Our wealth management clients represent an exclusive group of individuals, many of whom value their privacy and are committed to being responsible stewards of their wealth.

Wealthy families don’t achieve success by chance. A well-crafted plan is essential to ensure that both a family’s wealth and values endure across generations. However, even the most strategic wealth management plan can falter if its components are considered in isolation.

Our clients turn to us because they lack the time, desire, or expertise to manage their finances on their own.

We work closely with high-net-worth individuals, families, and foundations to create tailored wealth and investment strategies that preserve assets and legacy for generations to come.

Our Approach

Our difference: Education & Intensive Planning. At Darden Wealth Group, we believe incorporating financial planning with investment and portfolio management is the only way to manage wealth. Instead of the financial plan being an afterthought or an add-on to investment management, we believe it is the cornerstone for wealth management. I’ve seen other firms charge upwards of $35,000 for this service alone. 

Your Access

We offer an online portal for our wealth management clients that includes a vault for all your important documents. You can log in 24/7 to get updates on your portfolio values and performance. This education and information empower our clients to make the best decisions for their financial future. We couple this with educational workshops and articles provided throughout the year.

Concierge Lifestyle Support

As a wealth management client, you gain access to our exclusive network of trusted professionals, including investment bankers, mortgage experts, estate planners, accountants, bookkeepers, and more. We’re here to support every aspect of your financial life — from navigating Social Security and Medicare to managing bill payments — ensuring your unique needs are met with care and expertise.

Intellectual Capital

We listen. Therefore, we are able to develop specialized investment strategies based on a deep understanding of your goals.

Network Solutions

We partner with Black Diamond, MoneyGuidePro, and Y-Charts, and more to provide customized solutions for our clients.

Financial Planning

This is the cornerstone of our relationship. We put together a plan that includes tax minimization, gifting, estate needs, cash flow, and sustainability modeling. We then stress test the portfolio to see the optimum allocation and risk abatement through multiple different historical and predicted market scenarios. From there, we work with you to build a financial plan that includes social security maximization, college affordability, risk visualization, and health care estimation. We review this plan at least yearly for changes, and adapt accordingly.

Investment Management 

Low Portfolio Expenses

Investment studies have consistently shown that active mutual fund expenses are a significant drag on the portfolio’s overall performance and they tilt down the growth trajectory of an investor’s retirement nest-egg. The typical active equity mutual fund expense ratio is 0.78% and annuities can have internal fees of above 2%. These are in addition to the investment management fees a client pays.

We aim to find the cost-efficient investment vehicles to match the portfolio needs and construct a well-diversified, low-cost portfolio.

Diversification

We use a mix of blue-chip stocks, equity exchange-traded funds or ETFs, and investment-grade bonds or fixed income ETFs as a core. Then we combine this core with a mix of other low-cost index ETFs/funds to typically craft a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, real estate holdings and commodities that captures the best return generating opportunities, while also minimizing the overall portfolio volatility/risk.

Downside Protection

When warranted, we will also add tactical portfolio positioning (increase cash or employ portfolio hedging strategies) to the portfolio mix in an attempt to reduce risk and to potentially avoid severe draw-downs in your investment portfolio.

Tax Efficiency

An additional area that can eat away investor returns, is tax overhead. We minimize the tax drag to your investment account by using:

• Tax-efficient investment vehicles to better control the capital gain exposure in your account
• Tax loss-harvesting strategies to offset capital gains generated in your account
• Municipal bonds for taxable accounts when appropriate for a client’s tax bracket
• Tax-savvy withdrawal strategies while taking distributions from your taxable, tax-free (ROTH) and tax-deferred accounts (IRAs)

Retirement Benefits Management 

(401k, Deferred Compensation, Stock Options, Restricted Stock Plans, Supplemental Insurance Plans, Health Plans, Pensions, etc.)

Many of us have significant wealth tied up in our retirement benefits through our employers. While these plans often offer retirement tools, they still need to be managed on a regular basis as part of a larger plan that encompasses all risks and assets. These are questions you should be asking yourself:

• Is an IRA and/or a 401k a better fit for my retirement?
• What are the fees within my employer-sponsored plan(s)?
• What is the maximum contribution limit for my plan?
• How and when do I take withdrawals from my retirement plan?
• How do I allocate my retirement assets?
• How do I manage stock options so they don’t adversely affect my taxes?
• How much compensation should I defer, and on what vesting schedule?
• How does restricted stock work?
• Do I need any additional workplace insurance?
• How does my pension affect my social security? 
• When do I need to apply for medicare?

Allocating and investing for retirement is one of the most misunderstood topics in investing. It is important for you to make a plan and then work the plan. We can help you do this.

Retirement Income Solutions

Retirement is the most critical point in your investing timeline. Even if you have been successfully managing your own investments to this point, you need to be ready to take the next steps. Are you sure you have enough to retire? What happens to your spouse if something happens to you?

We can help you

• Understand options with your pension
• Create an income stream from your investments
• Manage your taxes
• Maximize social security strategies
• Make sure your loved ones are provided for later in life

Contact Us about the questions you should be asking about generating income in retirement.

Financial Education & Financial Abuse Prevention

Financial elder abuse is taking advantage of the elderly in an unfair way, benefiting from their monetary resources. Sometimes those that we least expect can be the perpetrators. Those individuals can include family members, business associates, caregivers, not just strangers.

A 2004 study from Adult Protective Services reports the majority of financial elder abuse occurs to females. Too many times females defer to their husbands for financial matters leaving themselves unprepared when their spouse is no longer available to provide assistance. However, in general, men are higher targets of investment fraud. These men tend to be married, between the ages of 55 and 62, have higher incomes than average and have greater financial literacy.

It is important for elderly individuals and their families to understand their financial strengths. Education is their strongest ally. Finding a partner to help educate you, your family, and protect your legacy is essential before it is too late. Take the first step by signing up for our newsletter and all our newsroom information to be delivered directly to your inbox.

Wealth Diversification Strategies

As a part of building wealth, it is important we look at different investments and purchases outside of the stock market. This could be real estate, cars, and/or collectible coins. As the rules of investing continue to change, the scale of uncertainty can be overwhelming. We consult on debt usage and income diversification to help you achieve your goals.

Socially Conscious Investing & Charitable Giving

We were one of the first advisors to offer socially responsible investing in 2007. Years later, its popularity has grown tremendously as investors want to understand how their investment decisions can affect the world around them. We can go beyond understanding the business models of companies. We will measure how they interact with customers, suppliers, employees, and the environment, then incorporate this research into your financial investments. 

Just as socially conscious investing has grown, so has the desire for charitable giving. Charitable giving in 2016 reached a new record of $350 billion. With it, more clients are asking for strategies around giving and setting up foundations. In the past, many charitable giving strategies have involved expensive legal fees, high commission insurance products, or complicated products. This doesn’t have to be the case. Sometimes by setting up a charitable giving strategy, you can actually save on taxes. Giving back should not have to be a sacrifice. 

Risk Optimization

When we discuss your financial risk, it is more than protecting your investments from volatile markets. It also includes what life risks you want to insure against, to mitigate possible loss. In some cases, it makes sense to self insure,

while in others it makes more sense to deploy the help of insurance companies. The principal goal of insurance planning is to identify and analyze risk factors in life and seek proper coverage to attain peace of mind if disaster strikes.

Popular risk optimization strategies outside of investments include the need for long term care, income replacement, debt coverage, estate tax preparedness, and litigation protection. Not all risk is bad and not everyone should take the same precautions. You need a solution crafted for you.