plan we could actually follow and understand. Two years in, we're ahead of where we thought we'd be — and we sleep better."
— SOFTWARE ENGINEER + PRODUCT MANAGER, DUAL INCOME, BOULDER
"My company IPO'd and I had no idea what to do with my ISOs. The AMT exposure alone would have cost me six figures without proper planning. Mariana modeled every scenario and we executed perfectly."
— TECH EXECUTIVE, EQUITY LIQUIDITY EVENT
"I've worked with two commission-based advisors before Kestrel. The difference is qualitative. I trust Mariana's advice because I know she's not trying to sell me anything."
— SMALL BUSINESS OWNER, COLORADO SPRINGS
Kestrel Financial LLC is a Colorado-registered investment adviser. CRD #298741. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Our Form ADV Part 2 is available on request or via the SEC's IAPD database. Past performance is not indicative of future results. All financial planning involves risk.
QUESTIONS
What people ask before working with us.
GET IN TOUCH
Start with a conversation.
The intro call is free, 30 minutes, and there's no obligation. I'll tell you honestly if I think I can help.
All conversations are confidential.