Fee-Only Wealth Management for San Francisco's High-Net-Worth Clients

From equity compensation planning for tech executives to LGBTQ+-affirming financial planning, Stone Loft brings fiduciary-grade, low-cost wealth management to the Bay Area — without the conflicts of interest that commission-based advisors carry.

Why San Francisco Clients Choose an Independent, Fee-Only RIA

San Francisco's wealth landscape is unlike anywhere else in the country. Concentrated stock positions, equity compensation packages, liquidity events, and the particular financial complexity facing LGBTQ+ households create planning demands that most generalist advisors aren't equipped to handle — and that commission-driven advisors have little incentive to address honestly. Stone Loft Wealth Management is a Registered Investment Advisor operating under a strict fiduciary standard, which means every recommendation we make is legally required to serve your interests, not ours. We earn no commissions. We sell no products. Our only revenue is the transparent, tiered fee we charge for managing your wealth.

 

Our fee structure starts at 0.30% AUM, dropping to 0.20% above $5M and 0.10% above $10M — pricing that reflects our Vanguard institutional background and our commitment to keeping more of your returns working for you. For Bay Area clients accustomed to scrutinizing cost structures, that alignment matters.

What We Plan For — and Who We Plan With

The Bay Area generates a distinctive set of financial planning challenges. We work with San Francisco-area clients on the full range of issues that accompany significant, complex wealth:

 

  • Equity compensation planning: RSUs, ISOs, NQSOs, and ESPP decisions require careful coordination with your tax situation, concentration risk, and long-term plan. We help tech executives and senior employees navigate vesting events, exercise timing, and diversification without triggering avoidable tax consequences.
  • Portfolio construction and asset allocation: Our investment philosophy is rooted in low-cost, index-driven strategies — the same institutional framework we developed during our years at Vanguard. We build portfolios designed to minimize drag and maximize long-term efficiency.
  • Financial planning: Comprehensive planning that integrates cash flow, retirement projections, insurance analysis, and goal modeling into a coherent, living strategy.
  • Estate planning coordination: For high-net-worth households, estate planning is not a one-time document exercise. We work alongside your estate attorney to align your investment structure, gifting strategy, and beneficiary designations with your long-term intentions.
  • LGBTQ+ wealth planning: We serve LGBTQ+ individuals and couples with an understanding of the specific legal, tax, and estate planning considerations that affect their households — including domestic partnership structures, second-parent adoption implications, and the particular vulnerabilities that arise without careful planning.
  • Charitable planning: Donor-advised funds, charitable remainder trusts, and qualified charitable distributions for clients whose wealth planning includes a philanthropic dimension.

Built for Active Traders in the Bay Area

Our Fiduciary Standard — and What It Actually Means for You

The word "fiduciary" appears frequently in financial services marketing. It is worth being precise about what it means in practice. As a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor, Stone Loft Wealth Management is bound by fiduciary duty at all times — not just during the initial planning engagement, but across every recommendation, every portfolio decision, and every conversation we have with you. Our CFP designation is verifiable on FINRA BrokerCheck. Our Form CRS is maintained in our site footer. We operate with full transparency because our business model depends on client trust, not product sales volume.

 

For San Francisco clients evaluating advisors, that distinction is meaningful. Many advisors operating in the Bay Area hold a broker-dealer affiliation alongside their advisory role, which means their fiduciary obligation applies only in certain contexts. We hold no such dual registration. There is no product shelf behind our recommendations — only your plan, your goals, and our obligation to serve them.

 

San Francisco has a significant population of sophisticated active traders — professionals who manage their own portfolios alongside their primary wealth. We have a track record working with active traders specifically, and we understand the tax complexity, position sizing discipline, and wash-sale management that serious trading activity demands. If you're looking for an advisor who won't treat your trading as a problem to be managed away, we're a different kind of conversation.

Frequently Asked Questions — Wealth Management in San Francisco

  • Do you have a physical office in San Francisco?

    We are headquartered in the Philadelphia area and serve clients nationally, including throughout the Bay Area. We meet with San Francisco clients virtually and can accommodate in-person meetings when schedules align. Most of our client relationships are managed remotely with no reduction in service quality or responsiveness.

  • What is the minimum to work with Stone Loft Wealth Management?

    We work with clients with $5 million or more in investable assets. Our fee structure and service model are designed specifically for the planning complexity that accompanies significant wealth.

  • How does your fee structure compare to other advisors in the Bay Area?

    Our tiered AUM fees start at 0.30%, declining to 0.20% above $5M and 0.10% above $10M. This pricing is aligned with Vanguard institutional benchmarks and is among the lowest available from an independent fiduciary RIA. Because we charge no commissions and sell no financial products, there are no hidden costs layered beneath the advisory fee.

  • Do you have experience with equity compensation planning for tech executives?

    Yes. Equity compensation — including RSUs, ISOs, NQSOs, and ESPP participation — is one of the core planning areas we work through with Bay Area clients. The tax and concentration risk decisions surrounding vesting events and liquidity events require careful coordination, and it's an area where working with a fiduciary advisor who has no incentive to recommend unnecessary transactions is particularly valuable.

  • Do you offer LGBTQ+-affirming financial planning services?

    We do. We serve LGBTQ+ individuals and couples with an understanding of the legal and financial planning considerations specific to their households, including estate structuring, beneficiary planning, and the protections that need to be built deliberately rather than assumed. We approach these relationships with the same confidentiality and long-term commitment we bring to every client engagement.