Overview: BSW Wealth Partners, Inc. a Public Benefit Corporation, founded
in 1992, stands as a pioneering, woman-founded wealth advisory firm.
Specializing in financial planning and customized portfolio management,
we serve a national clientele from our Boulder and Denver offices. Our
clients range from successful individuals and couples to multi-generational
families and business owners, including those navigating life transitions
and pursuing dreams. United by the desire to enhance their lives, they
seek a trusted partner to help safeguard and grow their wealth over the
long-term. Beyond individual advisory, BSW extends its expertise to
companies corporate executives, and 401(k) plan sponsors, offering
comprehensive consulting services..
Beginning March 14, 2019, advisory services are provided by BSW Wealth
Partners, Inc., a Public Benefit Corporation as the successor to BSW Wealth
Partners, LLC. In 2019, BSW elected to change its corporate and legal
structure from a limited liability company to a Colorado Public Benefit
Corporation (“PBC”). PBCs are for-profit enterprises that also vow to do
good in the world and by their stakeholders. BSW’s statement of public
purpose is:
To 'Make Life Better' for BSW clients, staff and our broader
community by building a long-term sustainable and
environmentally considerate business that helps our clients and
stakeholders achieve both financial security and lives of meaning,
abundance, and fulfillment.
Ownership: BSW is currently owned by ten individuals. David Wolf is the
only individual owning more than 25% of BSW.
Services: BSW provides investment management and other financial
advisory services. Services are based on a client’s individual needs and may
include:
Investment Supervisory Services:
• Analyzing client’s investments coming under BSW’s supervision;
• Determining client’s short-term and long-term investment
objectives, time horizon, concerns, experience, and risk profile;
• Developing an investment plan and related financial strategies
designed to achieve client’s objectives, including investment policy
guidelines;
• Implementing investment strategies as appropriate, including
portfolio monitoring, periodic rebalancing, and specific portfolio
changes, as appropriate;
• Monitoring client’s portfolio on a regular basis and recommending
specific changes as necessary;
• Maintaining regular communication with the client; and
• Preparing periodic investment reports for client.
Planning Services:
• Preparing periodic financial security analyses;
• Reviewing annual contribution and withdrawal summary; and
• Managing required minimum distributions.
Other Financial Advisory Services:
• Wealth Planning: Helping clients understand the level of assets,
allocation, savings, and long-term investment returns needed to
achieve their financial goals.
• Tax & Estate Planning / Coordination: Discussing general tax, wealth
transfer and estate planning concepts with clients and qualified
attorneys, CPA’s and other professionals to fully develop suitable
strategies. BSW does not provide legal advice and its Tax & Estate
Planning advice should not be considered legal or tax advice. BSW
will coordinate the resulting strategies with the client’s investment
and financial planning, as appropriate.
• Diversification Planning: Designing and implementing strategies to
manage risk and handle concentrated positions of various assets
such as real estate, business assets, inherited stock, founder’s stock,
optioned stock, and highly appreciated (low basis) stock.
• Charitable Gifting Strategies: Discussing and evaluating strategies to
meet client’s charitable objectives, including the potential economic
and tax implications of such strategies. This may include assisting
with establishing, funding and managing charitable trusts,
foundations, and not-for-profit entities.
• Employee Stock Options: Designing and implementing strategies
for the funding, exercise, and sale of employee stock options,
including analysis of the economic and income tax implications of
such strategies.
• Business/Exit/Pre-Liquidity Planning: Assisting clients who expect to
have a “liquidity event” (such as their company plans to go public or
will be acquired by another company) within the next 12 months.
• Specialized Planning: Assisting with cash flow planning; college
planning; retirement planning; debt planning; and philanthropic
planning.
Visionary Impact Investing/Custom Impact Mandates:
Curating bespoke investment opportunities to address a broad range of
impact themes spanning the investable universe. Visionary impact
investing allows clients to align and direct their investments to the issues
they care most about supporting.
Executive
Financial Advising:
Financial planning is also offered as “packaged” consulting services for
corporate executives. Under this arrangement, companies engage BSW to
provide a suite of financial planning and consulting services to their
corporate executives. The corporate executives receive strategic financial
planning guidance which generally includes confirmation of the
executive’s investment goals, objectives, risk profile, time horizon
considerations, savings and spending targets, values and impact
alignment, and goal setting. Additional planning services may include
investment and retirement planning, education/college planning, debt
planning, insurance review, estate planning, and tax and charitable
planning. Executive Financial Advising is offered as a fixed fee service for
specific consulting projections within specific time parameters. BSW’s
financial planning and consulting fees are negotiable.
Non-Fiduciary 401(k) Services:
BSW provides non-fiduciary consulting services to 401(k) plan sponsors
and participants including:
• Strategic guidance, planning and education in the form of assisting
in group enrollment meetings designed to increase plan
participation among employees and investment and financial
understanding by employees. Also, assisting with annual education
of participants regarding general investment principles and the
investment alternatives under the plan.
• Coordinating annual benefits committee discussions including
participating in annual plan oversight committee meetings and
providing input and direction relating to the plan operation.
Attending annual meeting with benefits director to answer
questions.
• Values alignment to support participants, benefits director and
benefit committee with the alignment of 401(k) plan with participant
and organizational values.
• Providing an annual impact investment report.
• Assisting with financial education seminars on-site and/or virtual.
• Facilitating one-on-one participant meetings on-site and/or virtual.
Account Restrictions: Clients may impose reasonable restrictions on investing
in certain securities, types of securities or industry sectors by including
such restrictions in BSW’s written investment policy guidelines.
Because some types of investments involve certain additional degrees of
risk, they will only be implemented or recommended when consistent
with the client's stated investment objectives, tolerance for risk, liquidity,
and suitability.
Wrap Fee Programs: BSW does not participate in, nor is it a sponsor of, any
wrap fee programs.
Assets Under Management: As of December 31, 2023, BSW’s total assets under
management were approximately $1,837,419,076.
• Assets managed on a discretionary basis were approximately
$1,770,243,811.
• Assets managed on a non-discretionary basis were approximately
$67,175,265.
General Statement of Ethical Principles
• BSW will, at all times, place the interests of its clients first;
• All personal securities transactions will be conducted in such a
manner as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest
or any abuse of BSW’s position of trust and responsibility;
• BSW will not take inappropriate advantage of its position;
• BSW will uphold the fiduciary principle that information
concerning the identity of security holdings and financial
circumstances of clients is confidential;
• BSW will uphold the principle that independence in the
investment decision-making process is paramount; and
• BSW will always act with honesty, integrity, and
professionalism.
ERISA/IRC Fiduciary Acknowledgment: When BSW provides investment
advice to a client regarding the client’s retirement plan account or
individual retirement account, it does so as a fiduciary within the
meaning of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act
(“ERISA”) and/or the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”), as applicable,
which are laws governing retirement accounts. The way BSW makes
money creates some conflicts with client interests, so BSW operates
under a special rule that requires it to act in the client’s best interest
and not put its interests ahead of the client’s.
Under this special rule's provisions, BSW must:
• Meet a professional standard of care when making investment
recommendations (give prudent advice);
• Never put its financial interests ahead of the client’s when
making recommendations (give loyal advice);
• Avoid misleading statements about conflicts of interest, fees,
and investments;
• Follow policies and procedures designed to ensure that BSW
gives advice that is in the client’s best interest;
• Charge no more than is reasonable for BSW’s services; and
• Give the client basic information about conflicts of interest.