OUR PROCESS

A Thoughtful Financial Relationship Should Begin with a Conversation—Not a Commitment

You should understand how your advisor is paid before you become a client.

You may be approaching retirement.

Your financial life may have become more complicated.

Perhaps you have outgrown an investment-only relationship.

Or you may already have an advisor and simply wonder whether there could be a better way to bring your investments, retirement, taxes, estate planning, and family priorities together.

You do not need to know the answer before talking with us.

Our process begins by getting to know one another, understanding what you have built and what matters to you, and determining whether Fountain Wealth Partners may be the right fit for your family.

The first conversation is not a commitment to move your money.

It is simply a place to begin.

Why software alone falls short: How automated algorithms fail during critical life transitions, tax adjustments, and market volatility.

The four pillars of human wealth management: How direct access to a dedicated senior advisor, 100% fee-only fiduciary independence, comprehensive wealth coordination, and long-term continuity protect your legacy.

What you can expect as a client: The exact written deliverables, fee transparency, and local face-to-face access you gain by partnering with an independent CFP® lead advisor.

Why software alone falls short: How automated algorithms fail during critical life transitions, tax adjustments, and market volatility.

The four pillars of human wealth management: How direct access to a dedicated senior advisor, 100% fee-only fiduciary independence, comprehensive wealth coordination, and long-term continuity protect your legacy.

What you can expect as a client: The exact written deliverables, fee transparency, and local face-to-face access you gain by partnering with an independent CFP® lead advisor.

A confidential, no-obligation introductory meeting with a CFP® professional in Alpharetta or Cumming. Direct: (770) 650-9392

THE NEED FOR COORDINATION

The Problem with Traditional Wealth Management: Disconnected Advice and Costly Blind Spots

Most successful families already work with several capable professionals: an investment broker, a CPA, and an estate attorney.

The friction happens when none of those professionals talk to each other:

Our role is to provide advice — not to sell you something.

The Isolated Broker
Unfunded trusts and titling mismatches: A revocable living trust or irrevocable trust cannot avoid probate if taxable brokerage accounts, private equity holdings, and real estate deeds were never retitled into the name of the trust.
The Reactive CPA

Focuses primarily on historical tax filing and April deadlines, rarely modeling multi-year Roth conversion strategies or proactive capital gain harvesting.

The Estate Attorney

Drafts trust and estate documents once a decade, but rarely verifies whether your ongoing beneficiary designations and asset titling continue to match that legal structure.


This fragmented approach leaves costly blind spots, including unnecessary tax drag, inefficient retirement withdrawal sequences, and uncoordinated wealth transfers.


Fountain Wealth Partners eliminates these gaps by serving as your dedicated fiduciary financial quarterback—bringing your CPA, estate attorney, and wealth strategy into total alignment.

WHAT TO EXPECT

From Financial Complexity to a Coordinated Wealth Strategy

Successful families often come to Fountain Wealth Partners with many of the right financial pieces already in place.

They have accumulated meaningful investments.

They may have retirement accounts, taxable portfolios, real estate, insurance, and an established estate plan.

They often already work with a CPA and an attorney.

Some have built or sold businesses, accumulated concentrated stock positions, established trusts, or begun thinking about charitable giving and transferring wealth to the next generation.

In other words, they are rarely starting from scratch.

The challenge is making sure everything they have built is working together.

As wealth grows and retirement approaches, financial decisions also become increasingly connected.

An investment decision may have tax consequences.

A retirement-income decision may affect the portfolio.

A Roth conversion may affect Medicare premiums and future required distributions.

A business transition may change retirement, investment, tax, charitable, and estate-planning decisions all at once.

Helping children or grandchildren may affect both today's cash flow and tomorrow's legacy.

So the question is not necessarily:

“Is something wrong?”

More often, it becomes:

“Are we making the most thoughtful decisions with everything we have built?”

That is where our financial planning process begins.

We take the time to understand your complete financial picture—what you own, how it is structured, what is already working well, what may deserve attention, and most importantly, what you want your wealth to accomplish.

From there, we identify the decisions and opportunities that matter most and bring the pieces together into a coordinated strategy.

The objective is not change for the sake of change.

It is greater clarity around questions such as:

  • Are our investments aligned with what we actually need from our wealth?
  • Are we taking the appropriate amount of risk for this stage of our lives?
  • How should we create income as we transition into retirement?
  • Are taxes being considered before important financial decisions are made?
  • Are there opportunities today that could improve our financial position later?
  • Do our investment, retirement, estate, and legacy strategies support one another?
  • How much can we comfortably spend, give, or pass to our family?
  • Are our CPA, attorney, and wealth advisor working from the same financial picture?
  • And if life or markets change, do we have a strategy—and a team—prepared to adapt with us?

The result should be more than an investment portfolio.

And it should be more than a financial plan filled with projections.

It should be a coordinated wealth strategy that gives you a clearer understanding of where you stand, what opportunities are ahead, what decisions matter most, and why. That becomes the foundation for the steps that follow.

OUR STEP-BY-STEP ROADMAP

How Our Advisory Fees Work

For ongoing wealth management relationships, we generally charge an advisory fee based on the assets we manage for you. Financial planning engagements may be handled under a separately defined fee.

We do not publish a rate table here, for one reason: the right answer depends on your circumstances — what you have accumulated, how it is invested, the planning involved, and the type of relationship you are looking for. We would rather understand that first, then explain exactly what applies to you.

Before you become a client, we will explain:

  • The services we would provide
  • The assets we would manage
  • The advisory fee that would apply, and how it is calculated and billed
  • Other investment-related costs that may apply

There should be no surprises about how we are compensated.

Our current fee schedule is published in Item 5 of our Form ADV Part 2A, along with our billing practices and potential conflicts of interest. Read Form ADV Part 2A (Item 5: Fees and Compensation)

OUR STEP-BY-STEP ROADMAP

How We Work Together: A Disciplined Financial Planning Process

Step 1: Let's Talk — The Introductory Conversation

The first meeting is about you.

We want to understand why you reached out, what is happening in your financial life, what you are thinking about, and what you would like an advisory relationship to provide.

We may talk about:

  • Your family
  • Career or business
  • Retirement
  • Investments
  • Income and spending
  • Taxes
  • Estate and legacy priorities
  • Important financial decisions ahead
  • Concerns about your current strategy
  • Your experience with other advisors

We will also explain Fountain Wealth Partners—how we work, how we are compensated through our fee-only fiduciary model, our investment and planning philosophy, and the types of families we serve best.

This is a two-way conversation.

You are evaluating us just as much as we are learning about you.

What Do I Need to Bring?

Not much.

You do not need to arrive with boxes of statements, tax returns, estate documents, or a perfectly organized financial life.

If you have a recent investment statement or a basic summary of your finances and would like us to see it, that's helpful.

But it is not required for us to have a meaningful first conversation.

Come with your questions. We can gather the details later.

Step 2: Understand the Complete Picture — Discovery & Organization

If we mutually decide it makes sense to continue the conversation, the next step is understanding your financial life in greater detail.

This is where we begin gathering the information necessary to see the complete picture.

Depending upon your circumstances, that may include:

The purpose is not simply to collect documents.

It is to understand how the pieces interact.

We also want to understand the decisions behind the numbers.

Why is the portfolio invested this way?

What is the money intended to accomplish?

What is already working well?

What concerns you?

What opportunities may be ahead?

What should remain unchanged?

And where might there be room for improvement?

For many families, this is the point where separate accounts, documents, strategies, and decisions begin to become one financial picture.

Step 3: Identify What Matters — Analysis & Opportunities

Before changing anything, we want to understand what deserves to change.

Once we understand your financial picture, our team begins evaluating the decisions and opportunities that may matter most.

Depending upon your circumstances, that may include:

Retirement & Income Strategy
  • When can you comfortably retire?
  • How much can you reasonably spend?
  • Where should [CONTEXTUAL LINK: retirement income (Links to: /financial-planning/retirement-income)] come from?
  • When should Social Security begin?

Investments & Portfolio Risk
  • Is the portfolio aligned with your goals?
  • Are you taking more—or less—risk than necessary?
  • Are separate accounts working together as one portfolio?
  • Are costs and tax consequences being considered?

Tax-Aware Planning
  • Are there planning opportunities involving withdrawals, Roth conversions, realized gains and losses, charitable giving, or the timing of income?
Estate, Legacy & Family Stewardship
  • Do account registrations and beneficiary designations appear consistent with your broader estate intentions?
  • Are there issues that should be discussed with your [CONTEXTUAL LINK: estate attorney (Links to: /estate-planning/trust-estate-administration)]?
  • Can you help children or grandchildren without compromising your own financial independence?
  • What should the surviving spouse know?

Business Interests & Concentrated Wealth
  • How does a business, [CONTEXTUAL LINK: executive stock options or RSUs (Links to: /business-owners/executive-equity)], real estate, or another concentrated asset affect the family's overall financial position?
  • What liquidity or succession considerations need to be planned in advance?


Our role is to identify the issues that matter, understand how they affect one another, and help establish priorities.

Not everything needs to be addressed at once.

Part of thoughtful wealth management is knowing what deserves attention now, what can wait, and what may not need to change at all.

Step 4: Build the Strategy — Your Coordinated Wealth Plan

Every recommendation should connect to a reason.

Once we understand where you are and what you want your wealth to accomplish, we develop a strategy around those priorities.

Rather than treating investments, retirement, taxes, estate planning, and family decisions as separate projects, we consider how they work together.

Your strategy may address:

Where legal, tax, insurance, or other specialized advice is required, we can coordinate with the professionals already serving you or help identify the type of professional needed.

The objective is not to hand you a large binder filled with financial projections.

It is to give you a coordinated strategy you understand—and a clear sense of what should happen next and why.

At that point, the individual pieces of your financial life should no longer feel like separate decisions.

They should begin working toward the same objectives.

A THOUGHTFUL TRANSITION

Becoming a Client Does Not Mean Everything You Own Needs to Change

This is particularly important to us.

Many people hesitate to change advisors because they assume changing firms means immediately selling investments they have owned for years.

That is not our approach.

Before making portfolio changes, we evaluate what you already own.

Some investments may continue to serve an important purpose.

Others may no longer fit.

Some may have significant embedded capital gains.

Certain positions may require a gradual transition.

And occasionally an investment may be perfectly reasonable to keep even if it is not something we would necessarily purchase today.

Change should have a reason—not simply occur because you changed advisors.

When a transition is appropriate, we develop it thoughtfully with consideration for:

  • Taxes and embedded capital gains
  • Investment risk and asset allocation
  • Concentrated positions
  • Liquidity needs and cash reserves
  • Account types (taxable, IRA, Roth, trust)
  • Market conditions
  • Transaction costs
  • Your comfort level
  • Your broader financial plan

Our goal is to move from the portfolio you have today toward the strategy appropriate for your future without creating unnecessary disruption along the way.

Becoming a Client Does Not Mean Everything You Own Needs to Change

Once you decide to become a Fountain Wealth Partners client, our team helps coordinate the transition.

We assist with the details involved in establishing the relationship, including:

  • Advisory agreements and fee-only fiduciary onboarding
  • Account opening with independent custodians (Charles Schwab & Co. and Axos)
  • Custodian paperwork and transfer authorizations
  • ACATS account transfers and asset tracking
  • Beneficiary verification and alignment
  • Linking outside accounts to your client portal
  • Establishing recurring distributions or deposits
  • Disciplined portfolio implementation
  • Financial planning portal setup
  • Coordination with outside professionals when appropriate

Our team helps manage the process so you do not have to navigate every detail on your own.

And throughout the transition, you should understand:

What is happening.

Why it is happening.

And what comes next.

ONGOING WEALTH MANAGEMENT

A Financial Plan Is Not Something We Create Once and Put on a Shelf

Your life will continue changing.

So should the planning around it.

Markets move.

Tax laws change.

Retirement gets closer—or arrives.

Children marry.

Grandchildren arrive.

Businesses grow or are sold.

Parents age.

Health changes.

Priorities evolve.

And sometimes an opportunity appears that no financial plan could have anticipated.

Our ongoing relationship is designed around those changes.

We regularly revisit your financial strategy and address planning opportunities as they arise throughout the year.

That ongoing review cadence includes continuous investment monitoring, distribution management, annual Roth conversion analysis, and proactive coordination with your CPA and estate attorney.

Some years may involve significant decisions.

Other years may simply require confirming that the strategy remains on track.

Both are part of good wealth management.

Proactive Guidance Between the Meetings

You shouldn't have to identify every financial issue yourself.

Scheduled reviews are important.

But some of the most valuable conversations happen between them.

Before selling an investment.

Before retiring.

Before buying the second home.

Before making a large gift.

Before exercising company stock.

Before selling the business.

Before changing an estate strategy.

Or simply when something is keeping you awake at night.

We want clients to call us before important financial decisions whenever possible.

Sometimes the answer requires analysis.

Sometimes it requires bringing in the CPA or attorney.

Sometimes we may recommend doing nothing.

And occasionally, after years of careful saving and planning, the answer may simply be:

“Yes. You can afford to do this.”

That is part of the relationship too.

MORE THAN ONE PERSPECTIVE

Your Financial Life Should Not Depend Upon One Advisor

Your relationship with Fountain Wealth Partners is personal, but it is supported by a team.

With five CFP® professionals and a broader team supporting planning, investments, and the client experience, more than one person can understand your financial life and the strategy behind it.

That provides additional perspective today.

And continuity for the future.

We want your spouse to know us.

When appropriate, we want your children to know us.

And if life changes unexpectedly, we want your family to already know who to call.

100% Fee-Only Fiduciary Standard

We operate under a strict fiduciary standard across every client engagement and account. We are compensated solely through disclosed, tiered advisory fees based on assets under management (AUM) with householding provisions. Zero commissions, zero 12b-1 distribution fees, zero product markups. Learn more about our fee-only approach.

Open-Architecture Portfolio Discipline

We build disciplined, evidence-based portfolios combining active and passive strategies, individual securities, fixed income, and institutional solutions—free from proprietary products and optimized for asset location and tax efficiency.

Proactive Professional Quarterback

Unlike traditional brokerages that manage accounts in isolation, we actively coordinate with your CPA and estate attorney to synchronize tax reporting, trust funding, and beneficiary alignments.

Tailored for High-Net-Worth Balance Sheets

Whether managing executive equity and stock options, pre-liquidity business succession planning, retirement decumulation, or multi-generational trust administration, our process is built for financial complexity.

Fountain Wealth Partners does not prepare tax returns or provide formal tax advice. Instead, we help identify planning opportunities and coordinate with your CPA or other qualified tax professional when their expertise is appropriate.

Explore Tax-Aware Wealth Planning
CLARITY. CONFIDENCE. COORDINATION.

Independent Custody

Client accounts are generally held in the client’s name at independent qualified custodians, including Charles Schwab & Co. and Axos. The custodian holds the assets and provides independent statements and transaction reporting; we are authorized to manage the accounts under the advisory agreement.

David Fountain, CFP® — Founder & Lead Advisor

Start With a Conversation

If you would like to understand how we work and what it would cost, we would welcome the conversation.

 A confidential, no-obligation conversation with a CFP® professional in Alpharetta or Cumming.

Your Goals. Our Guidance. Your Legacy.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How are Fountain Wealth Partners’ fees structured?

    We are a fee-only fiduciary firm. For ongoing wealth management, we charge an advisory fee based on assets under management, billed as disclosed in the advisory agreement. Financial planning engagements may be handled under a separately defined fee. Our current fee schedule is published in Item 5 of our Form ADV Part 2A.

  • What is the difference between fee-only and fee-based?

    A fee-only firm is compensated solely by advisory fees paid by its clients. Fee-based advisors may charge an advisory fee and also receive commissions from selling insurance, annuities, or investment products, which can create conflicts of interest.

  • Why aren’t your rates listed on this page?

    Advisory fees depend on the complexity and scope of each relationship, and our schedule can be updated over time. Rather than publish a grid here, we keep the current schedule in our Form ADV Part 2A (Item 5) and provide a written fee schedule as part of your advisory agreement.

  • Are there other costs beyond your advisory fee?

    Yes. Client accounts are responsible for third-party costs such as custodian, brokerage, transaction, and mutual fund expenses. These are separate from our advisory fee.

  • Do you have an account minimum?

    We do not apply a rigid asset threshold, and we are glad to talk with anyone to see whether we are a good fit. In practice, the families we serve have accumulated significant wealth over a career or a business and have reached the point where investments, retirement income, taxes, and estate decisions are interconnected enough to need coordination. Complexity and planning needs matter as much as asset level.


Disclosures

Financial Consultants Group, Inc., doing business as Fountain Wealth Partners, is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Advisory services are offered only where Fountain Wealth Partners and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. All investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. Fountain Wealth Partners provides tax-aware and estate-planning coordination alongside your independent CPA and estate attorney; the firm does not provide legal or tax advice, draft legal documents, or act as an attorney or corporate trustee. For full details regarding advisory fees, account minimums, and potential conflicts of interest, please review our Form CRS and Form ADV Part 2A at Disclosures.