Hawkes Fee Only Advisors pairs with advisory firm, plans name change

PORT DICKINSON — Hawkes Fee Only Advisors has forged a closer relationship with a Rochester–area company in a move that allows Hawkes to lower fees for clients while providing better service.

This past March, Hawkes Fee Only Advisors in Port Dickinson, and Syntax Research of Pittsford, filed a Form ADV with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), enabling the partner companies to file jointly with both the SEC and the state securities authorities to reduce costs.

The pairing has already resulted in a 12 percent reduction in custodial fees for clients in April, Hawkes Fee Only Advisors’ President Peyton Hawkes says. The reduction is a direct result of the closer relationship with Syntax enabling Hawkes to negotiate a better rate for its customers, he adds.

As joint advisors, the two companies remain separate entities, but work together to provide wealth-management services to Hawkes’ approximately 175 clients. Hawkes Fee Only Advisors is a member of the Syntax network, which means Hawkes works directly with the clients and Syntax serves as the portfolio adviser.

Working together means better service and prices for clients, Hawkes says. Hawkes and Syntax shared the cost of adding a resident portfolio accounting system — a service Hawkes says he previously outsourced — to give customers a single statement of value and performance by aggregating their investment history and portfolio including 401(k)s, annuities, and all outside assets.

Hawkes retained Syntax as a sub-advisor at his firm just over two years ago and really likes the investment strategies Syntax creates using exchange-traded funds, which are a low-cost way to invest that carry some special risks. Syntax built Hawkes a risk-target group of strategies to more reliably measure investment risks and enables the firm to reallocate funds when global economic conditions change. Syntax also “stress tests” those strategies for a variety of risks on a monthly basis. Syntax (www.syntaxresearch.com), located just outside Rochester, is an independent resource for investment advisors, brokers, and dealers.

The result is an investment strategy that works well in today’s fast-changing global economy, Hawkes says. The positive results of that work led to the decision to register as joint advisors, he says.

Pairing with Syntax reduces the fees for all the SEC filings that come along with providing wealth-management services. While the firm once could draft its own filings, the requirements have become so complicated in recent years that Hawkes Fee Only Advisors now hires a lawyer to draft them, Hawkes says. Both companies will see cost savings from being able to file jointly rather than paying their own separate lawyers, he notes.

From a customer perspective, not too many changes are visible, Hawkes says. Over time, he says, those customers will benefit from reduced fees and even better management of their portfolios.

A more visible change will be the company’s name change from Hawkes Fee Only Advisors (www.hawekesfeeonly.com) to Hawkes Wealth Management. Hawkes says the new name more accurately reflects the role the company plays as the centerpiece of a group of professional partners that include asset managers, accountants, and insurance professionals. The informal alliance of professionals drives the company toward better products and services for clients, he says. The company will remain a “fee-only” firm, which means it does not sell any financial product for income. Instead, the firm operates without a broker/dealer, can act as a legal fiduciary, and represents only the client.

Located at 721 Chenango St., Hawkes employs one other person besides Peyton Hawkes and serves 175 clients through about 300 accounts. The firm currently has $26 million in assets under management, up from $24 million a year ago.