Mutual Trust Advisory Group

Mutual Trust Advisory Group

Mutual Trust Advisory Group launched in 2016 in Estero, Florida, founded by Scott Hastings to serve families in the Fort Myers–Naples corridor. The firm structures its client relationships solely as a fee-only fiduciary, meaning compensation comes directly from the client with no commissions on investment or insurance products. This posture, which the firm makes central to its identity, distinguishes it from the large majority of financial advisors operating under fee-based or commission-based models. Mutual Trust constructs bespoke portfolios across public equities, fixed income, and alternative investments, though it does not publicly disclose specific holdings or a defined asset-allocation range. The firm offers multiple engagement paths: comprehensive financial planning, discretionary portfolio management, and pure investment-advice mandates. Clients can also opt for a flat-fee arrangement that spans the firm's full suite of services. All investment decisions for discretionary accounts are executed from the headquarters in the Coconut Point office park in Estero, with the firm concentrating its geographic footprint on Lee and Collier Counties. The firm's publicly known scale is small — principal contact is Scott at mtagrp.com and a single phone line routes to the Estero office — and it does not report headcount or assets under management. No adjacent entities such as a family of funds, a philanthropic foundation, or a membership in an ultra-high-net-worth peer network are disclosed. The website presents only the flagship advisory practice, with no evidence of separate institutional or family-office vehicles. Mutual Trust's architecture is anchored in a deliberate regulatory stance: as a fee-only RIA, it operates under a legal obligation to act as a fiduciary on every engagement, a structure that the firm argues eliminates the conflicts inherent in commission-based advice. This governance model, while common among a subset of independent planners, remains a minority position in the broader wealth-management industry, and the firm's marketing leans heavily on that distinction to attract clients seeking transparent cost structures.