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Industry Veterans Rethink Outsourced Investment Solutions for Advisors

Press Release

May 30, 2016

Company Announcement

We are challenging industry convention about how to build portfolios.

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A group of industry veterans, led by managed account pioneer Scott MacKillop, has launched a firm that is taking a radically new approach to providing outsourced investment management solutions to financial advisors and their clients.

“We are challenging industry convention about how to build portfolios, how to charge for them and how to educate clients to help them reach their goals,” says MacKillop. “The new firm, First Ascent Asset Management, is built around five core ideas:”

Client Focus. If you design a firm that truly puts clients’ interests first, you end up with a fundamentally different firm than if your focus is making money for the house.

We tried to build the firm we would want our mothers to work with if they needed help investing their life’s savings. We always ask, “What’s best for our clients?”

Rethinking Portfolio Management. Many of today’s portfolio management practices are built on dogma, bad math and pseudo-science that doesn’t work in the real world.

We went back to basics and questioned everything. The world is complex, but investment solutions don’t need to be. We build elegantly simple portfolios.

Investor Education. Investment success depends on investor behavior. We all should have been given a course in school about investing, but most of us never were.

We are creating an ongoing program of clear, concise information to help clients become better, more confident investors. We want to equip clients for success.

Changing the Fee Paradigm. The fee structure used today by the asset management industry lacks logic and results in both large and small accounts paying too much.

We charge low fees and cap them. Once an account reaches a certain level, the fee never goes up. For advisors with lots of accounts, we manage them all for a flat fee.

Humans Matter. We welcome the advent of the robos. Their technology benefits everyone. We certainly put it to good use. But investing is not a mechanical process.

Building portfolios requires judgment and experience. Clients benefit from expert guidance. Our seasoned professionals work hand-in-hand with fiduciary advisors.


About First Ascent Asset Management
First Ascent provides outsourced portfolio management services to financial advisors and their clients. The firm works directly with registered investment advisors (RIAs) and advisors affiliated with independent broker-dealers. Its portfolios are also available for distribution through “fund strategist” platforms.

The firm’s founder, Scott MacKillop, is a 40-year veteran of the financial services industry and has been providing portfolio management services to independent advisors for over 25 years. First Ascent has both an internal investment group and an independent, outside investment committee to bring an added level of objectivity and fresh perspectives. Collectively, the team has over 200 years of experience.

For more information, contact Scott MacKillop at scott@firstascentam.com or 720-670-9169. First Ascent is located in the Industry Building www.industrydenver.com at 3001 Brighton Blvd., Suite 2760, in the heart of Denver’s RiNo Arts District.

Visit the First Ascent Asset Management YouTube channel.