Frequently Asked Questions
What makes Red Barn Financial different from other financial advisors?
At Red Barn Financial, we believe financial planning is about more than investments—it's about helping you align your financial decisions with your life goals and values. We take the time to understand what's most important to you before recommending strategies.
Our planning process considers your retirement goals, taxes, investments, insurance, estate planning, and legacy. Rather than focusing on a single product or investment, we look at your entire financial picture.
As a Certified Kingdom Advisor®, Sean Moran offers faith-based planning for clients who want biblical principles to influence their financial decisions. Whether you prefer traditional investment strategies or Biblically Responsible Investing, we can help you develop a personalized plan that reflects your values.
Our goal is to build long-term relationships based on trust, education, and thoughtful guidance—not high-pressure sales.
Who do you work with?
We primarily serve individuals and families who are serious about preparing for retirement, preserving their wealth, and creating a meaningful legacy.
Many of our clients include:
Individuals approaching retirement
Retirees seeking reliable income
Business owners
Professionals
Teachers and public employees
Families planning for future generations
Christians looking for biblically based financial guidance
While we're based in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, we also work with clients virtually across the United States.
What is a Certified Kingdom Advisor®?
A Certified Kingdom Advisor® (CKA®) is a financial professional who has completed specialized training in integrating biblical wisdom with financial planning.
CKA® professionals are committed to helping clients make financial decisions that honor God while pursuing sound financial stewardship. This may include guidance on generosity, debt management, investing, retirement planning, estate planning, and legacy planning from a biblical perspective.
Clients are not required to share a particular faith to work with us, but many appreciate having the option to incorporate Christian values into their financial decisions.
Are you a fiduciary?
Yes. Being a fiduciary means that when I provide investment advisory services, my responsibility is to put your interests ahead of my own. My goal is to provide objective, personalized advice that helps you pursue your financial goals—not simply recommend products. If an insurance solution is appropriate, I'll explain why I believe it's beneficial, how I'm compensated, and answer any questions so you can make an informed choice.
While being a fiduciary establishes an important legal standard, I believe my calling as a Christian advisor also means serving clients with integrity, transparency, wisdom, and stewardship. My commitment is not only to meet a legal obligation, but to earn your trust through honest guidance and long-term relationships.
Q: Is there a Minimum account balance?
A: No. At Red Barn Financial, we believe meaningful financial advice should be available to people in a variety of financial situations. Depending on the services you need, we can structure a plan that will likely work for you. Our Clients can start a retirement account with as little as $500 with a monthly investment plan to grow their accounts. Some advisors set $100,000 or even $500,000 minimum to work with them. Our plan is to help our clients start where they are, and begin to build their wealth in the best way their financial means allow.
The best way to determine whether we're a good fit is to schedule a complimentary introductory conversation.
Q: How are you paid?
A: There are 3 ways in which we get paid:
1. Financial planning where we charge a fee for services provided such as consulting, creating a financial plan, recommending tax and financial strategies etc. Fees are generally on an annual contract and based on an agreed upon rate. (see fees page for more information)
2. We can manage assets for you and charge an assets under management (AUM) fee, which
typically ranges between 1% and 1.5% depending on the strategy.
3. We work with insurance companies to find you the best insurance products to meet your
needs. Whatever insurance company you choose pays us a commission. Because we are
independent we work with dozens of insurance companies and the commission we receive is
essentially the same from all companies. We do not favor any insurance company over another
we only recommend the companies that best fit your needs.
Q: Do I need to be a Christian to work with you?
A: No. We believe everyone is entitled to the best financial advice and to build a relationship with a financial advisor that will help them meet their goals. The foundation of our company is on the biblical principles of integrity, honesty and treating others as we want to be treated. If you want to build that kind of relationship, we would love to work with you.
Q: If I choose to invest with you, who holds my money?
A: Any funds that we invest with you are held in custodial accounts with a FINRA/SEC registered company. Red Barn Financial never takes custody of your money. You provide us with limited permissions to act on your behalf with respect to investment decisions, but we do not have physical custody of or withdawal access to your funds.
What is Biblically Responsible Investing?
Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI) is an investment approach that seeks to align a portfolio with biblical values.
Many BRI strategies seek to avoid companies whose primary business activities conflict with certain Christian principles, while emphasizing businesses that demonstrate strong stewardship, ethical practices, and respect for human dignity.
Investment options, screening methodologies, and financial outcomes can vary, so it's important to understand that no investment strategy can guarantee positive returns or perfectly reflect every individual's beliefs. We can help you evaluate whether BRI is appropriate for your goals and preferences. Faith based investments generally involve 3 types of screening strategies: 1. Avoid Harm - (Exclude) companies that aren't compatible with Christian values. 2. Advocate for values (Engage) - this is where investment companies meet with companies and advocate for values aligned corporate policies and against ones that do not align. 3. Support (Invest) - making investments in companies that do good and align with Christian values as part of the portfolio strategy.
Does faith-based investing hurt returns?
This is one of the most common questions we receive.
The short answer is: not necessarily.
Research comparing faith-based or values-based investment strategies with broad market indexes has produced mixed results over different market cycles. Some faith-based portfolios have outperformed during certain periods, while others have underperformed.
Rather than assuming one approach is always better, we focus on building a diversified portfolio designed to support your long-term objectives while respecting your personal values. If aligning your investments with your faith is important to you, we'll discuss the potential benefits, limitations, costs, and trade-offs so you can make an informed decision.
Can you work with my CPA and estate planning attorney?
Absolutely.
Some of the best financial outcomes happen when your advisor, CPA, and attorney work together.
We regularly collaborate with other trusted professionals to help coordinate:
Tax strategies
Roth conversions
Charitable giving
Estate planning
Trust funding
Business succession
Retirement distributions
Working together helps reduce the chances that important planning opportunities are overlooked.
What happens during the first meeting?
The first meeting is simply a conversation.
We'll spend time getting to know you, learning about your goals, understanding your concerns, and discussing what you hope to accomplish financially.
Topics often include:
Retirement goals
Investments
Taxes
Social Security
Estate planning
Insurance
Family priorities
Charitable giving
Business ownership
You'll also have an opportunity to ask questions and determine whether we're a good fit to work together.
There is no obligation to move forward after our initial conversation.