Investment Management

Independent investment management means something specific here: no proprietary fund shelf, no model portfolios handed down from a home office, and no third-party revenue influencing how your assets are positioned.

What the CIMA® Credential Actually Means for Your Portfolio

The Certified Investment Management Analyst designation is a practitioner-level credential covering portfolio construction, investment research, risk measurement, and performance evaluation at an institutional depth. It is not a sales license or a general financial planning certificate. It is earned through the Investment Management Consultants Association and maintained through ongoing professional education.


In an independent advisory setting, the CIMA® is uncommon. Most independent advisors hold general planning credentials. The CIMA® is different — it means your portfolio is not being assembled by someone who learned investment management on the job. The analytical framework behind your allocation is the same one applied in institutional settings, applied now without the institutional conflicts.

No Approved Product List. Just Your Portfolio.

 Portfolio construction at Verak Private Wealth starts with your complete financial picture — not a questionnaire that assigns you to a risk bucket. Every allocation is built from the following inputs:

 

  • Your tax situation, including marginal rates, capital gain exposure, and any deferred compensation
  • Your existing equity compensation holdings — RSUs, vested ESPP shares, and stock options — treated as part of your total portfolio, not managed separately from it
  • Your timeline, income needs, and the specific transition you are planning toward
  • Your concentration risk, including company stock positions that may already represent an outsized share of your net worth

 

Once the portfolio is built, I manage it on an ongoing basis. There is no handoff to a model portfolio manager. There is no junior advisor running your account. You work with me directly, and the portfolio evolves as your situation does.

Company Stock Is a Portfolio Risk Before It's an Equity Comp Question

For executives receiving RSUs, ESPPs, or vested options, the portfolio conversation and the equity compensation conversation are the same conversation. Concentration in a single employer's stock is one of the most common and underaddressed risks I see in the portfolios of senior professionals — often because the advisor managing the investment account and the advisor (if any) thinking about equity comp are not the same person, or not talking to each other.

 

I model your full exposure. That includes the shares you transferred, the grants that have vested, and the positions still on a vesting schedule. The Grant-to-Gain Method™ is how I approach equity compensation planning specifically, and it integrates directly with how I construct and manage your broader portfolio.

Transparent Fees, in Writing, Before You Sign Anything

Investment management at Verak Private Wealth is structured on an AUM-based or flat-fee basis — disclosed in writing, reviewed with you before any engagement begins. I earn no commissions. I receive no third-party revenue from fund companies, insurance carriers, or any other source.

 

The fee covers more than portfolio management. It covers the planning relationship that surrounds your portfolio: the tax-aware rebalancing decisions, the equity compensation integration, the retirement income modeling, and the ongoing conversations that keep your financial picture coherent as your life changes. You should know what you are paying and exactly what it includes. That is a fiduciary standard, not a marketing feature.

Common Questions About Independent Investment Management

  • How does independent investment management differ from working with a wirehouse advisor?

    A wirehouse advisor operates within a firm that maintains an approved product list, proprietary funds, and model portfolio guidelines set by a home office. An independent RIA like Verak Private Wealth operates without those constraints. Every investment decision is made based on what is appropriate for your specific situation — not what the firm has approved or what generates revenue for the platform.

  • What does fiduciary mean in practice for investment management?

    As a fiduciary, I am legally required to act in your interest — not in the interest of my firm, a fund company, or any product manufacturer. In investment management, this means I have no financial incentive to recommend one fund over another, to trade more than your situation warrants, or to keep you in positions that benefit anyone other than you.

  • Do you manage portfolios for clients with significant company stock positions?

    Yes, and it is one of the most important things I do for executive clients. Concentrated company stock from RSUs, ESPPs, or vested options represents real portfolio risk that needs to be addressed as part of the total allocation — not treated as a separate category. I account for your full equity exposure when building and managing your portfolio.

  • Is investment management offered as a standalone service?

    Portfolio management at Verak Private Wealth is one component of a holistic planning relationship. I do not manage investment accounts in isolation from the planning work that informs them. If you are looking for a purely transactional portfolio management arrangement, I am likely not the right fit — and I will tell you that directly.