Boltwood Capital Management was founded over 30 years ago with the belief that an independent advisory firm free from conflicts of interest would provide a superior experience for clients. At the time of our founding the focus of the advisory business was on selling products (proprietary and otherwise) that put firms’ best interest ahead of clients in order to generate fees and commissions.
After 20 years as the Trust department manager at Wells Fargo Investment Advisors, Chet Boltwood left Wells to establish a firm that put clients’ interests first. He believed that a firm wholly owned by employees and void of these selling pressures would be better equipped to provide the best service to its clients. He believed that non-fiduciary advisors were salespeople with little obligation to offer objective advice or act in the best interest of their clients.
He built Boltwood Capital to be a fidicuary investment manager where we are compensated to deliver objective advice. His initial goal (and our ongoing focus) was to emphasize the building of long-lasting relationships with clients built around BCM’s fiduciary duty, personal integrity and highly tailored service. As Chet built the firm he worked from three main principals that influence our approach today:
- NO BIAS OR CONFLICT OF INTEREST: He believed that aligning the success of the firm with the success of his clients was the most effective way of mitigating conflicts of interest. He accomplished this by charging clients a percent of the assets under management rather than generating revenue via commissions on recommended transactions. As it was then, today this fee revenue is our only source of compensation.
- AN INTEGRATED APPROACH: We believe that it is not possible to effectively manage a client’s assets without completely understanding their entire circumstances, goals and fears. Our approach centers on a comprehensive strategy that places equal emphasis on financial planning and investment management.
- FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS AND MARKET KNOWLEDGE: With experience comes knowledge. Our educational backgrounds and decades helping individuals and families manage their financial circumstances have helped establish our investment philosophy. We believe in constructing diversified portfolios with non-correlating assets in order to minimize permanent loss of capital while maximizing long-term performance. These beliefs help form the foundation of our investment philosophy today.