Fee-Only Fiduciary Wealth Management for Texas Business Owners

A fee-only fiduciary advisor is paid only by you, earns no commissions, and is bound to act in your best interest at all times. For a Texas business owner, that structure matters most around a sale or liquidity event, where investment, tax, and estate decisions collide. Whitwell & Co. is a fee-only fiduciary firm in Austin serving owners and their families.

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Texas is home to a large and growing base of privately held businesses, and the most consequential financial decisions their owners face tend to cluster around a single event: the sale or transition of the company. In the years before and after that event, the questions are rarely about picking investments in isolation. They are about how the sale is structured, what the tax outcome will be, how proceeds are invested, and how the plan fits an estate.

The structure of the advice you receive shapes those answers. A fee-only fiduciary is compensated only by the client, earns no product commissions, and is held to a fiduciary standard on every recommendation. That removes the incentive to steer a decision toward a product and lets the advice follow the plan.

Who this is for

Texas business owners approaching, or planning for, a sale or liquidity event
Owners who want investment, proactive tax, and estate decisions coordinated as one plan
People who prefer advice with no product commissions or hidden incentives
Households with $2 million or more in investable assets, or building toward it

Who this is not for

Someone who wants a single product sold to them rather than ongoing advice
Those who prefer a commission-based broker relationship
Committed do-it-yourself investors with no need for planning
Anyone looking only for insurance placement, which sits with Living Prepared

Fee-only fiduciary vs. commission-based

	Fee-only fiduciary (RIA)	Commission-based / broker
Legal standard	Fiduciary duty at all times	Best interest at the point of a recommendation (Reg BI)
How they are paid	Only by you: a flat fee, hourly, or a percentage of assets	Commissions, sales loads, or third-party payments
Conflicts of interest	Structurally minimized; no product incentives	Higher-commission products can pay the advisor more
Typical scope	Integrated planning, tax, investments, and estate	Product sales and transaction execution

How a fee-only fiduciary relationship differs from a commission-based one. Structure varies by firm; confirm any advisor's status on the SEC's adviser record.

Why Whitwell

Why coordination matters most for owners

Selling a business is where tax, investment, and estate planning collide. The structure of the advice shapes the outcome.

Fee-only, with no product to sell
We do not broker properties, funds, or insurance, so the strategy is driven by your outcome rather than a transaction.
Tax weighed against the whole plan
Sale structure, QSBS eligibility, and installment options are evaluated against your income, estate, and portfolio, not in isolation.
Coordinated with your CPA and attorney
We work alongside your existing advisors so the strategy fits the rest of your financial life.
Led by the firm's Chief Investment Officer
Investment decisions are led directly by Stefan Whitwell, CFA, CIPM.

Risks and things to weigh

A fee-only structure is not automatically cheaper in every case, and an ongoing advisory fee should be measured against the value of the coordination it buys. For a single, one-time transaction, a commission-based relationship can be the more economical choice.

This page is educational and not a recommendation. Investment strategies carry risk, and no outcome is guaranteed. The right choice depends on the complexity of your situation and the size of the decision in front of you.

Frequently asked questions

What does fee-only actually mean?

Fee-only means the advisor is paid only by the client, through a flat fee, an hourly rate, or a percentage of assets managed, and accepts no commissions or third-party payments. It is different from fee-based, where an advisor can charge a fee and also collect commissions.

Do I need to have sold my business already to work with a fee-only advisor?

No. The most valuable planning often happens in the years before a sale, when there is still time to structure the entity, evaluate QSBS eligibility, and coordinate estate steps. Owners also engage after a sale to manage the proceeds and the tax outcome.

How can I verify that an advisor is a fiduciary?

Registered investment advisers are held to a fiduciary standard under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. You can confirm a firm's registration and read its disclosures on the SEC's adviser record, and fee-only membership can be checked through organizations such as NAPFA.