Investment Management
Portfolios built and managed by our own investment committee, including CFA® charterholders, sized to your risk tolerance. Make decisions with purpose, not in a panic.
How We Manage Investments
A solid investment strategy is not about chasing returns or timing the market. It is about time in the market, with a sound strategy behind it.
At Gatewood, we are supported by an in-house investment committee, led by CFA® charterholders, who designs and manages every strategy we employ. We blend active and passive management, set your allocation from your risk tolerance and the time horizon in your plan, and adapt as market conditions change rather than as headlines do.
Watch our Chief Investment Officer, Chris Arends, explain how it all works.
What Our Service Includes
Portfolio Analysis
Tax Loss Harvesting
Performance Review
Asset Allocation
Risk Management & Monitoring
Trading and Rebalancing
Fortress Gatewood
When markets drop, emotions run high and the urge to react can be overwhelming. But successful investors know: it's not about timing the market, but focusing on the long term. Fortress Gatewood is our proprietary design for managing your portfolio in three layers, or moats, each holding a different kind of asset over a different length of time:
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Moat 1 — Cash and cash alternatives. About two years of expected spending, held in liquid reserves, so a downturn does not force a sale.
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Moat 2 — Fixed income. Five to eight years of planned spending in high-quality bonds, for income and stability while equities recover.
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Moat 3 — Equities. A seven-to-ten year time horizon, invested in globally diversified holdings.
Near-term spending is never funded from the part of the portfolio carrying market exposure. The point of the structure is behavioral as much as financial. We believe emotional decisions cost investors more than markets do, and a portfolio arranged this way is designed to reduce the number of decisions a bad year asks you to make.
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Select a ring
to see what it holds
Moat Ring 1:
(Immediate Preservation)
2 years of expected spending needs
Moat Ring 2:
(Mid-Term Stability)
5-8 years of planned spending
Moat Ring 3:
(Long-Term Growth)
7-10 years of diversified equities
What Your Fee Covers
We charge one advisory fee for household wealth management, calculated on the assets under our management. The fee schedule works like tax brackets, so the blended fee percentage declines as the portfolio grows. Trading and rebalancing sit inside that fee rather than being charged separately.
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Personal Tax Preparation is billed as a separate engagement through Gatewood Tax and Accounting.
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Any insurance products sold are subject to commissions, per industry standards.
You can read more in-depth about what we charge, how you're billed, and what your fees might be at the link below.
An Integrated Family Plan
A truly comprehensive financial plan involves tax, investments, cash, insurance and your estate — but no one advisor can be an expert on all things.
Your portfolio is managed by our in-house investment committee who works directly with your Client Care Team and the person filing your taxes. Your plan gets advice guided by experience and all aspects of your plan fit together to support your goals.
That is what we call Firm-to-Family®, and it is how we create plans that endure for generations. Your advisor will one day retire, but your plan will outlast any one relationship.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our own investment committee, led by CFA® charterholders. Every strategy in your account is designed, traded and monitored here rather than bought from an outside model provider.
The committee works to three stated objectives:
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To pursue long-term returns that help you work toward every goal in your financial plan.
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To seek excess return above each portfolio's benchmark over a three-year trailing period and full market cycle.
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To implement strategies that align with your personal volatility so you can remain confidently invested and long-term focused.
- Signal is our proprietary rules-based momentum strategy, well suited to retirement accounts, which screens a global universe of around three thousand ETFs and mutual funds down to a focused set of security baskets.
- Strategic ETF allocates dynamically across ETFs, targeting factor exposure and diversification to balance risk and performance.
- Moat invests in individual large-cap companies with sustainable competitive advantages — durable brands, high switching costs, network effects, cost advantages or efficient scale.
- Fixed Income balances interest rate risk and credit exposure across corporate and municipal bonds.
- The Gatewood Hub Account holds your cash reserves for liquidity during bear markets.
Most people describe their tolerance for risk accurately in a calm year and discover something different in a bad one. That is why we ask about a forty percent decline directly, in plain terms, before anything is invested.
Our Investor Profile Questionnaire is ten questions long and produces a score, a named risk band, and a recommended equity allocation, with separate strategy recommendations for your qualified and taxable accounts. You will see the number and the reasoning behind it.
Your Wealth Planner then confirms it against your plan. The questionnaire is where the conversation starts, not where it ends.
The structure is designed so that a decline in equities does not have to be funded by selling equities.
Your Gatewood Hub Account holds roughly two years of expected spending in cash and cash alternatives, and five to eight years of planned spending sits in fixed income behind it. That is the Fortress Gatewood approach described above.
Investing involves risk including loss of principal, and no strategy ensures success or protects against loss — what the structure is intended to do is reduce the number of decisions a bad year asks you to make.
On some products, yes. The advisory fee is what pays for managing your portfolio — it's charged on assets and it doesn't change with what we buy or how often.
Separately, certain products including annuities pay us a commission from the carrier. We disclose that to you in writing before anything is placed, and in our ADV.
Even so, what we may earn doesn't play into our decisions about your portfolio. We are true fiduciary advisors, meaning we are legally bound to act in your best interest, regardless of how it may or may not benefit us. We take this obligation seriously and it is ingrained in our culture and our process.
No. We are privately owned. A significant share of the advisory industry has been acquired by outside investors in recent years, and that ownership eventually shows up in pricing, in which products get promoted, and in how long people stay and our goal is to remain independently owned.
An employer plan you are still contributing to may be able to be transferred and managed by us without your departure from your current employer.
If it cannot be, it can still be accounted for in your household allocation and can be reviewed by our Investment Committee as requested.
Hear What Our Clients Say
“My wife and I moved to St. Louis four years ago and became Gatewood clients in 2024, on a referral from our daughter-in-law. Her father was an established attorney who had said good things about the team, and that recommendation was passed down to us. That introduction set an expectation, and the people there have matched it. We've met a lot of the team by now, and the impression has been consistent with every one of them. Each person we're introduced to is professional, smart, and they work together well as a group — which says something about the people Gatewood hires…” Read more.
“A friend of a friend referred us to the team over 20 years ago, and we've been together ever since. My wife and I have changed jobs and time zones more than once, but they've been a constant through it all. Even when moving to different parts of the country, we always keep our ties to St. Louis wherever possible, and we appreciate the Midwestern values of Gatewood. The relationship we’ve developed over the years has built trust in the team that they are honest and always have our best interests in mind. They’ve helped us with everything from moving our 401(k)s to managing our investments day-to-day…” Read more.
“My husband and I began working with Brian in 2019 and have been very pleased with the level of service we’ve received ever since. Our client care team, Nina and Jake, have taken the time to truly listen to our goals and actively make adjustments to reflect our evolving needs over time. What I appreciate most is the combination of knowledgeable, focused guidance always delivered with genuine care and humility. We've been so impressed with their timeliness and attention that we've introduced them to our parents, siblings and adult children and now they are advising three generations of our family. Their support with tax planning, administrative tasks, and retirement income planning has become even more comprehensive over time, and I always feel that our questions are fully addressed promptly and thoughtfully…” Read more.
“As a client of Gatewood for over 10 years now, I am very pleased with the experience I’ve had with my team. Whenever I have questions or need advice, they are always available with professional and helpful guidance. They really get to know their customers so that they can provide personalized service and are very responsive when I contact them and they do a great job managing my portfolio. I had a turning point in my life, and they were very helpful in analyzing financial impacts and helping to manage through it. I highly recommend their services.” Read more.
“What has stood out most over our decade-long relationship with Gatewood is how genuinely they listen. Our advisor takes the time to understand our full financial picture and has made a point to build a relationship with my wife as well, so she feels comfortable working with the team whether I'm present or not. Having everything coordinated in one place, with great online tools at our disposal, has been invaluable. Our team is responsive whenever we have questions and has always followed through with care and professionalism. Beyond the planning itself, it's the personal relationships we've developed that make this partnership something we're truly grateful for.” Read more.
“Our relationship with Gatewood Wealth Solutions has evolved over the years right along with our family. From building and protecting our wealth to retirement and estate planning, Gatewood has guided us and enabled our objectives. It’s assuring to know skilled professionals we trust are working with us to optimize what we have worked for all our lives.” Read more.
Important Disclosure: The statements provided are testimonials by clients of the financial professional. The clients listed have not been paid or received any other compensation for making these statements. As a result, the client does not receive any material incentives or benefits for providing the testimonial. These views may not be representative of the views of other clients and are not indicative of future performance or success.
Let's Build Your Wealth With Purpose
With expertise and care, we're here to build a personalized plan for wealth that instills confidence for all of life’s key moments. Schedule a conversation with our team today.