Fides Financial Advisory strategic wealth management and investment oversight services helping clients evaluate portfolio performance and long-term financial goals.

SERVICES

Strategic Wealth Management – Vetting and Selection of RIAs or Private Banks

“The most important financial decision an individual, business or family can make isn’t what stock to buy, but which partner they trust to oversee their legacy. Fides ensures that choice is rooted in data, not just a brief conversation”

Selecting a wealth management firm (RIA or private bank) is a generational commitment. For high net-worth families, the challenge isn’t a lack of options - it’s the difficulty of filtering through a crowded market to find true alignment, transparency, and fiduciary excellence.

As your strategic partner, Fides Financial Advisory provides an independent, rigorous vetting process designed to identify the right steward for your wealth.

The Fides Vetting Framework

Our four-step process is built on over 25 years of institutional financial leadership, applying the same due diligence used in institutional investing to your personal wealth strategy.

Discovery & Alignment

  • How will your wealth manager be held accountable?
    Is the advisor a “fiduciary” — required by law to do what is in your best interest at all times? All RIAs are required to serve in the best interests of their clients, but not all broker/dealers are fiduciaries. Because of the way they are structured and/or regulated, many custodians, broker/dealers and other types of investment advisors are not held to the fiduciary standard. Fides only works with private wealth managers who are.

  • How will your wealth manager tailor your portfolio to meet your personal goals and needs?
    In an effort to cut costs, some firms may take a cookie-cutter process to portfolio management. Fides will make certain the wealth management firm you select is willing and able to customize your portfolio. One size does not fit all when it comes to managing wealth.

  • How will your wealth manager be compensated?
    Some advisors collect commissions to recommend certain financial products. It may appear that a broker/dealer is a better deal because the fees are hidden in transactions. But that does not mean the broker is making recommendations that are in your best interest, since they may not be obligated by law to do so.

  • How will you know if your wealth plan is working as intended?
    To ascertain if your investment portfolio and wealth plan are furthering your goals, you will want to meet or communicate with your wealth manager at least quarterly. How often and how (in person, teleconference, etc.)  is up to you. Choose a wealth manager committed to meeting with you at intervals that meet your needs and help you gain confidence in your plan.

  • Will your wealth management team have all encompassing expertise?
    Ideally, you want to select a wealth management firm that can advise you on a variety of financial strategies, in addition to investment management. Services for high net-worth clients can include trust and estate planning, tax strategies, and legacy/philanthropic planning. Your investment advisor should be willing to meet with tax advisors, trust and estate attorneys and donor advised fund custodians.

  • Is trust administration available?
    If you have wealth to leave to others (family, charity, etc.) then selecting a wealth management firm deeply experienced with trusts is a good idea.  Some wealth management firms focus strictly on investment management. Multi-generational wealth planning requires advisors who have the additional knowledge, skill and expertise in trust and estate planning.

  • Do the investment strategies factor in estate and income tax consequences?
    Wealth managers should consider the big picture when making recommendations, including estate and tax consequences. You don’t want to be surprised later by a large tax bill that offsets any gains you may have made from investments.  Your investment team should meet periodically with your tax advisor and estate attorneys, and be ready to discuss pre-retirement matters such as Roth conversion strategies and required minimum distributions (RMDs), the minimum amounts you must withdraw from your retirement accounts each year. You generally must start taking withdrawals from your traditional IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, and retirement plan accounts by April 1st of the year after you reach age 73.

  • What licenses, credentials or other accreditations do the staff have?
    This all depends on your needs. Among the main accreditations you would want staff at your wealth management firm to have: Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Certified Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and Juris Doctorate (JD). For trust management, you’ll want to see Certified Trust Financial Advisor (CTFA).

  • Did the wealth management firm ask the right questions?
    You want a wealth management firm that listens and acts accordingly. This is your money and your risk. To provide the best service and outcomes possible, it is important that the firm you select asks you many questions - and follow-up questions - about what you value, your goals, risk tolerance, finances, business needs, family situation and your unique opportunities and challenges. Only then can they provide the strategies required to protect and grow your wealth in context of your needs and goals for decades to come.

Institutional-Grade Due Diligence

At Fides, we look past the marketing materials to the foundational "red flags" and "green lights" of a firm:

  • Fiduciary Verification: Fides ensures that the firm is legally and ethically bound to act in your best interest at all times, with no hidden commission-based incentives. We review each firm’s Form ADV Part 2A a narrative document that serves as the primary tool for Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) to fulfill their fiduciary duty to clients. It must be written in plain English and fully disclose the firm's business practices, fees, conflicts, and disciplinary history.

  • Operational Integrity: Reviewing the firm's governance, internal controls, and third-party audit history to protect against institutional risk.

  • Fee Transparency: Fides takes a deep dive into the total cost of ownership-looking for hidden custodial charges, fund expenses, or layered fee structures.

  • Fides leverages our established network of trusted RIAs and private banks to curate a shortlist of 2–3 firms that best fit your specific profile. Fides will participate in the interview process, making certain that all appropriate questions are being addressed.

Ongoing Advocacy & Oversight

Fides’ role doesn’t necessarily end with the selection. If you desire, Fides can remain as an advocate on your behalf, reviewing quarterly performance reports and ensuring your chosen RIA or private bank continues to measure their performance against appropriate benchmarks.

Why Hire an Independent Vetting Partner?

High-net-worth families hire me because they value:

  • Experienced Guidance: Fides does not manage assets. Our only incentive is to find the best partner for you.

  • A Professional Filter: I save you the significant number of hours required to find and vet the thousands of RIAs/private banks/broker/dealers currently in the market.

  • The "CPA Eye": I review the data through a rational, accounting-driven lens, spotting inconsistencies that traditional "relationship-based" searches miss.

  • No Fees to You:  Fides does not charge you for our services, we are compensated by the successful asset manager that you select. The RIA or private bank pays Fides directly for successful referrals, much like an office lease tenant representative is paid by the landlord. You are not charged any additional fees as a result of this arrangement - the RIA or private bank advisory fees you pay are the same whether you were referred by Fides or came to the RIA or private bank directly.

  • Normally as a solicitor for one specific RIA, Fides would have a conflict of interest as disclosed to you in our Promoter/Solicitor agreements; but since we are compensated directly by the specific asset manager that you select, the conflict of interest is somewhat mitigated to the extent that the fee structures are comparable, as we never recommend a single RIA or private bank. Before engaging any RIA or private bank, you will also receive disclosures from the RIA’s Form ADV Part 2A, which contains full details on the RIA’s services, fees and conflicts of interest. You may also review it at any time at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. Similar disclosures are available for private banks.