In the 2000s, I began my journey in the wealth management industry with the goal of helping clients have control over their financial outcomes. At first, I assumed that bigger firms had more to offer clients, believing that smaller firms may struggle due to limited resources and scale. My perspective on this evolved over time, which I'll explain further.

Most financial advisors enter the industry intending to prioritize client interests. Generally, from what I have seen, this is still the intention. However, the company structure and size drastically affect how an advisor interacts and serves their clients. Initially, I thought larger advisory firms were inherently better, but I've learned that is not always true. As firms grow, they can become encumbered by bureaucracy, profit goals, and the challenges of scaling. Unfortunately, bureaucracy and profit targets don’t lead to better financial outcomes for clients.

These consequences may come in various forms, such standardizing products and advice for widespread use or pushing additional products/services on clients. However, the greatest downside is the number of clients an advisor at a large firm needs to manage, typically between 150-300. While technology has improved efficiency in many areas, it hasn't replaced the need for deeply understanding each client's unique needs, goals, and challenges on a personal level. It's difficult to genuinely care about a client's financial success when they are just one among 200 or more. This level of understanding takes time and can't be achieved through a few meetings or annual check-ins.

To address these structural challenges, I founded Pomona Wealth. Our goal is to combine the personal touch, availability, and adaptability of a small firm with the resources and expertise of a larger institution. Pomona Wealth is an independent boutique firm, unencumbered by external pressures, outdated procedures, or incompatible technology systems. We aim to serve a limited number of families or businesses (around 50), offering high-quality investment resources and technology to ensure an exceptional client experience. Our smaller size fosters more personalized and frequent interactions, all while maintaining lower fees compared to most other firms.

As I established Pomona, these guiding principles were paramount:

• Dedicate significantly more time to each client than traditional advisors.
• Share economic benefits with clients by charging lower fees.
• Utilize technology on par with or superior to that of large firms.
• Ensure my sole compensation comes from clients, avoiding external conflicts of interest.
• Operate without external owners.
• Provide tailored financial advice and portfolios, avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach.
• Offer a broad range of investments, including those that require extensive sourcing and management.
• Maintain a small, trusted network of advisors I trust for client support in my absence.
• Ensure clients can join, and should they choose, leave Pomona with ease.
  

While there is no one-size-fits-all approach for everyone in wealth management, my diverse experiences with both large and small firms have equipped me to blend the strengths of both environments. My focus is on cultivating a strong client-advisor relationship that prioritizes individual needs over the firm's structure.

In the upcoming months, I plan to share more insights through a series of posts about working with Pomona Wealth. These will cover various aspects of our collaboration, including our initial meeting, investment capabilities, technological resources, and financial planning strategies, among other topics.

As always, if you would like to discuss Pomona in greater detail or have any questions, please feel free to contact me at Kevin@pomonawm.com or schedule a conversation.

Sincerely,

Kevin, Melissa, Alex (7) and Austin (4)