Personalized guidance
Barrister is a Fort Washington-based firm of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professionals serving the Philadelphia, PA, metro area, providing individuals, companies, and non-profits with fee-based financial planning, asset management, insurance, and employee benefit solutions.
Fiduciary sounds like a complex term, but the meaning is simple. A fiduciary always acts in your best interest. At Barrister, our fiduciaries always put your needs first. We’re here to educate and solve problems.
We don’t make complicated spreadsheets. We create personalized roadmaps to get you from where you are to where you want to be.
Founder
I founded Barrister in 2010 after working as a financial advisor and analyst and graduating from LaSalle University and Villanova Law. I started the firm because I felt the public was not being properly served by the larger brokerage firms, and I believed a more specialized structure and planning-based approach was necessary. My vision was to create a professional services firm where advisors are all CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® practitioners, acting as fiduciaries and providing fee-based financial planning, investment, and insurance advisory while always acting in their clients’ best interest.
cweeks@barrister.net
Services Designed for you
Barrister provides financial services tailored to your needs. Whether you want to open a business or save for retirement, we’ll provide the guidance and solutions to help you achieve your financial goals.
Our ApproachOur experienced financial planners will work with you to create a financial model to reduce financial anxiety and give you the best opportunity to achieve all of your financial goals.
We offer custom model portfolios built for long-term growth with a focus on reducing risk, managing costs and minimizing taxes.
Whether you are a new small business or a large multi-generational enterprise, we have employee benefits solutions ranging from retirement plans to group health and life to fit your needs.
NEWS & VIEWS
Explore our informative articles to better understand financial planning, investing, risk management, retirement savings, and more.
Case Studies
Learn why individuals and businesses trust Barrister for experienced and ethical financial planning services.
We help doctors, dentists, nurse anesthetists, and other medical professionals take charge of their finances and their futures.
As fellow entrepreneurs, we understand your concerns. Whether you own a start-up or a non-profit, we’ll help you navigate employee benefits, model cash flows, and manage budgets.
From executives to lawyers, we have the time to optimize your finances that you do not. We understand executive comp plans, options, and deferred comp so you don’t have to.
During possibly the most difficult time of your life you shouldn’t have to worry about finances. Using our knowledge of finance and the law, we will help you navigate probate while serving as your financial advocate along the way.
A fiduciary is legally required to act in your best interest, not just recommend something "suitable." At Barrister, every advisor is a fiduciary, which means our advice is built around your goals, not a sales quota or commission.
We're a fee-based firm. Rather than earning commissions for selling specific investment products, we're compensated for the advice and planning we provide. That structure keeps our incentives aligned with yours. We do receive commissions for insurance contracts that we place, including life, disability, and long-term care. There is no requirement to buy these policies from Barrister.
We were founded because larger firms often prioritize products over people. Barrister is built around a planning-first approach: we create a personalized roadmap for your financial life, not a one-size-fits-all portfolio pitch.
Three core areas: financial planning, investment advisory, and institutional services (including insurance and employee benefits for businesses and nonprofits). Most individual clients start with a financial plan and build from there.
We have deep experience working with medical professionals, business owners, business professionals, executives, and widowers navigating major life transitions, but we welcome anyone looking for honest, planning-first advice.
We have no required minimum asset level, but we do have a minimum annual fee of $3,000. This can be met by us managing a $300,000 account and charging our 1% advisory fee, or by paying $3,000 annually through our retainer program.
Barrister has two fee structures available, both of which receive the same services. Our asset-based fee structure starts at 1% per year and is reduced as the asset level we manage increases. For clients who don’t have assets for us to manage, or chose to manage their own assets, we also offer a retainer-based fee structure which starts at $3,000 per year and increases with planning complexity.
We start with a conversation, not a pitch. We'll learn about your goals and current situation, and give you an honest sense of how we can help.
No, Barrister is a financial planning and investment advisory firm, not a law firm. Our name comes from the founder's legal background (he's a JD and a CFP® professional), but our advisors focus on financial planning, not legal representation. Read more about our name.
Our fiduciaries are always happy to help. Reach out to us today to turn your dreams into reality.
Contact usThought Leadership
Subscribe to get savvy financial advice and informative articles delivered straight to your inbox.
