We have some good news to share about how we're running things at Forward Financial.
We recently hired Focus Partners Advisor Solutions as our back-office and investment support team. Focus Partners is a national firm with nearly 30 years of experience supporting independent advisors and approximately $52 billion in assets under their platform. We selected them because they offer the deepest and most capable support system available to independent firms without requiring us to give up our independence or any of our uniqueness.
To be clear on what this is and isn't: Forward Financial remains an independent firm. We have not joined or merged with anyone. Our team, our ownership, our custodian at Schwab, and the way we work remain unchanged. What changes is the bench behind us: deeper, more capable, and entirely by our choosing. In practice, bringing on Focus Partners gives us:
- A significantly expanded, tax-first wealth management framework that goes well beyond tax-aware investing in our portfolios
- Programs to reduce ordinary income taxes and offset large capital gains, including those from the sale of business or concentrated positions held outside a portfolio
- Research and investments typically reserved for the largest and most reputable firms in the country
- A deeper team of institutional investment professionals and expanded portfolio options
As an independent firm, we've always believed you shouldn't have to choose between personalized service and institutional-grade resources. This gets us there.