Granite Bay Wealth Management, LLC
With its only office located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Granite Bay Wealth Management, LLC (GBWM) oversees more than $200 million in assets. The fee-only financial advisor firm provides financial planning as part of its asset management services to clients with more than $250,000 in their accounts. The three advisors here can also offer stand-alone financial planning, retirement planning and consulting services for retirement plans.
The firm is on our list for top advisors in Portsmouth.
Granite Bay Wealth Management Background
Principal owners Joseph Skees and Paul Stanley founded Granite Bay Wealth Management in 2015. The duo has spent a combined 40 years working in the financial services industry, including at Fortune 500 companies and on Wall Street.
GBWM’s three advisors include two certified financial planners (CFPs), one chartered life underwriter (CLU), one chartered financial consultant (ChFC) and one certified employee benefit specialist (CEBS). (Advisors may have more than one certification.)
Granite Bay Wealth Management Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
GBWM works with individuals, high-net-worth individuals, trusts, ERISA plans and ERISA plan sponsors. It may waive its minimum account size requirements, but generally requires new clients to have at least $250,000 in investable assets.
Services Offered by Granite Bay Wealth Management
Granite Bay Wealth Management’s services are centered around asset management and financial planning, as well as retirement plan consulting to qualified plans. Take a look through this breakdown of Granite Bay’s available offerings:
- Asset and wealth management
- Current investment evaluation
- Asset allocation planning
- Financial goal- and risk-adjusted investment planning
- Ongoing investment management
- Financial planning
- Financial statement preparation and analysis
- Family wealth planning
- Estate planning
- Estate tax and probate cost planning
- Tax and legal advisor coordination
- Beneficiary designations
- Will planning and review
- Estate preservation
- Retirement planning
- IRA planning and management
- Retirement income analysis
- Education funding planning
- Income tax planning
- Risk management
- Employee benefit analysis
- Asset management and financial planning integration
- Retirement plan consulting services
- Investment planning
- Investing advice
- Full pension consulting
Granite Bay Wealth Management Investing Philosophy
In order to construct a portfolio according to your financial situation, Granite Bay Wealth Management will look to identify key points in your investor profile. This principally involves your personal risk tolerance, time horizon and any distinct long- or short-term goals you may have. These factors then come together to help the firm create your portfolio’s asset allocation. GBWM places clients on an asset allocation scale that ranges from aggressive, to moderately aggressive, to moderate, to moderately conservative, to conservative.
Although exchange-traded funds and mutual funds remain Granite Bay’s top investment recommendations, the firm has a plethora of stock and bond types that it may include in clients’ portfolios, such as:
- Stocks
- U.S. small-cap growth
- U.S. large-cap growth
- U.S. small-cap value
- U.S. large-cap value
- International developed market
- International emerging market
- Bonds
- U.S. government agencies
- U.S. government treasuries
- U.S. high-rated corporate
- U.S. low-rated corporate
- Inflation-adjusted
- International developed market
- International emerging market
Fees Under Granite Bay Wealth Management
Fees for stand-alone financial planning services are charged an hourly rate, which ranges from $200 to $300, depending on the complexity of the services. Before any are rendered, you will need to pay half of the estimated fee, with the rest due upon the completion of your plan.
Fees for portfolio management are asset-based and range from from 0.50% to 1.50%. GBWM lists these fees as annual percentages, but they are technically split into four equal, quarterly charges. All fees are founded on the gross asset value of your account on the last market day of the previous quarter. Clients can choose to pay either via a direct invoice or through an automatic debit from their account’s balance.
Since the firm provides only a range of its investment management fees, it's hard to say how exactly its rate compares to other firms' rates. Generally, the average investment advisory fee is 0.95%, according to a 2018 study of 1,500 firms by RIA in a Box. Learn more about advisors' typical costs here.
| Granite Bay Wealth Management Fees | |
| Program/Service | Fees |
| Standalone financial planning | $200 - $300/hour |
| Asset management | 0.50% - 1.50% annual fee |
| Retirement plan consulting services | negotiable |
GBWM’s retirement plan consulting services operate on a fully negotiable, percentage-based fee structure. Like the rest of the firm’s offerings, the nature of these services ultimately decides what rates plan sponsors will receive. In certain situations, GBWM may include hourly fees as well.
What to Watch Out For
Granite Bay Wealth Management shows a clean legal and regulatory record with the SEC on its Form ADV.
That said, some advisors at Granite Bay Wealth Management are separately licensed to sell insurance policies and securities for which they collect transaction-based fees. This creates a potential conflict of interest, but as registered fiduciaries, GBWM and its advisors are legally required to act in clients' best interests under all circumstances.
Opening an Account With Granite Bay Wealth Management
Prospective clients of Granite Bay Wealth Management can either call (603) 610-8881 to set up a consultation or submit contact information on the firm's website for someone to get back to you to set up a consultation.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
Tips for a Better Asset Allocation
- Don't go it alone. A financial advisor can help you align your asset allocation to your goals, time horizon and risk tolerance. To finding the right financial advisor for you, use SmartAsset’s free tool. It matches you with financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that will help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
- Asset allocation is an all-important investment principle that seeks to protect against unnecessary risk. Many Americans invest their savings for retirement, and should change their asset allocations as they approach retirement. To see if your asset allocation needs adjusting, use SmartAsset’s asset allocation calculator.
