What We Feel Sets Us Apart

Experience

This is the Argent difference. Our clients benefit from a breadth and depth of knowledge in investment management and in financial, retirement, estate, and tax planning. We feel our people set us apart from the competition. Our staff consists of experienced professionals whose skills remain sharp through continual training and education. We expect our professionals to be able to find creative solutions to your problems and not just refer you out to other service providers. That’s why our staff have some of the industry’s most respected credentials: CPA, JD, CFA, CFP and MBA. We foster a culture of continual learning and teamwork for the benefit of our clients.

Our advisors are experienced, respected, and skilled at identifying goals, gathering and reviewing information, and designing customized plans. Through a collaborative process, we tailor a plan specifically for you based on market conditions along with your particular goals and circumstances, cash flow needs, tax considerations and other variables. We listen to your concerns and consult with our colleagues to create your plan.

Our Value Proposition

Our Value Proposition is to deliver integrated wealth management services efficiently to our clients through our in-house team of talented professionals. Most of our services are included under one comprehensive fee, potentially saving you money overpaying for multiple service providers. We invest heavily to retain quality talent across all wealth management disciplines so we can do more for you under one roof than most advisory firms can. We have experience not only in investment management, but also in crafting estate plans, financial plans and tax strategies. More services bundled under one fee structure is our value add.

In most cases Argent can serve as your entire wealth management team, allowing you get a more harmonious plan and more services under one roof than most firms can deliver. Where clients have existing relationships with estate and tax professionals, we are still adding value in these areas over and above our typical competitor. As our advisors oversee your investments and other aspects of your financial life, they are always keeping a trained eye on areas of your plan that they may not directly oversee. At the very least, having another set of professional eyes knowledgeable and helping to oversee other professionals is a major value add. Often times our professionals can complement the recommendations or advice from your estate attorney or tax consultant. This will allow Argent to add value and help oversee all areas of wealth management.

Comprehensive Wealth Planning

At Argent, comprehensive wealth planning begins with relationship building, and there is nothing more crucial in a relationship than trust. It is the foundation of our long-term relationships with clients — relationships which often continue into the next generation as we work with clients’ children and grandchildren.

We know trust has to be earned, and we do this by solving problems and delivering results. What we feel differentiates Argent from many other wealth management companies is our “deeply holistic” or comprehensive approach to our relationships. This means we have the experience in house to help you with all areas of wealth management if you choose: investment management, financial planning and estate and tax planning. In addition, we are proudly “fee-only.” This means we are independent-minded and free of sales biases or conflicts of interest. We adhere to the Fiduciary Standard and the CFA code of ethics, the highest standards in the business.

We understand the significance of being entrusted with maintaining and building your wealth. This is a challenge we are proud to accept and determined to meet. It often begins when individuals come to us as a result of referrals from our clients or other advisors. They learn about our talent and capabilities. They retain and stay with us because they discover we listen to them and care about them.

Large Endowment Approach

We take a large endowment approach to investment management. Over the years, many large endowments have used a wide set of investment vehicles (i.e. private equity, hedge funds) to realize significantly better investment performance — with less risk — than individual investors. We add alternative investments to augment risk-adjusted returns over typical 60/40 stock/bond portfolios.

Given that at least 90% of return comes from asset allocation, it is most important to get this element right. Portfolios with both traditional investments (stocks and bonds) and alternative investments (private equity, real estate, hedge funds) have had better long-term returns with less risk than those with traditional investments only.

For over a quarter of a century, Argent has developed experience in both traditional and alternative investments. As a result, we can help you achieve your goals with less risk than is possible with a traditional stock-and-bond portfolio.