The W&A Difference
Our personalized guidance around your financial decisions provides you with the clarity to enrich your life.
Think of us as your dedicated Chief Strategy Officer, here to provide you with bespoke solutions that are hand-designed for you. At Waddell & Associates, we are committed wealth strategists, aiming to deliver strategic value that goes beyond the services of a typical financial planner or investment manager. We offer continuous strategic consulting for all your household assets.
Our family history is long and storied, but the mission remains the same: to advise and partner with you as the financial landscape evolves.
At Waddell & Associates, our core focus is on nurturing relationships, rather than simply conducting transactions. Founded by my parents, this company was born out of the belief that the personal financial services industry lacked a crucial element. Instead of solely prioritizing financial gains, they envisioned a model that placed a paramount emphasis on cultivating strong relationships with clients.
Their goal was to create an environment where every client feels like a valued member of our family. They recognized that accomplishments require time, collaboration, and flexibility. Moreover, they understood that trust, shared values, and unwavering commitment are essential ingredients for success.
At Waddell & Associates, we carry forward this legacy by upholding these principles, ensuring that each client experiences the support and dedication of a trusted family member. We are committed to fostering long-lasting relationships while helping our clients achieve their financial goals through care, collaboration, and a foundation built on trust and shared values.
— David S. Waddell, CEO & Chief Investment Strategist
When you sign on as a client, you receive the knowledge of every Wealth Strategist in the firm, as well as the professional network and resources of each.
Teresa J.W. Bailey
President, Nashville | Senior Wealth Strategist
Motivated by a
mission-oriented family history.
W&A was born out of a recognition of a systematic flaw in the wealth services industry. We observed that existing providers were primarily focused on products and transactions, an approach we believe falls short of what clients truly deserve.
In response, we pioneered a client-centric, fee-based model that prioritizes long-term relationships and holistic wealth management. Helping clients achieve their financial potential and aligning with their goals requires more than a transactional mindset. Our goal is to celebrate life events and accomplishments alongside our clients, rather than focusing solely on extracting commissions.
founder Clara Waddell on the history of the business
We exist to enrich lives by providing clarity.
We understand the struggle and sacrifice it takes to amass wealth. We understand the complications that wealth invites. We understand the fear and confusion that plague the big life decisions of building families, educating children, starting and divesting businesses, transitioning into retirement, processing divorce, designing estates, and more. We understand these issues. We have faced them ourselves. We built this firm to help. We built this firm to provide you comfort. We do a lot of calculations at W&A, but everything we do starts with the heart.
When you have alignment on what matters to you, the journey toward it is worthwhile.
After Duke Waddell retired from a successful corporate career, he and his wife, Clara made a bold move from an office in Bryn Mawr, PA to a boat in Ocean Ridge, FL. As they sought financial service providers, they realized their own capability to manage their assets independently. The news spread, and their friends and former business associates, who shared their disillusionment with the traditional Wall Street approach, encouraged Duke and Clara to handle their assets as well.
Duke’s investment expertise and his deliberate, methodical approach resonated with those around him. Meanwhile, Clara’s compassionate and empathetic nature left a lasting impression on people. The unique combination of Duke’s competence and Clara’s empathy seemed to fill a significant void within the personal financial industry. Their approach was recognized as a refreshing alternative to the prevailing practices, capturing the attention of those seeking a more personalized and caring approach to wealth management.
Focus Financial Partners
In April of 2016, Waddell & Associates made the decision to join Focus Financial Partners. Being a member of Focus Financial Partners provides us with the opportunity to learn and grow alongside 90 other independent wealth strategies firms across the nation. These relationships increase our business intelligence, our client service capabilities, and our technological resources. Collaborating with some of the most talented individuals and firms in the industry simply adds an exponent to W&A.
