Howe and Rusling

The firm builds concentrated, individually managed accounts holding 30 to 45 direct equity and fixed-income positions. Portfolios are customized for each client's tax circumstances and income requirements rather than fitted to a model. Equity exposure focuses on large-cap domestic companies with identifiable competitive moats, while fixed-income investments lean toward investment-grade municipal and corporate bonds suited to taxable or tax-sensitive accounts.

Howe and Rusling is registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, which imposes a statutory fiduciary duty to act in each client's best interest. This standard is more stringent than the suitability obligation governing broker-dealers. The firm reinforces this by avoiding proprietary products and maintaining direct custody relationships, giving clients full transparency into transaction costs and holdings.

No. Howe and Rusling manages only individually tailored separate accounts. The firm does not operate mutual funds, ETFs, or private pooled vehicles, which eliminates conflicts arising from fund-level fee layering or cross-trade considerations. Every security in a client portfolio is held in that client's name.

The firm operates from a single office in Rochester, New York, serving families, individuals, and institutional accounts concentrated in the Northeast. Client relationships typically span multiple generations, a function of the firm's conservative investment posture and its practice of direct, principal-led communication rather than call-center or team-based service models.

Turnover in client accounts is deliberately low, consistent with a long-horizon, buy-and-hold philosophy. Positions are monitored for deterioration in competitive fundamentals rather than short-term price action. Tax management is integrated into portfolio construction from the outset — bond ladders, tax-loss harvesting, and careful lot selection are standard components of the service rather than afterthoughts.

Investment decisions rest with the firm's principals, led by President Nelson R. Howe. There is no intermediating layer of research analysts or off-the-shelf model portfolios. Each principal carries direct responsibility for a defined set of client relationships, ensuring that the person constructing the portfolio is also the person speaking with the client about performance and positioning.

Howe and Rusling has remained privately held and owner-operated since 1930, resisting acquisition by banks, insurance companies, and aggregator platforms that absorbed many of its early peers. The firm's contained asset base and lean cost structure support continued independence, allowing it to serve a limited client roster without growth mandates that force dilution of service or investment discipline.