When we formed GW & Wade in April of 1986 we created a company based on our prior experiences in the industry and our common vision of what a premier financial advisory firm could be. Our instincts led us to create a model which many other firms emulate today. We focused on a number of basic, client-centered premises:
1) Customization of our clients' financial plans
2) Openness and transparency
3) A professional and comprehensive approach to financial management
4) An open platform, investment management practice
5) Separation of new client development
Customization/Focus on Each Client
To treat each client as an individual, we needed a staff dedicated to understanding our clients' needs and executing on them competently and promptly. For this reason our counselors are all attorneys, CPAs, MBAs or CFPs, many with additional degrees in taxation and finance. They are service-oriented professionals, well suited to spot issues and create specific solutions for each client. Our counselors are supported by a staff that understands that we are only as good as the last client experience. Since we are human, we do make mistakes. But we do our best to address and correct them immediately.
Openness and Transparency To deliver our service, we have created open lines of communication with our clients by promptly answering their questions and addressing their concerns. Frequent meetings and client contact provide many opportunities for discussion and openness. Rather than employ an hourly fee structure, which can discourage client participation, we created annual fees based on each client's needs and portfolio size. Our transparency manifests itself in our investment structure. Since our inception, we have been registered as an investment advisor with the SEC. All of our practices are made available annually for client review, through our SEC Form ADV Part II. We employ a third party custodian, National Financial Services (NFS), which is a separately owned business of Fidelity. NFS safely holds and administers all client accounts. A phone number for NFS is included on the last page of each monthly statement so that clients can independently confirm their account information. Our relationship with NFS also allows us to deliver cash management services, including rapid access to your funds through checks and wires. Funds are never transferred without written authorization from clients. For additional transparency, each client can choose to have web access to view their accounts in real time. Finally, we have a dedicated compliance officer, and employ an outside firm to undertake an annual audit of our practices, so that we meet or exceed regulatory guidelines.
A Professional and Comprehensive Approach to Financial Management We believe that frequent client contact leads to better understanding and to better advice. We are involved in numerous facets of our clients' financial plans: directing the architecture of estate plans and insurance coverage; advising on gifts to children and charities; accounting for specific family dynamics; assessing income tax positions and, most importantly, building lasting and liquid investment portfolios. We do not seek to undermine relationships with other professionals (e.g. tax preparation), and we welcome collaboration with them. But our most difficult calls occur when we have an incomplete picture. Our best practices occur when we have a free flow of information to facilitate sound planning and advice. As
the personal CFO for our clients, we seek the best results for them, as we interface with the myriad players that affect their financial lives - federal and state taxing authorities, mortgage lenders, insurance agents, to name just a few.
An Open Investment Management Practice Our investment structure is based on an "open platform." We have no proprietary products and screen the universe of managers for the best of breed available. Almost every week, we are visited by mutual fund and private account representatives, from across the spectrum, as we seek to identify the best manager for a particular purpose at a reasonable cost. We cull the mutual fund, separate account and ETF universes to allow us to build properly diversified, customized portfolios. We hold no security inventories, though we have access to all the best through relationships we have developed. Forgoing any proprietary products means that our clients' portfolios are never loaded with financial instruments from company inventories, a common practice at big brokerage firms. We are open to investing in all asset classes in order to provide liquidity and cash flow during difficult times. As contrarians, we look to undervalued asset categories for future growth, while being mindful of what is currently working. By using a number of different managers, we deliver both asset class diversification as well as diversification of management, heeding the classic lesson of not having all of one's eggs in one basket.
Separate New Client Development Lastly, we realized from our inception that we needed a sound growth strategy, to ensure the longevity of GW & Wade, for our clients and our professionals. To this end, we employ a separate client development process, headed by Neil Goldberg. Neil and his team ensure that our approach with prospective clients blends with our culture of putting client-service first. This stands in stark contrast with the brokerage and banking worlds, where the account manager is required to generate new clients, while also servicing existing ones. Our counselors spend most of their time managing accounts and addressing our clients' needs. They are able to do this because our sales effort is separated and carried out by professionals. This approach has allowed us to steadily build and sustain our firm in a way that does not compromise our valued client relationships.
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These practices and policies have created a loyal, long-standing clientele, to whom we extend our profound appreciation. For our newer and prospective clients, we hope that this piece has shed some light on who we are, and on our continued dedication to being a premier financial advisory firm.
