The people, the process, and the plan
behind your wealth.

Get to know Crystal Oak Wealth Management before you book a consultation: who we are, what we believe, how we invest, and the ways we can work together. Explore how we walk alongside you on your wealth building journey as a fee-based fiduciary in Northwest Arkansas.

Our team

The people behind your plan.

Crystal Oak is built on relationships. Get to know the CFP® professional you will actually work with.

Paul Schuder Jr., CFP professional and founder of Crystal Oak Wealth Management in Rogers, Arkansas
Paul Schuder Jr., CFP®
Founder & Wealth Advisor
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional who founded Crystal Oak to focus on education and accountability.
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Our values

What we believe.
How we operate.

These four values are not aspirations, they are the operating principles behind every client relationship, every piece of content, and every recommendation Crystal Oak makes.

“I am not here just to manage your money. I am here to help you understand it, and hold you accountable to the goals you’ve identified.”

Paul Schuder Jr., CFP®

Accountability

Do what we say we are going to do. This is the foundation of trust, and the thing that separates Crystal Oak from advisors who hand you a plan and disappear.

Community

Be a resource and get connected locally. Crystal Oak is built for the communities it serves: Rogers, Bentonville, and all of Northwest Arkansas. Showing up matters.

Education

Share the knowledge we have learned. Every client should leave every conversation understanding something they did not before. Education is not a feature, it is the whole point.

Respect

Treat others as we hope to be treated. Every conversation, every recommendation, every interaction, conducted with the care and honesty we would want for ourselves.

Our approach

Education first. Accountability always.

Every Crystal Oak financial planning client goes through the same foundational process. It starts with understanding where you actually are, because nothing useful can be taught, planned, or tracked until a baseline is set.

01

Understand

Before anything gets recommended, we survey what is actually there. Assets, cashflows, risks, benefits, and the tax picture. We identify your goals and values that give those items meaning.
02

Educate

Most situations hold more opportunities and fewer emergencies than a person realizes. This step separates the two and brings clarity around both. You make every decision with us. We don’t make them for you.
03

Plan

A strategic plan rooted in your cashflow, your values, and your goals. Decisions get made on purpose and in an order that makes sense. Every recommendation has a reason you can share and repeat to someone else.
04

Hold you to it

We check in, ask whether you did the thing, and make sure the plan gets executed. A plan that sits in a drawer is not a plan, it is a wish list.
Ways to work together

Four service models.

During a free introductory meeting, we will talk through your situation and recommend the service model that matches what you need. Not the one that bills the most. If a simpler, cheaper option is the right call, we will tell you.

Fee-based fiduciary Our advisory fees are the only compensation Crystal Oak receives for advice. No product quotas, no hidden costs.

One-Time Financial Plan

A complete, written financial plan built around your goals, cash flow, risks, and tax picture. Delivered once and yours to keep. Ideal for a major life transition, a fresh start, or anyone who wants a clear roadmap without an ongoing commitment.
$4,000 to $10,000fixed fee, scoped to complexity
What’s included: a comprehensive review of your full financial picture with prioritized recommendations and a clear action plan. Fixed fee quoted up front, billed 50% in advance and 50% on delivery. Plans are completed within 60 days once we have your documents.
Most comprehensive

Ongoing Financial Planning

A continuous planning partnership for people who want a plan and someone holding them accountable to it. You get a strategic plan up front, then regular check-ins as your life and goals evolve. This is the heart of the education-first, accountability-always approach.
$200/moflat fee, billed monthly
What’s included: a strategic plan, quarterly strategy meetings to review goals and progress, and monthly check-ins by phone or email for accountability. A flat $200 per month billed in arrears, no asset minimums, no lock-in.

Hourly Planning

Focused help on a specific question, without a full plan or an ongoing commitment. Good for a single decision, an equity compensation event, a benefits election, a debt payoff question, or a second opinion on a plan you already have.
$100/hrscoped to your topic
What’s included: targeted guidance on the topics you choose, agreed in advance. We will estimate the time before we begin. This is consultation on individual topics, not a comprehensive financial plan.

Investment Management

Ongoing, discretionary management of your portfolio. We build the portfolio around your goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance. We hold quarterly strategy meetings to review the portfolio and address any questions you may have. Priced as a percentage of assets we manage, on a tiered schedule. The more we manage, the lower the rate.
0.50% to 0.80%per year, tiered by assets
Tiered annual fee schedule
Assets under managementAnnual feeQuarterly
Up to $1,000,0000.80%0.20%
$1,000,000 to $2,500,0000.70%0.175%
$2,500,000 to $10,000,0000.60%0.15%
Over $10,000,0000.50%0.125%
This is a breakpoint schedule: your entire portfolio is charged at the single rate for your tier. For example, $2,000,000 under management is billed at 0.70%, or $14,000 a year. Fees are billed quarterly in arrears. There is no account minimum, and the AUM fee is negotiable based on your circumstances. Custodial and fund fees are separate and not paid to Crystal Oak.
Many clients combine models, most often investment management alongside ongoing financial planning.
When you’re billed
Planning fees are paid by secure ACH; investment management fees are deducted quarterly in arrears. One-time plans split 50/50; ongoing planning is billed monthly.
No lock-in
Cancel any agreement within five business days of signing with no penalty. After that, end the relationship anytime with written notice, and any unearned fees are refunded.
What’s separate
Custodians (Altruist and/or Charles Schwab) and funds charge their own fees. Those are separate from what you pay us. Crystal Oak receives no part of them.
The financial plan

Three pieces. Sixteen topics. One clear picture.

Your financial situation can be broken into three categories and underneath them sit sixteen financial planning topics worth reviewing. Some may never apply to you and each one’s impact on your financial plan varies. The point of naming them is knowing what has been looked at, what has not, and what deserves attention next.

Cashflow Management

Seven topics

How money moves in and out, and whether it is moving on purpose. The piece most within your control, and the one that decides what the other two can do.

Explore cashflow management

Risk Management

Four topics

What happens to the plan when something goes wrong. Insurance, estate documents, legacy intentions, and how the portfolio sits against the risks you actually carry.

Explore risk management

Tax Planning

Five topics

Not filing a return, but having pro-active conversations about your taxes than reactive ones. Working with your CPA, and other tax professionals, before it’s too late to make adjustments.

Explore tax planning
Disclaimers

This page is educational and is not investment, tax, or legal advice, a projection of performance, or an indication of future results. Any scenario shown is hypothetical and is not a recommendation. All investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal, and diversification does not guarantee a profit or protect against loss. Crystal Oak does not draft legal documents, prepare valuations, or file tax returns. Fees shown are current and subject to change, ranges reflect scope, and the applicable fee is set in writing before an engagement begins. Any process or timing described is illustrative. Always consult a qualified professional about your situation before taking action.

Opinions are those of Crystal Oak Wealth Management, LLC. Information comes from sources believed reliable but is not guaranteed for accuracy or completeness. Discuss any idea with your adviser before acting on it.

Advisory services are offered through Crystal Oak Wealth Management, LLC, an Investment Advisor in the State of Arkansas. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Crystal Oak is a fee-based fiduciary. Insurance is offered separately through Paul E. Schuder, Jr., Sole Proprietor, an affiliated company that may earn commissions, a conflict disclosed in Form ADV Part 2A, available on request or at adviserinfo.sec.gov. This is not an offer to sell advisory services outside the States of Arkansas and Texas, or where not legally permitted.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks.