A Wealth Management Team That Works for You
Stonegate Wealth Management, LLC is a fee-only wealth management firm. We do not receive payments from any third parties. We work only for you, not for the stockholders of a brokerage firm or product vendor. To understand the difference, click here.
We are committed to providing you with the most comprehensive wealth planning services available. We focus on finding solutions to complex financial challenges. We provide counsel for the pressing financial issues experienced by high net worth individuals, families and business owners. We use our in-depth knowledge and experience to review your taxes, retirement and estate planning, and investment management. We provide thoughtful divorce settlement counseling and are experienced in sorting through the financial complexities of unmarried couples and the specific strategies required to successfully protect their futures.
We provide asset management services with portfolios designed to match your particular needs, goals and risk tolerance. We spend a great deal of time understanding your unique needs and tailoring the portfolio to greatly increase the odds you will meet all your goals. Since our selection of investment vehicles is unencumbered by the influence of commissions we can choose from among thousands of options the most appropriate investment vehicles for your goals. In addition, we continually strive to find ways to minimize your investment costs and act as your advocate.
Few firms have a team with our depth of knowledge and experience. Our team, includes CPA’s, Certified Financial Planners (CFP), and Chartered Financial Analyst Charter holders (CFA) and an attorney (JD). We also have advanced degrees in Finance (MBA) and Financial Planning (MS in Financial Planning). Read more about the Stonegate Partners here.
Here Are Five Important Questions You Should Ask Any Financial Advisor
| 1. Are you held to a fiduciary standard in all dealings with me and my financial affairs? |
| 2. Do you disclose all conflicts of interest, both actual and potential, that exist or might exist in my relationship with you? |
| 3. Do you forego any type of commission-based compensation in favor of receiving all compensation via fees that are fully disclosed in dollar terms? |
| 4. Do you provide full-service, comprehensive financial planning services as well as investment advisory services? |
| 5. If you provide full-service, comprehensive financial planning services, are these services performed by individuals that have obtained the Certified Financial Planner designation? |
We are a dedicated team of veteran advisors that will guide you through every aspect of the wealth management process.
- As our client, you come first. At Stonegate, this means that your particular financial issues will receive our attention and a customized, carefully-thought-out solution will be presented to you, explained in depth, and implemented with exacting oversight.
- We will guide you through the complexities of portfolio management, retirement analysis, risk assessment for liquid and illiquid assets, tax planning, stock option planning, estate planning – and other aspects of wealth management.
Financial Planning and Wealth Management
Stonegate’s high value service has two critical components - financial planning and wealth management. We consider those components as key integral parts of our service.
Most of us want some “plan” for achieving financial independence and the confidence that results from working effectively toward this goal. The plan includes, but is not limited to, early retirement, a second home, college education for your children and grandchildren, or perhaps a boat to sail the Caribbean.
Financial planning is inseparable from your wealth management service. Therefore, we try to find answers to important questions such as:
- At what age will I achieve financial independence?
- How much income may I reasonably expect from my invested assets without depleting them over long periods of time?
- How do I minimize my taxes without impacting my standard of living?
- Will I be able to afford private school for my children? Purchase a second home?
- Should I purchase or lease a car?
- Is this the right time to sell (buy) a home?
- Is my family protected if I die prematurely?
- Will I be able to maintain my current lifestyle if I become disabled?
- How should I manage my assets when I retire?
- How much will I be able to leave for future generations?
- How can I benefit my favorite charities in a tax favored fashion?
- How should I manage my IRA’s so they may benefit my children?
- When should I exercise stock options?
- Am I protected against catastrophes?
- Am I using debt in a most advantageous fashion?
- Are my investment properties performing as they should?
- Are there any "holes" in my employer-provided benefits?
Stonegate Wealth Management's financial planning is seamlessly bundled with our investment process, enabling us to provide total wealth management. We do not offer financial planning as a stand-alone service, because we believe that planning and execution must go hand-in-hand.
Wealth Management – Stonegate's Portfolio Management Process
Stonegate’s investment management services are unencumbered by the imbedded costs and biases created by a commission or product based approach. The portfolio management process also has detailed steps, including:
- Risk tolerance assessment
- Translating your goals and objectives into an investment policy with an appropriate expected level of risk and return
- Devising an overall asset allocation to meet your unique goals;
- Choosing the specific vehicles for each asset class
- Reviewing your tax circumstance on an ongoing basis (affects asset placement decision)
- Implementing the asset allocation and monitoring its performance continuously
- Reviewing the portfolio’s performance against appropriate benchmarks
- Searching continuously for new investment opportunities, such as improved options within an asset class or new asset classes that improve the risk vs. reward profile of your allocation
- Rebalancing your portfolio on a periodic, tax sensitive basis
- Quarterly reporting of your investment results
- Year end review for tax planning – i.e. to see if tax loss harvesting is appropriate through donations of highly appreciated equity
- Reporting capital gains reports for your income tax obligations
- Periodic meetings with you to discuss and report on your portfolio's performance, to confirm that your needs and objectives are being met as they change over time.
Changes to Your Current Situation:
Our approach is different from that taken by many other firms. We view financial planning as a process and a continual service. We are responsible for providing information and solutions to problems posed by life altering events, birth, deaths, or marriage, regardless of how they affect your current situation. Events such as a change in employment, a change in employer benefits, or a substantial stock award requires and receives prompt and accurate analysis and recommendations.
Fees and Compensation:
As a fee-only financial firm, we charge only a small percentage of the assets you entrust to our management. Your success is our success. This fee on assets under management covers the development of the financial plan for you, your family, or your business that you engage us to accomplish on your behalf. As necessary, we will also refer you to superior strategic partners in the accounting and legal professions.
Our compensation is based on how we perform in managing your investments:
- We act as your advocate and strive to minimize costs, for example, through the using no-load mutual funds and purchasing fixed income securities with the best institutional pricing we can obtain
- We steer clear of “proprietary” investments that pay commissions
- We have institutional relationships that provide our clients with access to investments that are not available to the general public.