Through a long career in the wealth management industry, Peter Disch knows how to speak the language of finance, but he wants to keep financial conversations simple and accessible for his clients. Motivated to put power back in their hands, he founded Great Point Wealth Advisors LLC in Boston so he could have the freedom to act with clients’ best interests at heart.
Disch’s professional philosophy is to have an equal power dynamic between advisers and clients, so his advisory firm aims to give clients comprehensive knowledge while making sure to not use technical jargon—something he believes is not often seen in his industry.
“Simplicity is the other side of complexity,” the founder and managing member says. “My view of wealth management is that a lot of financial advisers like to complicate things because it makes them feel like they’re more valuable and causes the client to rely on them more. Unfortunately, this self-serving approach creates more questions and doubts for clients.”
Disch and his team instead want to instill confidence in their client base. “We want them to feel totally comfortable in our process and what we’re doing,” he says. “We have attempted to remove 90% of the complicating factors and just focus on that very small percentage of things that actually matter in personal finance.”
The founder sees this effort as a unique approach that encourages his clients to actually understand the financial landscape that they are a part of, rather than following advice blindly. He considers education to be a part of his fiduciary duty—a legal responsibility he holds sacred in his career.
“I’m truly their fiduciary, which means that I have to hold my clients’ interests higher than my own,” Disch says. “Part of my job is helping them understand what the risk looks like in their portfolio and explaining about diversification.
Disch strives to build trust as the foundation of his professional relationships, so he wants to be transparent with clients regarding compensation arrangements and assure them that his team will work on their behalf. Great Point implements a fee-only business model, which ensures clients are the only ones paying its advisers.
“We are advisers in the truest sense of the word, in that we are advocates for our clients alone,” the founder says. “My team does not have sales incentives for certain financial products, and they don’t work on commission.” He adds that this is in stark contrast with many advisers who receive commissions or kickbacks on certain financial products they recommend, influencing what they tell their clients.
Disch is determined to break down language barriers that many financial advisers rely on to help them sound all-knowing. “I want my clients to really understand the bigger picture and feel confident in what their money is doing and why,” he explains.
The founder recalls telling individual clients to hold on and not panic during 2020, when the market was volatile. In his experience, a typical client response to a fall in share value is wanting to sell and invest later when the market improves. “That is entirely the wrong approach because it turns a temporary decline into a permanent loss.” Disch says. “It’s like seeing something at a store for 20% off, but deciding to return and buy it later when it’s more expensive.”
At Great Point, the risk management strategy aims to ensure that no client portfolio ever goes to zero. By valuing honest communication in the firm’s customer service, Disch hopes to restore faith in wealth managers with his commitment to keeping finance simple for his clients.
