Respire Wealth Management was started in 2017 by me, Erika Jensen. I started my financial advisor career working for Merrill Lynch in 2010. After years of working as a broker for the major wire house, I decided I wanted to provide a better service model for clients.
Brokers are paid by investment management companies. The broker dealers (that employ broker financial advisors) control and change compensation structures to drive specific types of sales to clients. That is, they act in the best interest of the firm and the brokers and sell investment and insurance products to clients.
I chose the “fee-only fiduciary” Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) model for my new firm. This model is one under which the advisor works only for the client, is paid directly by the client (not indirectly), and everything the advisor does must be in the clients’ best interests. Instead of looking at the advisor-client relationship as an offer of a product for sale, the RIA structure provides a transparent client-centric service relationship with an easily understood, and visible (not hidden) fee structure.
I also wanted to be able to provide non-investment services such as financial planning and financial wellness education for an hourly fee. Many broker dealers donít permit their advisors to provide services to non-investment clients. I recognized that many of the people who needed financial advice and planning the most werenít ready to invest. So, offering planning to non-investment clients was important to me. Why should goals-based planning only be available to clients with significant wealth?
Investments and personal finances are complex, and the services financial advisors provide shouldnít be sold. Our services should be provided with the same level of professionalism, respect for the client, and sincerity as any other professional service such as law, accounting, or medicine. We are, after all, handling the entirety of our clients’ wealth.
In 2018, Lisa “Cookie” Johnson left her broker dealer and joined Respire Wealth Management. Cookie also owns a tax and business services practice called On the Mark Financial. She is a detail-oriented and empathetic financial advisor and tax practitioner.
In 2019, Respire Wealth Management and On the Mark Financial moved into a shared suite at Watergate Marina in Kemah, TX. Many of our clients choose to use the services of both companies and appreciate that they have a team truly looking at their entire financial picture. However, clients are free to use the services of only one company if they choose.
Schedule an appointment and visit us at our office in the marina!