Golden Reserve

Golden Reserve

Greg DuPont launched Golden Reserve in 2011 after observing that traditional wealth managers and wirehouses were systematically neglecting middle-class retirees and pre-retirees — people with $250,000 to $3 million who needed coordinated legal and financial planning, not just asset allocation. The firm was structured from day one with salaried in-house estate planning attorneys and fiduciary advisors operating side by side, a model that distinguishes it from most RIAs that refer legal work to outside counsel. Golden Reserve is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, and has expanded across the state with multiple physical offices, placing branches intentionally in communities like Canton, Toledo, and Cincinnati rather than concentrating in Columbus. This geographic strategy is central to its identity — the firm prioritizes face-to-face relationships and local television advertising over digital acquisition, a posture that has made it one of the most visible consumer-facing RIAs in the Midwest. The firm's investment approach is rooted in downside protection and income planning rather than accumulation. Golden Reserve constructs portfolios using low-cost ETFs, indexed annuities, and fixed-income ladders designed to protect principal and generate predictable retirement income. It explicitly avoids speculative growth strategies, alternatives, or private investments, focusing instead on sequence-of-returns risk and longevity planning. Asset classes in client portfolios typically include domestic large-cap equities, investment-grade bonds, Treasury inflation-protected securities, and insurance-based products. The firm does not offer in-house proprietary funds and does not participate in direct deals or co-investments. Its geographic footprint is entirely US-based, concentrated in Ohio with a growing presence in Florida — a natural extension given the retiree migration patterns from the Midwest to the Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast. Golden Reserve does not publicly disclose AUM or total client assets under advisement, though its retail footprint — with over a dozen physical offices and a sustained broadcast advertising presence across Ohio television markets — suggests a client base numbering in the thousands. The firm employs a blended team of attorneys, CFPs, and client service staff, all salaried to remove product-commission conflicts. The founder, Greg DuPont, has published two books on retirement planning and frequently appears on local television and radio, making him the public face of the business. The firm's advertising, which often features DuPont speaking directly to camera with warnings about Wall Street conflicts and hidden fees, is distinctive in the RIA industry for its aggressive comparative messaging. May 2024: Golden Reserve expanded its Florida footprint by opening a new office in Naples, continuing a multi-year push into Southwest Florida retirement communities (public record). The structural differentiator is the under-one-roof integration of legal and fiduciary advisory services targeting a demographic that most RIAs either ignore or serve piecemeal. While many wealth managers market to high-net-worth clients and solicit referrals from estate planning attorneys, Golden Reserve inverts the model — it employs the attorneys directly, makes them part of the client intake process, and builds the financial plan and the legal documents concurrently. This architecture eliminates the coordination gap between a client's advisor and their attorney, which is frequently the source of planning failures for families who cannot afford a multi-family office. The firm's reliance on traditional media for client acquisition — television, radio, seminars — further distinguishes it in an industry that has largely shifted to digital lead generation and RIA aggregator roll-ups.