Frequently Asked Questions

Cabot Wealth Management Inc is a registered investment advisory firm headquartered in Salem, Massachusetts, with an additional office in Sandton, South Africa. We provide comprehensive wealth management services including financial planning, investment management, insurance and risk management, alternative investments, tax planning, and strategic consulting. Our mission is to empower clients to streamline, protect, and grow the wealth they have diligently built — through transparent advice and disciplined investing.

Yes. Cabot Wealth Management Inc is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under CIK 1016683. As an SEC-registered investment adviser, we are held to a fiduciary standard, meaning we are legally obligated to act in our clients' best interests at all times. You can verify our registration and review our Form ADV filings directly on SEC.gov.

Cabot Wealth serves clients across the United States from our headquarters in Salem, Massachusetts. Through our Sandton, South Africa office, we also serve clients across the African continent, providing access to institutional-quality wealth management with a global perspective. Whether you are a domestic client looking for comprehensive financial guidance or an international client seeking cross-border expertise, our team is equipped to support your needs.

Several things set us apart. First, as a fee-only fiduciary, our interests are always aligned with yours — we do not earn commissions or sell proprietary products. Second, we bring institutional-quality strategies to individual investors, the kind of disciplined, evidence-based approach typically reserved for endowments and pension funds. Third, every plan we create is deeply personalized — there are no cookie-cutter portfolios here. Finally, our dual presence in the U.S. and South Africa gives us a genuinely global perspective that few firms of our size can offer.

We offer six core service pillars: Financial Planning — retirement, education, estate, and tax-optimized strategies; Investment Management — evidence-based portfolio construction and ongoing rebalancing; Insurance & Risk Management — life, disability, long-term care, and business continuity coverage; Alternative Investments — private equity, real estate, and hedge fund access for qualified investors; Tax Services — proactive tax optimization and CPA coordination; and Consulting — strategic financial guidance for businesses and high-net-worth individuals. Each service can stand alone or be combined into a fully integrated wealth management plan.

Absolutely. Our financial planning service is one of our most popular offerings. We build comprehensive plans that cover retirement projections, education savings goals, estate planning considerations, tax optimization strategies, and risk management — all tailored to your unique situation. The process begins with a deep-dive discovery meeting where we learn about your goals, values, and concerns, and culminates in a written financial plan with actionable recommendations and a clear implementation timeline.

Our investment philosophy is grounded in evidence-based principles: broad diversification across asset classes and geographies, disciplined risk management tailored to each client's tolerance and timeline, and a long-term focus that tunes out market noise. We construct portfolios using institutional-grade research and low-cost instruments, rebalance systematically, and avoid speculative bets. We believe that consistent, disciplined investing — not market timing — is the most reliable path to building lasting wealth.

Yes. Insurance and risk management is a core pillar of our practice, led by our specialist Lakeisha Purchase. We help clients evaluate and secure life insurance, disability insurance, long-term care coverage, and business continuity plans. Rather than simply selling policies, we take a holistic view — ensuring that your insurance program integrates with your overall financial plan and protects the wealth you have worked hard to build.

Yes. For qualified investors, we provide access to alternative investment opportunities including private equity, real estate syndications, hedge fund strategies, and other non-traditional asset classes. Alternatives can enhance portfolio diversification and potentially improve risk-adjusted returns, but they also carry unique risks and liquidity considerations. We carefully evaluate each opportunity and only recommend alternatives when they are appropriate for a client's risk profile, time horizon, and overall financial picture.

Yes. Tax planning is integral to preserving wealth, and we incorporate tax optimization into every financial plan and investment decision. Our services include Roth conversion analysis, capital gains harvesting strategies, charitable giving optimization, and proactive year-end tax planning. While we coordinate closely with your existing CPA or tax preparer to ensure seamless execution, we can also connect you with trusted tax professionals if you need one.

Cabot Wealth operates on a fee-only advisory model. For investment management, our fee is based on a percentage of assets under management (AUM), which means our compensation grows only when your portfolio grows — keeping our interests perfectly aligned with yours. For financial planning, we offer flat-fee engagements based on the complexity and scope of the plan. We never earn commissions on product sales, and we never accept referral fees from other professionals. Full fee schedules are available in our Form ADV Part 2.

Minimums vary by service. For our full wealth management engagement (investment management plus financial planning), the typical minimum is $250,000 in investable assets. Standalone financial planning engagements are available with no minimum asset requirement — the fee is based on plan complexity. We believe everyone deserves access to quality financial advice, so we encourage you to reach out regardless of your current asset level, and we will recommend the service tier that best fits your situation.

No. Transparency is a core value at Cabot Wealth. All fees — advisory fees, custodian charges, fund expense ratios, and any other costs — are disclosed upfront and documented in our Form ADV Part 2 brochure, which we provide to every prospective client before engagement. During your onboarding, we walk through every line item so there are no surprises. If you ever have a question about a charge on your account, our team is a phone call away.

No. Cabot Wealth is a fee-only firm, which means our sole compensation comes from the advisory fees our clients pay us. We do not sell insurance products for commission, we do not receive 12b-1 fees from mutual funds, and we do not accept referral kickbacks from attorneys, CPAs, or other professionals. This fee-only structure eliminates the conflicts of interest that plague commission-based models and ensures that every recommendation we make is driven solely by what is best for you.

Getting started is simple. First, schedule a free initial consultation — by phone, video call, or in person at our Salem or Sandton office. During this meeting, we will learn about your goals, concerns, and current financial picture. Next comes a discovery meeting where we dive deeper into the details. Then we prepare a personalized proposal with our recommendations and fee estimate. If you choose to move forward, we handle the entire onboarding process, including account transfers and document preparation. You can start by contacting us here.

To make the most of our first meeting, we recommend bringing: recent investment and retirement account statements, your last two years of tax returns, any insurance policies you currently hold (life, disability, long-term care), estate planning documents such as wills and trusts, a list of your assets and liabilities, and a general idea of your financial goals and concerns. Don't worry if you don't have everything organized — our team will guide you through the process and help you identify any gaps.

We schedule formal quarterly review meetings at a minimum — these are structured sessions where we review portfolio performance, progress toward your goals, and any changes in your life that might affect your plan. Beyond scheduled reviews, you have direct access to your advisor and can reach out anytime with questions, concerns, or life changes. We also proactively contact clients when market events or legislative changes warrant a conversation. Think of us as an ongoing partner, not just a once-a-year check-in.

Yes, and we make the transition as seamless as possible. After our discovery process and your approval of our proposal, we handle the entire transfer — from coordinating with your current advisor and custodian to re-registering accounts and implementing your new investment strategy. Most account transfers are completed within one to two weeks. We also review your existing holdings for tax-efficient transition strategies, such as identifying positions that should be held versus those that can be sold without triggering unnecessary capital gains.

Yes. Through our office in Sandton, South Africa, we serve clients across the African continent. Our Sandton team provides the same institutional-quality wealth management, financial planning, and investment advisory services that we offer from our Salem headquarters. For clients with cross-border financial considerations — such as U.S. citizens living abroad or international investors with U.S. assets — our dual presence provides valuable coordination and local expertise on both sides.

There are several ways to reach us. You can call our Salem office, send us an email, fill out the contact form on our Contact page, or walk in during business hours (Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM). Our Salem headquarters is located at 216 Essex Street, Salem, MA 01970. Our Sandton office is at 5th Street, Sandown, Sandton, 2031, South Africa. However you prefer to connect, our team is ready to help.