Catherine R.. Smith, Financial Planner, LLC

The firm provides investment advisory and financial planning services to individuals, high‑net‑worth clients, trusts and estates, delivering both discretionary and non‑discretionary portfolio management as well as standalone financial planning and non‑investment consulting. Services commonly include goal setting, retirement and tax planning, asset allocation and implementation recommendations, and the firm may refer clients to outside professionals for specialized implementation work.

The firm’s investment process centers on developing client‑specific objectives and implementing primarily long‑term, fundamental strategies, with ongoing monitoring and the option to engage sub‑advisers for portions of client portfolios. It uses third‑party tools and platforms — including a client planning portal and an allocation platform offered through an unaffiliated adviser — and has access to mutual fund lineups that include fund families generally available only through approved advisers; the firm also treats cash as an asset class and may hold defensive cash positions when deemed appropriate.

The firm is notable among peers for its affiliation with a separate accounting practice: the principal is a licensed CPA and accounting/tax services are available through that affiliated firm on a separate basis, with no obligation for advisory clients to use them. It also departs from the common percentage‑of‑assets billing model used by most comparable firms by relying primarily on fixed fee arrangements, and it participates in third‑party allocation programs and sub‑advisory relationships that provide access to investment strategies not universally available to other small advisory firms.