Stephen J. Garry & Associates

Stephen J. Garry & Associates

Stephen J. Garry & Associates launched in 2018 as an independent, fee-based Registered Investment Advisor in Garden City, New York. The firm was founded by Stephen J. Garry, who structured the practice to serve individuals, high-net-worth families, corporations, and business entities across the New York City metro area. The firm's mandate is broad wealth management driven by a planning-first philosophy. It addresses retirement planning, investment management, tax strategy, and estate considerations under a single advisory roof, employing risk-versus-reward analytics to build client portfolios. Rather than funneling assets into proprietary funds, the RIA constructs opportunity-driven models that adapt to a client's evolving risk tolerance and liquidity needs. The firm operates from its single Garden City headquarters and uses a planning-centric onboarding process that begins with a complimentary assessment to align advisory services with each household's goals. Stephen J. Garry & Associates positions its fee-based structure — where compensation is explicitly separated from transaction commissions — as the core mechanism for avoiding the conflict-of-interest model common in the broader wealth management industry. What distinguishes the firm structurally is its insistence on a fiduciary standard within a small, independent practice. By remaining a boutique RIA that avoids selling proprietary products, the firm's revenue model is tied directly to advisory fees, aligning its incentives with client outcomes rather than product distribution quotas. This architecture mirrors the planning-led approach now favored by a generation of breakaway advisors who leave wirehouses to build conflict-free practices.