Top 5 Financial Advisor Firms in Palm Desert, CA

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Cypress Wealth Services is at the top of our list of financial advisor firms in Palm Desert. The Cypress team includes three certified financial planners (CFPs) and one chartered retirement planning counselor (CRPC). Clients may also have access to a retirement income certified professional (RICP) and a chartered financial analyst (CFA). 

Advisors primarily work with individuals and charitable organizations, according to SEC records. Most of their client base is made up of individuals without high net worth. You don’t need a minimum investment to establish a relationship with Cypress. 

Cypress is a fee-based firm, meaning advisors who are also licensed insurance agents collect commissions from third parties in addition to fees from clients. That said, advisors have a fiduciary duty to work in the best interests of clients. Failure to do so could result in legal penalties and fines. 

Cypress Wealth Services Background 

Founded in 2017, Cypress is owned by Christian B. Risenmay, David R. Thatcher, Mark W. Thatcher, Stephen (Ross) Biesinger, Clark Penney and Shattuck (Shad) F. Lam. 

Cypress mainly provides portfolio management services, as well as financial planning, retirement planning and consulting services. It may also recommend unaffiliated third-party money managers. 

Cypress Wealth Services Investment Strategy

Cypress typically invests client assets across mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), individual stocks and fixed-income securities. In certain cases, the firm may consider alternative investments if it believes they may help the client meet investment goals. Cypress employs its internal due diligence process when evaluating the securities.

The firm generally relies on long-term investing, but it may sell positions held for less than a year in response to market conditions and to meet the client’s investment objectives.

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Also fee-based, FLC Capital Advisors provides financial consulting and investment advisory services to a wide array of clients including high-net-worth investors. Its team features three certified financial planners (CFPs) and one certified investment management analyst (CIMA). Some of these advisors earn commissions in addition to advising fees. This presents a potential conflict of interest, but advisors must act in the client's best interest as fiduciaries. 

Clients of the firm's wrap fee program - a suite of services provided for a bundled fee - must have $500,000 in investable assets. FLC's client base is composed mostly of high-net-worth individuals, but the advisory also provides services to non-high-net-worth investors, pensions, profit-sharing plans and business entities. 

FLC Capital Advisors Background 

FLC Capital Advisors formed in 1996 and is currently owned by CEO Max Briggs. He leads a team that collectively has more than half a century of experience in the financial services industry. These professionals can provide consulting services such as: 

• Investment planning
• Retirement savings
• Estate planning
• Charitable giving
• Education funding
• Corporate and personal tax planning
• Cost segregation study
• Corporate structure
• Real estate analysis
• Mortgage and other debt analysis
• Insurance coverage
• Lines of credit evaluation
• Business planning

FLC Capital Advisors Investment Strategy

FLC Capital Advisors provides investment management services through a wrap fee program, where management, brokerage and custodial fees are bundled into one. The firm may recommend investing in mutual funds, index funds, exchange-traded funds and other types of securities. It does not provide advice on warrants, options contracts on commodities, futures contracts on intangibles, interests in partnerships investing in oil and gas interests, or hedge funds and other types of private investments.

The firm relies on both strategic asset allocation and tactical asset allocation. While the former calls for setting target allocations within a portfolio and then periodically rebalancing, the latter strives to maintain a range of percentages in different asset classes.  

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Cypress Private Wealth ranks next on our list of top financial advisor firms in Palm Desert. The Cypress team includes four certified financial planners (CFPs) and two chartered retirement planning counselors (CRPCs). Advisors primarily work with non-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals, as well as some businesses. There is no set account minimum. 

Cypress Private Wealth is also a fee-based firm, meaning some of its advisors may be licensed insurance agents or investment representatives and collect commissions from third parties in addition to fees from clients. That said, advisors have a fiduciary duty to work in the best interests of clients. Failure to do so could result in legal penalties and fines. 

Cypress Private Wealth Background 

Cypress Private Wealth was founded in February 2019 and is owned by Mark W. Thatcher and Shattuck (Shad) F. Lamm. Both owners also own part of Cypress Wealth Services, the top ranking firm on this list. 

Cypress Private Wealth mainly provides portfolio management services, as well as financial and retirement planning. 

Cypress Private Wealth Investment Strategy

Cypress Private Wealth typically invests client assets across mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), individual stocks and fixed-income securities. The firm generally relies on long-term investing based on fundamentals analysis, but it may sell positions held less than a year in response to market conditions and to meet the client’s investment objectives.

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Fortem Financial Group, another fee-based firm based in Palm Desert, has a team that includes three advisors who are all accredited investment fiduciaries (AIFs) and chartered retirement planning counselors (CRPCs).

The fee-based firm manages a majority of client assets on a discretionary basis, meaning its advisors have autonomy when managing portfolios. The firm also offers a wrap fee program and provides financial planning and retirement plan consulting services. Fortem Financial Group does not impose an account minimum.

As a fee-based firm, some advisors may earn commissions when selling third-party financial products, which is a potential conflict of interest. That said, advisors must act in the best interest of the client.

Fortem Financial Group Background  

Fortem Financial is a member of the Focus Financial Partners Inc. network, a partnership of roughly 60 independently managed fiduciary wealth management firms. In turn, Focus Financial Partners, which owns approximately two-thirds of the economic interests in Focus LLC, is a public company traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. 

The Fortem team offers stand-alone or consulting services covering: 

• Business planning
• Education planning
• Liability and risk management
• Trust and estate planning
• Retirement planning
• Cash flow forecasting
• Investment consulting
• Insurance planning
• Charitable giving
• Distribution planning
• Tax planning
• Manager due diligence

As noted earlier, the firm offers portfolio management through a wrap fee program. This means clients pay one all-inclusive fee for advisory, brokerage and other costs associated with their accounts. Investment clients must open a brokerage account with Schwab Advisory Services to participate in this program. For financial planning or consulting services, the firm may charge an hourly or fixed fees, depending on the complexity of your needs. 

Fortem Financial Group Investing Strategy

Fortem Financial Group provides investment advice based on a client’s personal situation. Its advisors evaluate factors such as a client's risk tolerance, financial goals and time horizon. The firm may recommend various securities including individual securities like stocks and bonds, as well as pooled investments such as mutual funds.

When analyzing securities, the firm may engage in various evaluation strategies such as fundamental and technical analysis. The former involves determining the true value of a security based on such factors as the issuing company’s financial condition and the overall economic sector. Technical analysis entails predicting price movement by using historical information.

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Hardworking Capital Advisors, the fifth and final firm on our list, provides financial planning and investment advisory services to individuals, business entities, charities and more. Like all the other firms on this list, it’s fee-based, meaning advisors may earn commissions on certain transactions though they must act in the best interest of the client. The team features one certified financial planner (CFP) and a retirement income certified professional (RICP).

According to SEC records, HCA primarily works with individuals who do not have a high net worth. To establish an account with the firm, you typically need a minimum investment of $10,000 to $250,000, depending on the type of account you choose. 

Hardworking Capital Advisors Background 

Vance Boucher, who founded HCA in 2015, serves as president and co-owns the firm with Mathew Mellier. 

The HCA team provides discretionary portfolio management services and stand-alone financial planning that can cover a range of topics, including estate planning, trust management, retirement planning and more. The firm's different levels of service start with Portfolio Navigator Services, which is investment management.

Its Carefree Solutions Services include investment management, a comprehensive financial plan, financial concierge services and more. The firm also has what it calls Strategic Wealth Planner Services, which is a review of the client’s personal planning needs. Finally, you can get stand-alone financial planning from the firm, which is more in-depth and specific than what the other programs provide.

Hardworking Capital Advisors Investment Strategy

As part of the Portfolio Navigator program, advisors develop a profile of each client while taking into account factors like investment objectives, risk tolerance and liquidity needs. They then create a customized portfolio for the client and monitor it on an ongoing basis. In some cases, this portfolio may be managed in conjunction with a third-party investment manager. In evaluating securities, the firm may use charting, fundamental analysis, technical analysis and the use of cyclical analysis, as well as the monitoring of investment cycles and trends.