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Nautical Star Financial Group
Founded in 2021 by Lance Peters, Nautical Star Financial Group operates as a registered investment adviser from the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Las Colinas,...
Nautical Star Financial Group
Founded in 2021 by Lance Peters, Nautical Star Financial Group operates as a registered investment adviser from the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Las Colinas, Texas. Peters brought over 30 years of experience advising individuals and small businesses to the launch, structuring the firm around a fiduciary standard that requires client interests come first. The firm serves high-net-worth families, business owners, trusts, and retirement plans across the United States. The firm's advisory core targets tax-centric planning, integrating capital gains management, executive compensation structuring, and retirement-income modeling for clients seeking to reduce tax drag. Its investment methodology spans asset allocation, tactical fixed-income strategies, and risk management, with stated experience in fixed income investing and capital preservation. Nautical Star also provides entity-structure consulting for business owners, including succession and exit planning, alongside a dedicated faith-based planning track for Christian clients who want their portfolios aligned with personal values. The practice extends to legacy and estate planning, incorporating life insurance, long-term care analysis, and charitable giving strategies. Nautical Star fields a five-person team including founder Lance Peters and financial advisors Ralph Smith, Susan D. Marshall, and Robert J. McKay, supported by Director of Client Services Tim Simunds. Marshall, a published author and speaker, oversees a specialized practice for recently single women navigating financial independence. The firm operates without additional physical offices. Nautical Star Financial Group and Lance Peters were recognized on ETF.com's Leaders: Top Advisors & Firms list, an acknowledgement of the firm's early visibility in the RIA channel. Peters built the firm as a lifestyle practice rather than a succession-driven enterprise, installing no junior partners or equity-sharing structure visible in public disclosures. That architecture means the firm's institutional memory, client relationships, and investment philosophy remain concentrated in a single principal, making continuity of service the central governance question for families considering multi-decade engagements.
General information
Firm type
Bank / Wealth / Trust
Year founded
2021
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Las Colinas
Corporate office
Las Colinas, TX, United States
Principals
Lance Peters
Founder, CEO
Ralph Smith
Financial Advisor
Susan D. Marshall
Financial Advisor
Tim Simunds
Director of Client Services
Robert J. McKay
Financial Advisor
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Nautical Star Financial Group?
Founder and CEO Lance Peters serves as the firm's principal. He holds the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF), Professional Plan Consultant (PPC), Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor (CPFA), and Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP) designations. Peters personally oversees client relationships and portfolio strategy for the firm, drawing on over 30 years of advisory experience.
Is Nautical Star Financial Group structured as a family office or an investment adviser?
Nautical Star is a registered investment adviser (RIA) operating as a fee-only wealth management practice — not a single-family office. It serves multiple unrelated high-net-worth clients, business owners, trusts, and retirement plans. The firm's fiduciary, fee-only structure is a different regulatory and economic model from a single-family office.
Does Nautical Star participate in direct investing alongside external managers?
The firm's service model focuses on personalized financial planning, tax strategy, and investment management for individual clients rather than institutional direct investing or co-investment club participation. There is no disclosed activity in GP-level commitments, direct venture capital, or private equity co-investment programs.
How does the firm source investment products or managers for clients?
The firm uses tactical management strategies for fixed income and a tax-centric approach across asset classes. Advisor Ralph Smith has extensive background in fixed income investing and capital preservation. Nautical Star's fee-only, fiduciary model means it selects investments based on client suitability rather than commission-based product incentives.
What sectors or asset classes does Nautical Star Financial Group explicitly avoid?
The firm does not publicly disclose explicit exclusion lists, but its marketing emphasizes tax-advantaged structures, retirement income planning, and faith-based portfolio alignment for Christian clients — indirectly suggesting a conservative, planning-led posture rather than aggressive or speculative strategies.
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