Hunley Wealth Management

Hunley Wealth Management

Hunley Wealth Management operates out of Louisville, Kentucky, where it builds financial plans for high-earning professionals. The firm targets a specific pain point in wealth management: helping executives with equity compensation, deferred comp plans, and concentrated single-stock exposure. While many RIAs claim to serve corporate leaders, few build their entire value proposition around the tax and liquidity problems that come with that territory. The firm's strategy centers on tax-aware planning and risk management rather than portfolio management alone. Its work typically involves modeling restricted stock units, incentive stock options, and non-qualified stock options alongside 401(k) assets and deferred compensation — then building liquidation schedules that align with an executive's career timeline. The practice does not publicize a list of direct investments or fund commitments; it operates as a fiduciary under the SEC's RIA framework, meaning it advises on assets rather than manufacturing proprietary products. Geographic focus remains on the Louisville metro and the surrounding region, though executive clients may be tied to national employers with local operations. Michele Hunley founded the firm and serves as its President and lead advisor. Team size and total assets under advisement are not disclosed publicly. There are no known adjacent philanthropic foundations, real-asset arms, or co-investor clubs affiliated with the practice. In May 2024, Hunley was spotlighted by a regional business publication as an honoree for her entrepreneurial leadership, though the firm itself did not make a separate operational announcement tied to the recognition (per Louisville Business First, 2024). The firm's structural differentiator is its narrow aperture: it does not try to serve generational wealth, business owners, or retirees as primary segments. Instead, it operates as a specialist for the illiquid-balance-sheet executive, a client type that most generalist advisors can only address with broad-based diversification advice. This focused mandate is unusual for a boutique RIA in a mid-sized metro market, where the economic pressure is typically to accept all comers.