Here at Evergreen, we strive to set up our clients, and their friends and family, for success by educating them on principles that will benefit them throughout their lives. We do this by not simply telling our clients what to do but teaching our clients finance concepts and best practices. We avoid complex terminology and financial jargon in order to help our clients best understand what we are doing and why we are doing it. In the earliest process of onboarding a new client, we ask them to read a few select chapters from “Simple Wealth, Inevitable Wealth”, which we send to help them gain a better understanding of our investment philosophy. These chapters do a great job of outlining one of our most important philosophies: Over the long-term, stocks are less risky than bonds.

Clients will not learn everything all at once, but we aim to help them learn more and more and slowly build up their overall financial knowledge with each review we have with them. Many clients have told us that they have learned more working with us in a few short years then over their entire lifetime. We want our clients, and their loved ones, to feel empowered and educated so they can pass on their financial knowledge for generations to come.

FAQ

We do our best work with those who have a “Triple A” status of the right Attitude, Assets, and will act as Advocates. We want to make sure that this will be a successful working relationship and we do so by having three meetings with a prospective client before both parties make a final decision on if this is the best fit. First, we will have a 10-minute initial phone call. We will discuss what your needs are to find out if they match what we do best. Second, we will have an introduction meeting where we will introduce ourselves, learn more about you, your goals, what you are looking for, and what your definition of success looks like. Then, we will have what we call the “Are We a Fit?” meeting. After you’ve had a chance to think about the help we can offer you, we’ll determine together if our services are a good fit for your needs and if you would be a good fit for our team.

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This ultimately is based on your preference. Usually, we conduct four quarterly reviews and do our best to have proactive contact if we see things that are important to you, such as market updates, changes to your individual plan, or changes to investments. You can always reach out if you have a question. We are happy to help!

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We provide comprehensive financial planning services and advice for all aspects of your financial well-being, so you focus on the things that matter most. Our services include:

  • Individual Stock Portfolios
  • Education
  • Company Retirement Planning
  • Business Succession Planning
  • Retirement Planning
  • Risk Management
  • Estate Planning
  • College Planning
  • Tax Planning
  • Being your Investment Coach

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There is only one way we get paid and that is through a transparent fee. We believe that the only way to remain free from potential conflict of interests is to be fee only. This means that the ONLY way we receive compensation is from the fee we charge our clients. Our advisory fee is deducted directly and automatically from the accounts we manage. We bill at the end of each month based on the average daily balance throughout the month. All cost of transactions is built into the management fee. Fees will be pro-rated if agreement is terminated.

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We are not everything to everybody. We try to be everything to those whose circumstance matches the expertise we offer. We want to make sure that each client feels like they are our top client. Typically, new clients need to have $1 million in investable assets; however, there are exceptions such as income, profession, timeframe to invest, etc. If you do not reach the minimum, we are happy to see if your situation permits an exception, or offer a 60-minute consultation to help you take action on the things that will make the most impact – no fee and no need to become a client. We can also refer you to a trusted advisor in our network.

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We have processes in place that utilize both advanced data analytics as well as tried and true methods to find quality, long-term stocks. We take a “top down” approach to finding these stocks. We first look at the overall market and determine which sectors of the economy we wish to invest in, then use our data and analytics to find what we feel are the most suitable companies in each of those sectors. Our stock portfolios can be geared towards either dividend or growth.

Each client has their portfolio allocations matched to their individual plan. There is no “one size fits all” – each client has a comprehensive plan that is used as the basis for their investment allocations.

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We are always happy to listen to our clients and your input is always welcome, but ultimately, we work best with clients who wish to delegate the day-to-day investment decisions to us to fully act as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of your family by enabling us and trusting our process to do what we believe is best when it comes to investing your accounts. We structure investment decisions according to the strategy that we develop with your input on your investment preferences, risk tolerance, and time horizon.

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We have a team that supports you, which consists primarily of a lead advisor and supporting service members. You will mostly work with a lead advisor concerning your investments, portfolio, and overall financial plan. Your supporting service team will also help with urgent requests, transactions, and paperwork.

If you work with us, we will formalize the responsibilities and expectations of the advisor and client in our Investment Advisory Agreement. As the client, you can terminate the relationship at any time with at least 10 days’ notice. We also retain this same right. We bill in arrears, so we only charge for the time service is rendered.

No. Evergreen Private Wealth does not directly hold any of your funds. Client accounts are held at arms-length, primarily at Fidelity Investments, in accounts registered in your name and for which you have full access to. We have access to manage the investments, deduct our fee, and transfer money to and from your bank account. Fidelity also provides SIPC coverage and additional Lloyd’s of London insurance.

Our advisory fee is deducted directly and automatically from investment accounts we manage for you. We bill in arrears, after service is rendered. All cost of transactions is built into the management fee. Fees are pro-rated if our agreement is terminated.

There is only one way we get paid and that is through a transparent fee. We have nothing to hide, and every client knows exactly what they are paying all the time. We believe that the only way to remain free from potential conflict of interests is to be fee only. This means that the ONLY way we receive compensation is from the fee we charge our clients. We feel this allows us the opportunity to review each investment purely based on the investment’s merits and not by what we will receive.

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At Evergreen we take on a fiduciary role by putting our clients’ needs first and acting in their best interest, not our own. First and foremost, we keep the needs of the client in mind. Evergreen was founded on the simple concept of doing the right thing, and because of our independence, we have the ability to do what is right for our clients 100% of the time.

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We partner with IFP to help us with investment research and trade support on client accounts. We include two of IFP’s Chartered Financial Analysts (CFAs) on our asset management committee; they are highly skilled at reviewing and analyzing potential opportunities that we review together.

Yes, you will have access to your accounts online, both on Evergreen’s client portal found at the top right of our website as well as on Fidelity Investments’ website directly.

We do our best work with those whose situations we learn about in great detail and trust us to be their family Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to manage all investable assets. We feel that having deep relationships with clients is the best way to provide the highest level of service and at the greatest level of detail. Because of this, we do not work on an hourly or project basis.

There will be times when financial markets drop significantly in value, but we help clients plan for this. Nobody can consistently plan what the markets are going to do. We believe that temporary decline is not loss when a solid plan is in place. As market conditions change, we are always scanning the horizon to make adjustments to the “sails of the investment ship” when we see appropriate opportunities but we never “jump out of the ship”. Sometimes the best thing is to do nothing at all.

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No. Our investment philosophy is that investing long-term in quality stocks is the best way to outpace inflation and grow capital. Annuities transfer risk from the investor to an insurance company and insurance companies profit from individual investors’ fears. In addition, these products often include significant hidden commissions and surrender fees averaging 10% of the underlying funds contributed to the contract. Lastly, we do not believe in mixing insurance and investing. For all these reasons, we believe that there are better options for growing and protecting wealth than annuities. Learn more about our investment philosophy here: Evergreen’s Investment Philosophy

Having inadequate insurance can completely destroy your financial plan. However, we do not sell life insurance products to avoid conflicts of interest that may come from commissions associated with selling these products. When additional insurance coverage is needed, we educate you on options and connect you to trusted partners to ensure you are covered.

Evergreen’s Philosophy on Asset Allocation

Asset allocation based on:

  • Short-term bucket to cover a minimum of 5 years’ worth of portfolio withdrawals
  • Individual investor’s risk tolerance

Strategy:

  • When the stock market is down we pull from the short-term bucket, allowing the long-term bucket time to recover and grow
  • When the stock market is up we sell from the long-term bucket to replenish the short-term bucket
  • Over the long run stocks have outpaced inflation
Short term and long term investment graphic

Evergreen’s Retirement Pathway

Evergreen's Retirement Pathway image

Evergreen’s Savings Hierarchy

Retirement Budget Worksheet

Click on this Retirement Budget Worksheet to fill out your estimated monthly expenses.

Tax-Efficient Investing:

Many people know about asset allocation but most do not know the importance of asset location

How Tax-Loss Harvesting Works:

Tax-loss harvesting is a strategic method Evergreen use to reduce taxable income and enhance after-tax returns by selling investments at a loss in taxable accounts. It’s applied when it supports a client’s broader financial goals, particularly for those in high tax brackets, facing one-time income events, or managing Medicare and tax thresholds.

We prioritize maintaining portfolio strategy and integrity, only harvesting losses when it provides meaningful long-term value. Key considerations include a client’s income, life expectancy, and future tax outlook. We avoid scenarios where harvesting may be counterproductive, such as during 0% capital gains windows or near end-of-life. The process is supported by advanced tools and a disciplined review of assets, with clear communication around tax implications.

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