Garda Financial Group

Garda Financial Group

Garda Financial Group was established in 2024 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The firm operates as a registered investment advisor, a structure that carries a fiduciary duty to clients. Its founding coincided with sustained demographic and capital inflows into the Great Lakes region, creating a localized demand for independent wealth counsel outside the wirehouse channel. The firm serves individuals, high-net-worth families, and trusts. The firm's investment posture spans financial planning, retirement planning, and discretionary investment management. It advises on asset allocation, portfolio construction, and ongoing rebalancing. Client portfolios typically access public equities, fixed income, and liquid alternatives. The firm's engagement model centers on a planning-first approach, where investment policy is shaped by individual liquidity needs, tax circumstances, and intergenerational transfer goals. Its geographic focus is the Ann Arbor–Detroit corridor, a market anchored by the University of Michigan ecosystem and legacy automotive wealth, with reach across the broader Midwest. Garda Financial Group maintains its sole office in Ann Arbor. The firm is positioned to serve as a consolidated financial quarterback for its clients, coordinating with estate attorneys, tax professionals, and third-party custodians. As of mid-2025, the firm continues to build its advisory team and client base from its Washtenaw County headquarters. The firm's structural differentiator is its timing and location. Launching an independent RIA in 2024 places Garda in a wave of advisor breakaways but also in a specific regional economy where liquidity events in mobility-tech, life sciences, and university spinouts are generating new households of wealth that often outgrow the capabilities of local bank trust departments.