Positioning Investors for Long-Term Gains with Financial Planning, Expertise, and Investment Oversight

In a Nutshell: If you’re among the retirees who’ve amassed wealth, you’re not alone if you feel you don’t know how to manage your money effectively. Yardley Wealth Management works directly with its clients to prepare financial plans that support their long-term goals. The firm also helps investors shield their portfolios from risk. Located in Pennsylvania, Yardley Wealth Management serves clientele in the U.S. and abroad.

Most of us think that if we just had more money, we could overcome any problem. But money can’t smooth over every rough surface. Sometimes, having access to increasing amounts of money can present problems of its own.

New jobs, inheritances, and cash prizes can give us access to considerable sums of money. The recently wealthy may be surprised to learn how time-consuming managing their money can be. Wealth management firms can help individuals manage their money and maximize its value.

Some people may not trust wealth management firms because they believe financial advisors will recommend products and actions that line the firm’s pockets first and foremost. But fiduciary financial advisors are legally obligated to act in their clients’ best interests. Non-fiduciary advisors may provide you with helpful information and financial advice, but they are under no legal obligation to put the interests of their clients ahead of their own.

Yardley Wealth Management is a wealth management firm of fiduciaries located in Yardley, Pennsylvania, a small town approximately 30 miles north of Philadelphia. We spoke with Mike Garry, a Certified Financial Planner® Professional and Yardley Wealth Management’s Founder and CEO, to learn more about the firm’s services and approach to wealth management.

Garry studied law after graduating from business school with an MBA. He secured a job as a lawyer after completing law school, but Garry told us he soon discovered that he wanted to pursue a profession other than practicing law. He met a recruiter from Merrill Lynch at a networking event, and she informed him that his MBA and law degree made him a marketable financial advisor.

Switching careers isn’t a decision people take lightly, so Garry consulted with his wife. The two reasoned that it made sense for Garry to shift from practicing law to working as a financial advisor. He joined Merrill Lynch in September of 1998.

Garry stayed with the firm for three years before joining an investment group in Princeton, New Jersey, where he worked for more than four years. He said he enjoyed his roles with the firms, but he desired to open and manage a firm of his own.

“I wanted the freedom to decide what vendors we would use, what investments we would pursue, and what tools we would need to get where we needed to be,” Garry told us. “I also really wanted to be my own boss, and I feel very fortunate to be able to do what I love to do every day.”

Garry was Yardley Wealth Management’s sole financial advisor for most of the firm’s existence. In 2023, the organization added a second advisor to shoulder some of the company’s workload and enable it to assist more clients. 

Yardley Wealth Management serves approximately 190 households and manages around $190 million in client investments. The company buys exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which are investment vehicles that allow traders to invest in a basket of securities through one fund. 

Diversification is an investment strategy that broadens the range of assets a client holds to help reduce their exposure to risk. Garry told us Yardley Wealth Management buys globally diversified portfolios for its clients. The firm looks for investments with low fees and minimal tax implications for investors.

“We steer clear from the more complicated and expensive products that a lot of advisors in our industry sell a lot of, like non-traded real estate investment trusts and alternatives,” Garry said. “Years ago, I read an article by an editor at Forbes who said that an investing approach that was more complicated than buying stocks, bonds, or funds was probably being done to enrich the intermediary. And I thought there was a lot of wisdom in that.”

Yardley Wealth Management serves a range of clients, including pharmacists, salespeople, and scientists. Garry told us most of the firm’s clients aren’t millionaires — they’re people who’ve saved money over their lifetimes and made prudent financial decisions.

The firm serves investors of all ages, though most of its clients are in their 60s. Garry said individuals in their 50s and 70s also frequently request Yardley Wealth Management’s assistance with investments and money management. 

The internet enables people to buy investment assets without third-party assistance. Garry told us working with an advisor provides investors more benefits than managing a self-directed portfolio.

“We have a much broader scope than a client would typically have on their own because we look at the whole situation someone is facing rather than just one piece of it,” Garry said. “Some people can handle financial planning on their own, but there are many more who would benefit greatly by having an advisor and paying for it. And our fees are a bargain considering everything a client gets with our work.”

Commissions or an undisclosed maintenance fee can impede your investment portfolio’s growth. Yardley Wealth Management is a fee-only, fiduciary firm. That means clients can rest assured that the firm directs more of their money toward investable assets than its coffers.

Garry said Yardley Wealth Management’s only revenues are from fees paid by clients. Though the company builds portfolios for its clients that contain assets from around the world, it isn’t financially motivated to direct clients toward certain products like other advisors may be.

“It’s hard to believe such a small percentage of the advisor population are truly fiduciaries because, as a fiduciary, you’re basically telling people that you’re going to act in their best interest with good faith and loyalty,” Garry told us. “We don’t have that conflict of interest of getting different payouts from different providers. We charge what we charge, and clients pay for it.”

You’re not alone if you feel uncomfortable discussing personal financial matters with someone you’ve just met. Yardley Wealth Management puts new clients at ease by asking key questions to better understand their financial backgrounds. Garry told us new clients don’t need to bring any documents to their initial meeting with Yardley Wealth Management unless they have a time-sensitive issue they need assistance with.

The firm doesn’t guide clients toward get-rich schemes or promise that its advice will outperform the overall market. Yardley Wealth Management offers holistic financial planning to position its clients to meet their long-term financial goals.

After a series of initial meetings, Yardley Wealth Management meets with its clients annually to learn about changes in their lives that may impact their financial plans.

“We’ll meet with people more often at the beginning of our relationship with them to get to know them better and explain the different ways we may be able to help them,” Garry told us. “If someone’s a year away from retiring, then we might meet with them more often than someone who’s been comfortably retired for five years. And we’ll check in with clients to discuss important things like insurance coverages in retirement or Social Security.”

Investment firms can turn to portfolio returns to measure their performance each year, but Yardley Wealth Management uses a different approach to assess its effectiveness. Garry told us the firm wants its stakeholders, including clients, employees, and vendors, to have good experiences with the company.

Even the most seasoned financial experts can’t accurately predict how much a stock’s value will increase or decrease in a given year. Yardley Wealth Management uses tools to help it prepare financial planning and tax solutions for clients.

Nearly two-thirds of the firm’s clients live in Pennsylvania or New Jersey. Garry told us many of the rest of its clients reside along the East Coast. Yardley Wealth Management also serves clients living in Western Europe, including Ireland and the United Kingdom.

“I really encourage people to come in when they can to meet with us, but the tools we have help us when that’s not a possibility,” Garry said. “If a client lives too far away, or if snow or other weather is preventing them from meeting with us in person, then we’ll use online platforms to connect. Technology helps us bridge the gap until the next time a client can come meet with us in person.”

Garry has authored multiple books in the past 10 years. In “Independent Financial Planning,” he’ll show you the importance of taking control of your finances and working with a financial planner who understands your goals.

Garry also co-hosts a podcast that includes honest conversations about money and features guests from Yardley Wealth Management’s community, including local business owners. 

“I feel very fortunate that we have such a good team,” Garry told us. “We’re in a good spot because our non-advisory team is really good as well. We’re in this to really help you and guide you in all things financial.”