Putney Financial Group

Putney Financial Group

Ray Lent launched The Putney Financial Group LLC in 1997 as a Registered Investment Advisor, building the practice around a process that merges capital development with family-specific goals. The firm serves individuals, high-net-worth families, and charitable trusts from its headquarters in San Rafael, California, and has operated across multiple generations of the same families over its history. Putney constructs separate customized portfolios for each client, drawing on stocks, bonds, mutual funds, traditional insurance, and alternatives including gold and hard assets. The firm also incorporates externally held 401(k) accounts into its planning. Its investment philosophy is rooted in academic research, emphasizing globally diversified portfolios, long-term positioning, and explicit cost and tax minimization. Client accounts are custodied through Pershing LLC, a subsidiary of Bank of New York, with securities offered via Arete Wealth Management, the firm's broker-dealer. The advisory team includes Ray Lent alongside Nancy Schrock, Kelly Lawson, A.J. Taylor, Jill Baradat, Terry L. Allen, Rebecca McCready, Greg Gener, and Stephen R. Stanford. Putney aligns its fees with assets under management, charging an annual AUM-based fee, though it may receive commissions in place of management fees during the first twelve months on certain investments. No additional office locations are publicly disclosed. Putney distinguishes its model through independence: as an RIA it can place client business without pressure to distribute proprietary products. The firm applies a social-consciousness filter to investment selection, explicitly avoiding companies it judges as not improving the broader world. This dual emphasis on unconstrained advice and values-aligned portfolios gives it a structural posture uncommon among commissioned broker-linked advisors.