FOR MANY PEOPLE, MANAGING MONEY MEANS JUGGLING A BROKER AND an accountant, and an estate attorney who’s never met either one. Jamison Private Wealth was founded on a different idea: Investing, taxes and estate planning work better when they’re handled together by a team that’s legally required to put the client first.
Peyton Jamison leads the firm, a family-owned investment advisory based in the Milton and Alpharetta area of Georgia. His father, Bobby Jamison, a CPA and CFP (Certified Financial Planner), started the company back in 1988. Today, Peyton, also a CFP, owns and runs the business, and he’s clear about the values he wants to preserve.
“I always wanted to work for my father,” Jamison says. “My goal is to keep the business employee- and family-owned and continue that legacy. We’ve always had a strong work ethic and have always been transparent, and that will always be our foundation.”
The firm works with successful business owners and their families, offering a wide range of services. Retirement planning, tax strategy, wealth forecasting, long-term cash flow management, estate planning, education savings, charitable giving and insurance review are all part of the package. Rather than just offering a single service, Jamison Private Wealth acts as a full financial operating system for families, built around one key principle: The firm is a fiduciary.
“A fiduciary is governed by the SEC,” Jamison explains. “We have a legal responsibility to put the client’s interest first, before ours. Most brokers are subject to a suitability standard, which is much broader. In the financial industry, the vast majority of the time, when someone is selling you a product and generating a commission, there’s usually a more cost-effective option for the client.”
That difference is more important than it might seem. Under a suitability standard, an advisor only has to recommend something that’s reasonably appropriate, not necessarily the best choice available. Two products might both qualify, even if one comes with higher commissions and a worse long-term outcome for the client. Fiduciaries don’t have that leeway. Every recommendation must put the client’s interest first, every time.
This approach also shapes how the firm gets paid. Jamison Private Wealth charges a clear, straightforward fee based on a percentage of assets under management, instead of earning commissions on products. There are no hidden layers or guessing games about what’s behind a recommendation.
Jamison notes that staying independent, rather than being tied to a big Wall Street firm, helps keep costs down. Larger firms often have more people taking a share of every dollar, which usually means higher fees for clients.
Another differentiator: The firm manages client assets in-house rather than farming the work out to third-party money managers, which is standard practice at many advisory shops. “Typically, at most firms, they outsource to third-party money managers,” Jamison says. “The advisor is just a relationship person. When they outsource it, that’s just another layer of fees.” Keeping management in-house means the firm can tell clients exactly what they own and why, without a middleman diluting the answer.
One thing that surprises many new clients is that Jamison Private Wealth has CPAs on staff, and they’re fully integrated with the investment team. The firm prepares tax returns directly for clients, so there’s no need to coordinate with an outside accountant. That means you’re not emailing a different person every time you have a question, and your accountant already knows your full financial picture and can catch issues that might slip through the cracks at a typical brokerage. The same approach applies to estate planning, where the firm works closely with attorneys to review wills and trusts and make sure a family’s wishes are carried out.
Jamison is candid about how often that piece gets neglected. “It amazes me how many people haven’t addressed estate planning,” he says. “If something happens to you and your spouse, and you have children, especially minor children, and you don’t have a plan, then you’re going to be left with a court making decisions and very likely family infighting.”
Jamison also believes clients should know how to check any advisor’s work, not just his own. His advice is straightforward: Look up the advisor on the SEC’s investment advisor search tool to see if there are any disclosures and ask directly how they’re paid. With a clean record and a clear answer on fees, most clients can quickly get the information they need.
No matter what’s happening in the world, the firm’s approach remains calm and steady. “We don’t get shaken by daily headlines or news cycles,” Jamison says. “We position clients around their long-term goals and allocate accordingly, so short-term volatility doesn’t derail them.”
The real value of the firm’s unique approach is having access to a single team, fully accountable to you, handling the entire financial picture instead of just one part. *
Robin Howard is a freelance writer in Charleston. See more of her work at robinhowardwrites.com.
