CLW Financial Planning

As a registered investment advisor, CLW Financial Planning is held to a fiduciary standard under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. This requires the firm to act in clients' best interests, disclose conflicts, and avoid self-dealing. The standard differs from the suitability obligation applied to broker-dealers, who may recommend products that are merely 'suitable' but not necessarily optimal for the client.

The firm constructs discretionary portfolios using primarily low-cost exchange-traded funds and institutional mutual funds. Allocations are tailored to each client's risk tolerance, drawdown capacity, tax bracket, and liquidity needs rather than applied from a standardized house portfolio. The approach prioritizes tax efficiency through asset location, tax-loss harvesting, and coordination with a client's broader balance sheet.

CLW Financial Planning operates on a fee-only or fee-based model where client invoices are the primary source of revenue. This compensation structure removes the financial incentive to recommend insurance products, proprietary funds, or structured notes that pay commissions. Clients pay either a percentage of assets under management, a flat retainer, or an hourly fee for planning services.

RIAs typically do not custody client assets directly. CLW Financial Planning likely uses a third-party institutional custodian such as Charles Schwab, Fidelity, or Pershing to hold client securities. The firm receives trading authorization to implement investment decisions on a discretionary basis, but clients retain ownership and receive statements directly from the custodian.

The practice focuses on individual households, likely including retirees, near-retirees, and working professionals seeking integrated financial planning. Client profiles typically involve portable 401(k) rollovers, taxable brokerage accounts, and Roth IRAs. The concentrated book suggests a service model built on deep ongoing relationships with a limited number of households rather than high-volume asset gathering.