ML&R Wealth Management: Celebrating 25 Years of Service and Collaboration

By Vanessa McElwrath, CFP®, CPA, ML&R Wealth Management Partner

It was in the mid-1990’s when Maxwell Locke & Ritter began to discuss ways we could more fully serve both our current and future clients beyond our existing accounting services. Thus, in 1997, we made the decision to create our affiliate, ML&R Wealth Management.  As a completely independent fiduciary, they were founded with the objective to bring order, direction, and confidence to our clients’ financial future through comprehensive wealth planning.

The partnership we share contributed greatly to the early success of ML&R Wealth Management and set this firm apart from others in the sector. While ML&R Wealth Management is an independent provider, our affiliate structure allows us to collaborate in the best interests of the client. They operate with transparency and their fees are based solely on assets under management, putting clients first with no conflict of interest.

Now, ML&R Wealth Management is celebrating 25 years in business in Central Texas, having built strong relationships with other trusted advisors and grown to $1.9 Billion in assets under management¹. “The ability to provide tax, estate, retirement, and investment planning and implementation under one roof allows ML&R to fully understand its clients’ financial needs and objectives,” says Vanessa McElwrath, ML&R Wealth Management Partner. “This enhanced understanding ultimately allows us to provide more in-depth and comprehensive services than our competitors,” offering the following:

• Personal Wealth Management: One-on-one services for individuals and families tailored to your personal investment goals while adhering to a disciplined, long-term investment approach.
• Women’s Financial Freedom – Rising above the historical misunderstanding and bias around women’s wealth, we partner with each client to create custom wealth management plans designed to align personal, professional, and family goals.
• Corporate Retirement & 401(k) Plans – Our tailored retirement and 401(k) planning helps businesses grow, enabling owners and employees alike to build their assets throughout their careers. As fiduciaries, we provide services that bring simplicity and transparency to retirement plans.
• Institutions & Nonprofits – We work with nonprofit organizations to build portfolios for the long term, supporting both board and staff with cash flow planning and a sound investment strategy to advance the organization’s mission.

All ML&R Wealth Management advisors are Certified Financial Planners and/or Certified Public Accountants, and since 1997, the team has grown to 23 advisors, associates, and support team members. Their team comes from various professional backgrounds, such as tax, institutional investment, and banking, and are diverse in age, ethnicity, and gender. And they have been widely recognized for their work, including at the national level as the:

• #1 Best Place to Work for Financial Advisors by InvestmentNews in 2021 [Click here for Methodology]
• Top 9 Best Financial Advisors in Austin 2022 [Click here for Methodology]
• #100 on the 2021 CNBC Top 100 Financial Advisor List [Click here for Methodology]
• Ranked #271 in FA’s 2021 Annual Registered Investment Adviser Ranking [Click here for Methodology]

Together, we are excited about the future! As Austin grows and changes, ML&R Wealth Management is keeping pace with our vibrant Central Texas community and strengthening their skills and diversity, expanding their work with families to make smart, collaborative decisions and assure that the management of family wealth is aligned with family values. As women earn or control even more wealth in America, they are broadening their advisory services to manage and enhance their success, whether it be in retirement planning, inheritance, joining the C-Suite or divorce. And as clients are heading into retirement, they are bringing on advisors with the specific skills to see them through their retirement and beyond, continuing to build strong relationships into the next generation.

“It has been an honor and privilege to be invited into our clients’ lives over the last 25 years,” states Vanessa. “Along the way, we have helped clients plan, prepare, and celebrate many of life’s most important milestones. It is because of those moments, we are excited and prepared for the next 25 years.”

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^{1 This amount includes Regulatory AUM & Assets Under Advisement as of December 31, 2021.}