Drake & Associates

Tony Drake emphasizes retirement-income reliability over benchmark-relative performance. His approach prioritizes capital preservation, inflation-hedged withdrawal strategies, and tax-efficient distribution sequencing. Portfolio construction integrates equities for growth, fixed income for stability, and insurance products where guaranteed income floors are appropriate — all coordinated to meet specific client retirement-liability schedules rather than generic risk-tolerance models.

Yes. Drake & Associates is structured as a registered investment adviser, which imposes a fiduciary duty requiring the firm to act in its clients' best interests at all times. This legal standard means the firm's advisors must disclose conflicts, avoid self-dealing, and recommend only those products and strategies that serve client goals rather than generating commissions or sales incentives.

The firm primarily works with individuals and families in southeastern Wisconsin who are near or in retirement. Its client base includes corporate retirees, small-business owners, and professionals seeking coordinated retirement-income planning. Drake typically engages clients on a holistic basis, integrating investment management with Social Security claiming strategies, Medicare guidance, and estate-planning coordination.

Drake & Associates typically charges fees based on a percentage of assets under management, aligning its compensation with client portfolio performance rather than transaction volume. As a fee-based advisory practice, the firm avoids commission-driven conflicts common in broker-dealer models. Specific fee schedules are disclosed to clients during onboarding and vary based on account size and service complexity.

The firm constructs portfolios using a combination of individual securities, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and insurance products, typically custodied at independent third-party platforms. This custodial separation provides an additional layer of client protection, as Drake does not hold client assets directly. The firm's value proposition centers on the planning overlay — asset allocation, tax coordination, and income sequencing — rather than proprietary fund management.