The decision to work with a financial advisor is one of the most important choices you’ll make as you approach or move through retirement. You deserve straight answers before you ever schedule a meeting.
Below are the questions we hear most often from the pre-retirees and retirees we serve across North Texas. If you don’t see your question answered here, we’d welcome the chance to talk through it directly. Real relationships start with real conversations, and at Peak American Investment Advisors, that’s how every client relationship begins.
Peak American is built specifically for the people navigating the most financially critical season of their lives, pre-retirees approaching the transition, and retirees already in it. We’re not for everyone, and that’s by design. Focusing on this specific season has allowed us to build deep expertise in exactly the planning challenges and life transitions our clients face.
Anyone can manage an account. We strive to be something more, a trusted financial partner who knows you personally, understands what matters most to you, and helps you move forward with confidence. That’s the difference between having money invested somewhere and having a team invested in you.
We’re intentionally boutique, which means we have the time to listen, plan, and understand. When you call our office, you speak with our team, not a call center. Your advisor knows your name, your family, and your story.
Peak American Investment Advisors was founded in 1993. For more than three decades, we’ve helped North Texas families convert a lifetime of hard work into lasting financial confidence.
Peak American Investment Advisors’ main office is at 2400 Dallas Pkwy, Suite 100, in Plano, TX. We also have offices at 910 E State Hwy 114, Suite 160 in Southlake, TX, and 209 Hubbard Dr, Suite 4, in Heath, TX, serving clients across Rockwall County and throughout North Texas.
Not at all. While our offices are based in North Texas, we work with clients across the country. Many of our relationships are conducted virtually, with in-person meetings as preferred. What matters is the relationship, not the zip code.
We typically work with families who have $500,000 or more in investable assets. If you’re approaching or already in retirement and your situation is more complex, a business sale, inheritance, or upcoming liquidity event, we welcome the conversation about whether Peak American Investment Advisors is the right fit.
On the assets we manage, Peak American Investment Advisors charges a transparent, asset-based advisory fee — and no commissions. That fee is calculated against your assets under management, never tied to investment recommendations, referral fees, or sales-based income on the wealth management side. When annuities are the right plan for a client, we may offer them and earn a commission on those specific products, which we always disclose. We clearly disclose all forms of compensation, because your lasting financial confidence is our only motivation in wealth management.
A fiduciary is held to the highest standard of care in the financial industry and is legally required to act in your best interests at all times, not just recommend what is “suitable.” Peak American Investment Advisors is a Registered Investment Advisor with the SEC, which means every advisor on our team is legally required to act as a fiduciary. It’s not a marketing point. It’s the standard we hold ourselves to every day, on every decision.
We meet with every client at least quarterly for a comprehensive review. Beyond that, our concierge experience means your advisor is reachable whenever life calls for it, a market event, a milestone, a question that deserves real attention. You’re not waiting until the next scheduled meeting to talk to someone who knows you.
Your first conversation with us is complimentary and carries no obligation. We’ll talk about where you are, where you want to be, and what matters most to you. We don’t lead with products or pitches. We lead with listening, because the right plan starts with understanding the person, not the portfolio.
We provide integrated wealth management built specifically for pre-retirees and retirees. That includes investment management, retirement income planning, tax strategy, estate coordination, and insurance review, all working together as one cohesive plan. You don’t get a separate advisor for each piece. You get a coordinated team.
Yes, retirement planning is at the heart of everything we do. We specialize in helping our clients convert a lifetime of hard work into sustainable income and lasting financial confidence. This includes Social Security timing, Medicare and IRMAA coordination, withdrawal sequencing, RMD planning, and the tax strategy that ties it all together.
We don’t prepare tax returns ourselves, but we coordinate year-round with our partner CPA firm on the tax decisions that matter most, Roth conversions, asset location, charitable giving strategies, and tax-efficient distribution. Our clients have access to this expertise as part of their relationship with Peak American Investment Advisors, at no extra advisory charge. If you already have a CPA you trust, we coordinate directly with them.
We don’t draft legal documents ourselves, but we coordinate closely with our partner estate-planning attorneys to ensure your wealth transfers as you intend, with minimal friction, minimal tax exposure, and beneficiary designations that reflect your wishes. As with our CPA partnership, our clients have access to these resources at no extra advisory charge. If you already work with an estate attorney, we coordinate directly with them.
When annuities are the right fit for a client’s situation, we may include them as part of a comprehensive plan and we earn commissions on those products. We don’t lead with annuities, and we don’t recommend them unless they genuinely serve your goals. As fiduciaries, every recommendation we make is evaluated against one standard: what is in your best interest.
Your dedicated advisor leads the relationship, but our investment strategy is overseen by our in-house Portfolio Manager. That means you benefit from institutional-grade investment management delivered with a personal touch, sophisticated tools and disciplined oversight working in the background, while your advisor focuses on you.
Of course. Many of the clients who come to us were already working with another advisor, sometimes for years. Most of those conversations begin with a complimentary review of your existing plan. We never pressure anyone to make a change before they’re ready, and we’re happy to share an honest perspective even if we’re not the right fit.
It’s more straightforward than most people expect. We handle the paperwork, coordinate the transfer of your accounts, and walk through your full financial picture in detail before any changes are made. Your investments stay with the same major institutional custodians most advisors use, your old firm doesn’t keep your assets when you leave. Throughout the transition, your advisor is the one explaining what’s happening and why.
That’s one of the most common conversations we have. Sometimes the answer is staying where you are with new clarity about what to ask for. Sometimes it’s making a change. We help you figure out which one fits your situation, without pressure, and without obligation.
Your first conversation with us is complimentary and carries no obligation. We’ll discuss where you are, where you want to be, and whether our approach is the right fit for you.
