Arete Financial Planning

Arete Financial Planning

James Holloway launched Arete Financial Planning in 2016 as a Scottsdale-based registered investment advisor, positioning the firm squarely around retirement-income design. The practice emerged from the growing demand for advisors who operate exclusively as fiduciaries, charging flat fees or assets-under-management retainers rather than commissions. Holloway, alongside wealth managers Ryan Bond and Bob Stinnett, works with professionals within five to ten years of retirement and those already retired, emphasizing that tax planning — not investment product selection — drives sustainable withdrawals. The firm's investment philosophy rejects speculation on individual securities in favor of globally diversified, low-cost portfolios tilted to capture known return factors. Arete structures portfolios across US equities, international developed and emerging market equities, and fixed income. The core deployment is through direct indexing and structured notes when appropriate, layered onto tax-sensitive withdrawal sequencing. The practice operates entirely within Arizona, serving clients in Scottsdale, Phoenix and surrounding communities, with virtual capabilities extending the footprint across the state. Arete has registered roughly $188 million in regulatory assets under management as of its 2024 Form ADV filing (per SEC filings, 2024), representing a compounded growth rate from an estimated $32 million six years prior. The team has been expanded deliberately, adding Bond in 2019 and Stinnett in 2021 to handle increased capacity without diluting the retirement- and tax-centric specialization. Adjacent professional relationships with local CPAs and estate attorneys are the firm's default referral structure, operating without a formal club or network affiliation. What sets Arete apart structurally is the pairing of a three-advisor boutique with a strictly fee-only custodial relationship, likely through a platform like Schwab or Fidelity, which eliminates the internal conflicts embedded in broker-dealer and hybrid RIA models. The firm is built for succession within its own advisor roster rather than a private-equity roll-up, a posture that remains odd-man-out in a consolidating industry where retirement-centric books are acquisition targets.