Ward & Associates

Ward & Associates provides wealth management and investment advisory services to individuals and families and their related entities, including trusts, estates, charitable foundations, and pension and profit-sharing plans. Services include ongoing portfolio management, financial planning (retirement, estate, real estate and insurance advice), selection and monitoring of private money managers, and, in some cases, acting as trustee for client accounts.

The firm implements customized portfolios primarily through a long-term strategic asset-allocation framework that combines Modern Portfolio Theory with professional judgment, periodic rebalancing, and occasional tactical shifts when valuation opportunities arise. Investment implementation is typically via mutual funds and third‑party managers, supported by fundamental security analysis and a proprietary quantitative and qualitative manager-evaluation process; services are offered on both a discretionary and non-discretionary basis.

Noteworthy aspects include a willingness to include non-traditional and alternative investments — such as venture capital, hedge funds, private equity, real assets and commodities — and an emphasis on selecting and monitoring private managers, which is less common among similar firms. The firm also absorbs the initial financial planning cost for new clients, serves as trustee for certain accounts (resulting in an annual surprise custody examination), and manages a relatively small client base while overseeing substantial assets under management.