Woodway Financial is a Texas state chartered and regulated trust company. In 1982, Judy Bozeman founded the company in Houston , Texas , and in 2007, we celebrated our 25th year in business. We currently serve approximately 500 client families with a staff of more than thirty employees, including eleven officers, and manage in excess of $1.25 billion. Woodway Financial Advisors has been ranked among the top twenty money management firms in the greater Houston area.

Judy Bozeman, Woodway Financial's founder, currently serves as the company's Chairman of the Board and continues to work with an active client base specializing in financial planning, investment management and trust services. Bill Cunningham, President, and Rick Morales, Executive Vice President, have each been with Woodway Financial Advisors for more than seventeen years. Together, the two oversee the management of the company. Maureen Phillips, Senior Vice President and Manager of Trust Administration and Karen Potts, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, complete our executive team. Each have tenures of more than twelve years with Woodway Financial.

Give us a call and ask to speak with one of our client relationship officers. We often begin with what we call a “needs assessment” meeting. We ask that you bring in your financial and investment information and meet with us to discuss your situation, goals and objectives. Based on this input from you, we will outline any recommendations for a financial planning engagement and/or investment analysis, and any fees associated with the proposal. There is no charge for this initial needs assessment meeting.

At Woodway Financial, we take a classic top down approach to constructing and maintaining an investment portfolio. We begin with a comprehensive assessment of the economic environment that forecasts an outlook for both domestic and international markets that takes into consideration interest rates, inflation and political changes. With this assessment, we can then establish asset allocation guidelines for your various portfolios (equity, fixed income or cash reserves) that take into account your personal goals and acceptable risk parameters.

When we enter into a portfolio management agreement with a new client, the first thing we do is gather information from you on all aspects of your personal finances, including assets and liabilities, income and expenses, investments, insurance, estate planning documents, retirement benefits and family information. We also collect information about your financial and family goals.

Once this information has been collected and assessed, we begin the process of preparing a customized and comprehensive plan with specific recommendations covering all areas of your personal finance. This usually takes about four to six weeks. When we present the plan to you, you can ask any questions about our analysis and recommendations, and of course, we can make adjustments as necessary.

Once your plan is in final form, we can begin implementation, including in the process your CPA, attorney or other professionals as appropriate. Initial implementation of a new portfolio management agreement typically takes a period of three to four months.

At Woodway Financial, we have no cookie cutter products to sell nor do we offer a one-size-fits-all approach to investment. Each portfolio is tailor-made with securities selected specifically for each individual client. However, we would be happy to review your current investment portfolio and provide recommendations on how we would restructure investments, including specific purchases and sales to better meet your financial goals.

Yes. Unlike many money managers, Woodway Financial never takes your money and then tells you how it is performing a year later. It's your money, so we will customize the investment process to meet your wishes. For most clients, we establish a mutually agreeable portfolio objective and Woodway is given discretion on the purchases and sales consistent with that portfolio objective. For others, we make recommendations on portfolio action but do not trade without prior approval. We are happy to operate under either arrangement and there is no difference in the respective fee.

Whether you elect to open an Investment Advisory Account (IAA) or an Investment Management Account (IMA), we will send you the same information on all investment trades, including a summary profile on any new stocks to be added to your portfolio. These reports give pertinent company and financial information along with our assessment and rationale for adding them to your portfolio. The only difference is that with an IMA, we don't ask for you to sign and return the approval copy.

We initially mail monthly statements on your Woodway account that detail portfolio positions, including cost basis, and transactional activity. After a transition period, most clients opt for quarterly statements, but can continue to receive monthly statements if they choose at no extra charge. We provide Form 1099 tax reporting and a comprehensive year-end tax worksheet that details all transactions. In addition, all clients have the opportunity to access their account information “online” through our web site at www.woodwayfinancial.com.

Each client relationship officer is directly supported by an Account Administrator and an Administrative Assistant. These individuals will become familiar with you and your accounts. They can provide information, answer routine questions and handle transactional activity, including disbursements or deposits. The administrative team is also supported by a dedicated portfolio manager who will also be familiar with your account. At Woodway Financial, we encourage regular calls and meetings to review your accounts. We want to be proactive in dealing with you and your investments, so never hesitate to contact us about your any aspect of your finances.

Client assets under our custody are separate and apart from the company. Woodway provides multiple layers of insurance protection for client assets. We have fidelity bonds on all employees and $20 million in errors and omission insurance. Additional insurance protection is provided for custody and delivery of securities through the Depository Trust Company in New York City . As a regulated trust company, Woodway is also audited by the Texas State Department of Banking. In addition, we are audited by top tier regional accounting firms on our fiduciary accounts and our corporate operations.

Our fees, based on a percent of assets actively managed, are consistent with those charged in the trust industry, however, they tend to fall in the lower half of the range. Woodway Financial is unique among trust companies, however, in providing ongoing financial and estate planning services to our investment clients at no additional charge. Many money management firms charge a base fee similar to ours, but then often tack on a “performance fee” if their investment performance exceeds a hypothetical benchmark and traditional retail brokers charge commissions based on the level of trading activity that can often exceed money management fees.

In most cases, the fees paid to Woodway for portfolio management or financial planning are deductible as an itemized deduction on your income tax return. If you have the fees assessed for the management of your Woodway IRA charged to your non-retirement account at Woodway or billed to you, these fees are also eligible for tax deduction. Certain of our fees as they relate to the production of tax-exempt income are not deductible. Please check with your CPA about the applicability of any such deductions.

Absolutely. We are a chartered and regulated Texas state trust company and fully authorized under Texas law to serve as a corporate executor, trustee or guardian of an estate. In these situations we take on the fiduciary duty of managing the assets for the benefit of the beneficiaries and carrying out the distribution standards outlined in the governing instrument. We work with the CPA in tax compliance requirements and the preparation and filing of the annual tax return. In most cases, if we are managing the assets of the trust, we do not charge additional fees for our service as trustee.

As executor, we take responsibility for marshalling and protecting the assets of the estate, valuing the assets and liabilities and working with the attorney and CPA in providing the information necessary for both federal and state death tax returns, income tax returns and probate inventories. Once the estate is settled, we distribute the assets in accordance with the will and work with the beneficiaries for a smooth transition.

We are uniquely qualified and equipped to assist families with the investment management and administration of family partnerships, foundations or a family office. With our professional staff of JDs, CFPs and CFAs, we understand how these entities work and what makes sense from an investment and administration standpoint. We serve the family members who are partners or trustees as an advisor and agent in operating and maintaining these entities to best meet the tax and family goals and objectives.

We help ensure that the partnership is run on a business like basis, often administering expenses and partner disbursements in addition to tax and legal compliance, working with the family's CPA and attorney as necessary. For foundations, we often are the public address of record to safeguard family privacy, acting as an intermediary on grant requests and disbursements. We help with the annual Board meeting, maintain the minutes and records and work with the CPA and attorney on tax and legal compliance.

You can access cash reserves from your Woodway investment account in several ways and usually on the same day if we are notified by 11:00a.m. Many clients set up an automatic remittance, usually monthly, to provide funds to help meet lifestyle needs. We can send you or your bank a check, wire cash directly to your bank account or establish an ACH (Automated Clearing House) transfer to your bank account. While Woodway does not charge a fee for these disbursements, most recipient banks will usually charge a fee of $8-12.00 for incoming wire transfers. ACH transfers work well for reoccurring remittances and there is no fee, but set up and changes generally take up to one week. As a convenience, we can also make estimated income tax payments or other scheduled disbursements, such as mortgage payments, directly from your Woodway account.

We want to make conducting business on your Woodway account as convenient as possible, consistent with protecting the security and privacy of your investment funds. We accept written instructions signed by the client or other authorized signer on the account and these can be provided to us by fax at 713-683-0702. With your written permission, we will also accept requests by phone or from recognized email addresses.