Brett Robison

Brett Robison of Sanctuary Wealth Management in Pocatello, Idaho, has found a better way to provide financial advisory services. It is a solution that he has been building since he worked for a small firm and was not pleased about conflicts of interest between the firm and client offerings. He knew there must be a better method to deliver the kinds of financial advisory services that clients needed.

Robison soon switched to another firm and brought on a business partner, Clay Esplin. The two founded Sanctuary Wealth Management to provide the exceptional personal service and conflict-free approach that he and Esplin believed were lacking in their area.

To deliver that exceptional service, Robison and Esplin knew they would have to focus their efforts to be especially effective instead of trying to be all things to all people (and diluting their value in the process). Therefore, the firm limits its services to fewer than 100 highly successful families, and has set a minimum investment of $1 million—giving the firm's principals the ability to provide what they consider to be industry best practices to solve the often unique challenges faced by their clients. As part of their efforts, Robison and Esplin utilize the services of California-based Dimensional Fund Advisors to provide asset management services to their clients, while Sanctuary itself provides the reporting, repositioning and other back-office services. DFA is a leader in offering asset-class portfolios, managing some $153 billion for more than 450 institutional clients and a select number of registered financial advisors, including Sanctuary. This, they say, allows Sanctuary to keep costs low and provide clients with broader diversification than most firms.

DFA's approach is focused on applying modern portfolio theory (MPT) to investors' portfolios. MPT holds that risk can be defined as volatility over time. By identifying asset classes that have identifiable levels of volatility over time, DFA provides investment tools to firms such as Sanctuary and their principals. By placing clients' portfolios in certain asset classes, depending on how much risk the client wishes to assume, Robison and Esplin either try to raise the return (more risk) or lower it (less risk).

Through DFA the pair was introduced to California-based CEG Worldwide, a wealth management coaching firm that works with financial advisors and financial institutions. The wealth management paradigm that Sanctuary now espouses thanks to working with CEG Worldwide integrates nicely with DFA's approach of disciplined asset-class investing. While the DFA approach is specifically focused on investing, wealth management concerns itself with delivering a full range of financial solutions in a consultative way throughout all phases of clients' financial lives. The main components of Sanctuary's wealth management philosophy include:

Investment Consulting. This involves selecting investments based on needs, goals, risk, tax efficiency and cost—as well as rebalancing the portfolio and implementing proactive ideas to meet specific investment needs.

Advanced Planning. This allows the firm to address their clients' financial needs beyond investments—such as income tax planning, charitable giving, estate planning, asset protection and insurance planning.

Relationship Management. This involves fully understanding clients' critical needs and working in close consultation with clients to achieve them. To accomplish this mission and deliver truly exceptional client service, Robison and Esplin guide their clients through a five-step consultative process that first seeks to uncover investors' most important financial and life goals. The pair then develops and implements specific investment plans based around those goals—and conducts regular progress meetings with clients to ensure that those plans remain relevant at all times. Along the way, Robison and Esplin oversee a team of experts whose purpose is to develop individualized recommendations for each client.

While wealth management is an expansive concept, its overarching goal is to bring wealth into alignment with values. Once upon a time all that an individual rep or broker had to offer to a client was a particular transaction (for example, a stock that looked promising). Over time, as technology improved, reps began to offer more expansive services—such as comprehensive financial planning. Wealth management is the logical outcome of the current technology and offers the most expansive interpretation of financial advisory services. It includes the investment focus itself and broad-based financial planning. But it doesn't stop there. Implementation is also part of the process, as is constant monitoring of wealth to ensure that it is doing the job that is intended, providing the resources necessary for an individual or family to pursue their goals and "live" their values.

By organizing the professional team that provides the necessary services and by bringing to bear wealth management capabilities and asset-class investing, Robison and Esplin have built a firm that fully leverages industry best practices— and provides clients with the service they expect and deserve.

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