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Fidelis Wealth Advisors
Fidelis Wealth Advisors was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Castle Rock, Colorado. Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer John Van Sant...
Fidelis Wealth Advisors
Fidelis Wealth Advisors was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Castle Rock, Colorado. Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer John Van Sant previously served as President and CFO of Cascade Financial Management and held an OSJ Principal role with LPL and Apollon Financial, building the operational architecture that now supports Fidelis. The firm operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor, a structure that legally obliges it to act as a fiduciary — advice must serve client interests, not product-distribution quotas. The firm deploys capital across three primary channels: individually managed equity and fixed-income portfolios, financial planning engagements, and employer-sponsored 401(k) plan administration for small businesses. Karley Fidani, a NAPA Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor, leads the retirement-plan practice — a specialization that differentiates Fidelis from generalist RIAs that treat 401(k) work as ancillary. The firm's strategic partnership with RIA Innovations, a division of NWAM, LLC, supplies administrative support services, allowing Fidelis advisors to concentrate on client-facing work rather than back-office processing. Its geographic footprint is concentrated in Colorado and Wyoming, where team members maintain client relationships across the Front Range and the Wind River region. The team includes four named professionals operating across Castle Rock, Colorado; Mount Pleasant, South Carolina; and Green River, Wyoming. Fidelis launched a proprietary client mobile app in the last 24 months, designed to consolidate account aggregation, secure messaging, and personalized insights into a single interface — an operational upgrade that signals investment in client experience rather than assets-under-management scale. Tina Jessick joined the firm in spring 2025 as an administrative assistant, adding accounting capacity as the firm gradually expands its support layer. Fidelis is structurally different from most bank-affiliated wealth managers because it carries no proprietary investment products. Every portfolio dollar generates fee-only revenue through advisory relationships, removing the incentive to place client assets into high-margin house funds. That fiduciary-only architecture, combined with a small-team footprint and a retirement-plan specialization, yields a business model that scales by deepening existing relationships rather than by accumulating transactional clients.
General information
Firm type
Bank / Wealth / Trust
Year founded
2018
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Castle Rock
Corporate office
Castle Rock, CO, United States
Principals
John Van Sant
COO and CCO
Karley Fidani
Advisor and Paraplanner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Fidelis Wealth Advisors?
Fidelis does not publicly name a dedicated Chief Investment Officer. COO & CCO John Van Sant drives operational and strategic leadership, while advisor Karley Fidani handles client-facing investment planning and 401(k) fiduciary work. The firm's website does not disclose a central investment committee; decision-making appears distributed across its small advisor team with a focus on individual client portfolio construction rather than a house model portfolio.
Is Fidelis a single-family office or a traditional wealth manager?
Fidelis is a traditional registered investment advisor, not a family office. It serves multiple client types — individuals, high-net-worth individuals, trusts, and corporations — and operates on a fee-only advisory model. The firm's organizational structure and regulatory filings reflect a client-serving RIA, not a single-family capital vehicle.
Does Fidelis offer proprietary investment products?
No. Fidelis operates as a fee-only RIA, which means it does not manufacture or sell proprietary funds, structured products, or insurance-linked investment vehicles. Its revenue comes entirely from advisory fees, removing the conflict of interest that arises when firms earn commissions or spreads on in-house products.
What does Fidelis's 401(k) practice actually do for small businesses?
Karley Fidani, a NAPA Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor, leads the firm's employer-sponsored retirement plan services. This includes plan design, fiduciary oversight, investment menu selection, and employee education for small businesses that typically lack dedicated benefits staff. The practice treats 401(k) administration as a core advisory vertical rather than a referral add-on.
How is Fidelis related to RIA Innovations and NWAM?
Fidelis maintains a strategic partnership with RIA Innovations, a division of NWAM, LLC, which provides administrative support services to registered investment advisors. The firms are not affiliated — NWAM is a separate SEC-registered entity. The arrangement supplies back-office infrastructure, likely including compliance support, trade reconciliation, or billing, allowing Fidelis advisors to focus on client service.
Where does Fidelis source its clients?
Fidelis does not publicly describe a formal client-acquisition channel or referral network. The firm's website markets directly to individual investors through educational guides and a client mobile app. Geographic concentration in Colorado and Wyoming, combined with a small professional headcount, suggests a relationship-driven local practice rather than a national growth engine.
What licenses do the key professionals hold?
COO John Van Sant holds Series 7, 24, 28, and 65 licenses — a broad compliance and supervisory credential set. Karley Fidani holds a Series 65 and the CPFA designation. Rilee Erickson also holds a Series 65 and supports life-insurance planning, signaling the firm maintains the regulatory registrations required to advise on securities and collect advisory fees.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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