About Olympic Wealth Management

Company Overview

Watch now to learn more about Olympic’s Mission

Olympic Wealth Management LLC began operations in November 2010. It was founded by Eric Cumley, CFP^® who had worked with a large national brokerage firm for the previous ten years. In leaving that firm, Eric was also able to leave behind the conflicts of interest which tend to be prevalent in large firm environments.

Olympic is known as an independent Registered Investment Advisory (RIA) firm, federally registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It is 100% privately-owned and is not an affiliate of any other company or entity.

The firm does not receive commissions as a source of revenue or compensation.

Most RIA firms use institutional custodians to hold and safeguard their client’s investment securities. These custodians also provide essential services such as effecting trades, preparing account statements/tax reports, and providing online account access. At Olympic, custody services are provided by Charles Schwab & Co, Inc.

A third strategic partnership exists between Olympic and Envestnet Asset Management (also known as Olympic’s ‘Platform Manager.’) Envestnet provides Olympic with access to top-tier investments and portfolio managers. Additionally, Envestnet performs Olympic’s quarterly billing functions, and also generates quarterly performance reporting, accessible by Olympic clients on the Envestnet Client Portal.

What Makes Us Different?

1. We’re not a sales organization. Olympic staff is compensated on a percentage-fee basis. This means our clients do not pay commissions on the purchase or sale of their investment securities. There are no calls each month asking clients to ‘sell this and buy that,’ and there are no behind-the-scenes incentives to interfere with objectivity. These distinctions have become increasingly important to investors seeking a comfortable business setting, free from unwanted sales pressure.
2. We’re very serious about the financial well-being of our clients. We don’t deal in higher risk strategies like options, futures, penny stocks, IPOs and the like. We don’t pretend to be stock pickers, nor do we chase the latest trends. Instead, we engage reputable, third-party institutional portfolio managers to manage our clients’ hard-earned assets. We also use independent third-parties for custody, portfolio accounting, billing, and performance measurement. In these ways and others, we’ve worked hard to create an environment where clients can feel secure about the investments they’ve placed under our care.
3. We value personal relationships. Increasingly, investment and banking institutions are forcing clients to interact with 800-line menu options or websites before speaking with an actual person. Olympic clients can expect a much different (and much more pleasant) experience. We’re intentional about getting to know our clients not just as investors, but as real people with genuine dreams and desires. We maintain regular, non sales-related contact to keep clients informed. Whenever you call, you’re greeted by friendly, hard working people who value your business and respect your time. This level of personal service is becoming less common in today’s distracted, technology driven world. But it has never gone out of style at Olympic.
4. We’re local. Our professional offices in suburban Bothell, WA are comfortable and easy to find. Olympic clients never have to hassle with driving to a downtown high-rise, sitting in gridlock traffic, or paying for parking.
5. We’re experienced. Since 2000, we’ve guided clients through some of the worst financial downturns in US economic history. We possess the strong leadership and discipline needed to get our clients through the tough times. Frankly, that’s the only way to make sure they’re in position to benefit when the better times return.
6. We’re connected. A key advantage enjoyed by Olympic clients is gaining access to the broad range of financial experts in our professional network. These include world-class institutional money management teams, veteran tax and legal advisors, and top-caliber insurance analysts. There are literally hundreds of the nation’s best financial minds at our immediate disposal—all ready to provide their skill and expertise whenever needed.

What to Expect

Following are the steps involved in becoming an Olympic client. It is a two-phase process, happening in this order:

Phase One Investment Planning

Phone Consultation #1—This initial no-cost phone conference is intended for Eric and prospective clients to exchange information in determining whether or not Olympic Wealth Management could be a good fit. Provided a ‘next step’ is appropriate, specific financial information is requested from the client prior to the end of that call.

Phone Consultation #2—The second phone conference, also no cost, verifies the financial information provided by the client. The end goal of this call is to have the client authorize the dollar amount that will be reflected in the written investment proposal.

In-Person Meeting #1—In the interests of making the best use of people’s time, the first ‘face-to-face’ meeting is where Eric personally presents prospective clients with a written investment proposal, complete with pricing information. It is at this point prospective clients have everything they need to make an informed decision on becoming a client of the firm.

Phase One is complete when brokerage accounts are opened and funded at Schwab.

Phase Two Retirement Planning

Upon finalizing and funding the investment plan, the second phase of Olympic’s process– retirement planning–can begin. It is important to note that, with rare exception, no retirement planning projections are prepared at Olympic until the client’s accounts are open and funded at Schwab. The reason for this is twofold:

1. MoneyGuide’s planning technology integrates with Envestnet and imports (uploads) the actual investment holdings and current values held at Schwab into the software. Accounts which are funded enable MoneyGuide to generate the most accurate retirement planning output possible; and
2. Done properly, retirement planning projections require a significant commitment of time and resources. With accounts that are funded, Olympic can be fairly compensated for the retirement planning work as part of the advisory fee billed each quarter. (In other words, investment planning and retirement planning services are ‘bundled’ and are both covered by Olympic’s advisory fee.)

Once Olympic’s two-phase process has been fully implemented, plans are then monitored and reviewed going forward on a periodic basis.