There is no “cookie cutter” approach to what we do for you. Our long track record of trusted guidance, objective advice and investment management will guide you throughout your journey as you pursue your life goals.
Watch the videoIt starts with step1. where we ask thoughtful questions to determine your comfort level with taking risk. To get started, learn more about step1.
We analyze your current situation and work with you to build a financial plan identifying your life goals and how your money will help you fulfill those goals.
We advise then build an investment portfolio for you, using our professionally-managed investment strategies.
Your customized investment portfolio is continuously monitored and adjusted as your goals and priorities evolve.
Taking the first step with step1., clients understand how they think and feel about taking risk in their investment portfolio. Get started on your journey now — take your risk survey.
Take Your Risk Survey
A blend of innovative active managers and low-cost passive strategies.
Strategic, low-cost investment management with no trading fees.
With Bluemonte, we’ve built an investment platform where you have robust choices for how your portfolio is invested.
Your dynamic financial plan and net worth statement reflect your customized investment portfolio. Gone are the days of a static plan in a pretty binder on a shelf.
Watch Your Financial Plan Overview
See all your investment accounts and your financial plan updated for current market values including a dynamic net worth statement and receive market updates and commentary.
Securely store all of your documents in one place including financial statements, customized reports, tax and estate documents, healthcare directives and power of attorney.
Schedule a quick call, meeting, a formal review or speak to your Advisor in real-time via video conference call — all from FETCH.
Rick Wedell joined RFG Advisory as Partner and Chief Investment Officer (CIO)in 2016. As CIO and leader of RFG's Investment Team, Rick manages multi-asset portfolios and provides strategic insights on asset allocation and portfolioconstruction. Rick also leads the design and enhancements of RFG's custom-built, institutional-caliber, client-focused investment platform known as"Bluemonte", currently managing over $3 billion of assets under management.
Rick Wedell joined RFG Advisory as Partner and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) in 2016. As CIO and leader of RFG's Investment Team, Rick manages multi-asset portfolios and provides strategic insights on asset allocation and portfolio construction. Rick also leads the design and enhancements of RFG's custom-built, institutional-caliber, client-focused investment platform known as "Bluemonte", currently managing over $3 billion of assets under management.
Rick's guiding principle is simple, straight forward analysis coupled with a consistent, rigorous investment process. Recognizing that foundations and family offices often enjoy a significantly higher level of access and sophistication around portfolio management, Rick designed an innovative investment experience focused on bringing that level of service and direct accessibility to financial Advisors at RFG Advisory.
Before joining RFG, Rick spent 12 years at Bain Capital Credit, where he rose through the ranks to become Executive Vice President, Head of Fixed Income Consumer Investments, and Assistant Portfolio Manager. Rick played an instrumental role in helping Bain grow to become a global investment powerhouse, serving client assets in excess of $30 billion.
Managing portfolios through the volatile markets of 2001 and 2008, Rick experienced firsthand the importance of portfolio diversification and the trade-offs between risk and portfolio return. He applies those same lessons today to managing client and institutional portfolios at RFG Advisory.
Named a 2021 LUMINARY by ThinkAdvisor for Thought-Leadership & Education, Rick conducts client events, seminars, and workshops around the country and a bi-weekly series called Market Commentary with Rick Wedell on YouTube. From customized asset allocation recommendations to detailed investment analysis, he also works one-on-one with our Advisors and their clients to construct customized portfolios that help meet their defined goals.
Under Rick's leadership, RFG Advisory was named a Finalist for the Investment News Innovation Awards 2021 and Best Places to Work for Financial Advisors, in addition to other industry accolades from Barron's, Financial Times, Money Management Institute, and WealthManagement.com.
Rick has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was awarded the Henry Ford II Scholar. He earned a B.A. in Applied Mathematics & Economics from Harvard University, Magna Cum Laude.
The Bluemonte Investment Platform, led by RFG’s Chief Investment Officer Rick Wedell, distinguishes itself by being an institutional-caliber solution for Advisors and their clients. Adding Eric as a leader of the Investment Team adds depth and experience to the Platform.
Read Eric’s BioHead Institutional Trader
After 30 years on Wall Street as an Institutional Trader, Eric relocated to Birmingham in late 2020 and joined RFG Advisory. Energized by the opportunity to put his talent and experience to work in an entrepreneurial environment, Eric assumed the role of Head Trader on the Bluemonte Investment team. Prior to joining RFG, Eric spent a decade as a Senior Equity Trader for Invesco, Inc. (formerly Oppenheimer Funds) where he provided trade execution of domestic and international equities for a management team with portfolios valued at $28 billion. Eric was responsible for daily trading volumes exceeding $50 million. Before Invesco, he held Senior Equity Trader positions at RS Investments, Guardian Life & Gabelli Asset Management.
Eric has extensive experience in financial management, analysis and investment strategy acquired during his long tenure on Wall Street. With his finger on the pulse of what’s driving the market, Eric excels at communicating fundamental, technical and quantitative analysis to RFG’s Investment team and Advisors. This real-time communication enables our Advisors to truly understand the how and why of what is driving the day to day performance of domestic and international markets. You cannot underestimate the value add of an expert trader in-house sharing their perspective. His is an insight earned by having a front-row seat through 30 years of bull markets, market corrections, reactions to company earnings, currency crises and, of course, the 2008 financial crisis.
When you spend your career sitting on a high-performing trading desk, you develop an obsession for accuracy, because if you make a mistake on a $50 million dollar trade, it can be career-ending. Like a pilot missing a runway, it is just not allowed to happen, so the level of care that is applied to trading portfolios is unmatched. As Eric likes to say, “I have witnessed every mistake an investor can make, and they are never obvious before they happen. I can help avoid those mistakes.”
What is most exciting about Eric joining the RFG team is that his skill of providing an exemplary trading experience to the world’s top investment professionals is now available to our Advisors and their clients invested in Bluemonte.
As an independent advisor, we are empowered to serve our clients in-line with our values and our vision. So we’ve partnered with RFG, an innovative turnkey platform engineered specifically to support independent financial advisors like us. RFG handles much of the critical behind-the-scenes support required to run our successful business so that we can spend our time doing what we love — serving you, our clients.
Chairman & CEO
Read BioChairman & CEO
In 2003, Bobby founded RFG Advisory. His leadership abilities, passionate commitment to the independent RIA model and genuine desire to help clients pursue their personal goals led him to this point. Bobby is devoted to helping Advisors pursue their dreams and maximize the value of their independent practice. He brings two decades of experience to the table and loves to discuss, craft and help Advisors execute a well-planned succession strategy. Bobby also leads RFG Advisory’s business consulting efforts, meeting with each advisor quarterly to share best practices, and enthusiastically recruits Advisors to join RFG Advisory.
“Be in business for yourself, not by yourself,” is Bobby’s favorite quote, and he has built RFG Advisory’s management team and infrastructure to support this motto.
Bobby enjoys spending time with his two children, Sela and Garrett. He also loves college football, traveling and hunting.
President
Read BioPresident
Shannon Spotswood is a 25-year industry veteran in financial services with an outstanding reputation built on leadership roles in investment banking, hedge fund management, and business development. At RFG Advisory, Shannon oversees all aspects of RFG 2.0, a fully integrated platform designed for independent financial advisors and the implementation of strategic initiatives contributing to advisor success. Joining RFG Advisory in 2015, Shannon recognized the opportunity to combine her entrepreneurial experience with her passion to build an innovative, advisor-focused RIA of the future.
Under Shannon’s leadership, RFG Advisory was named Best Places to Work for Financial Advisors in 2021 and a Finalist for the InvestmentNews Innovation Awards 2021. In 2020, Financial Times named RFG Advisory a Top 300 RIA out of 13,000 firms. In 2020, Shannon was named 2020 Women to Watch Honoree by InvestmentNews and received industry-wide recognition for StrongHer Money, a turn-key education and advisor referral platform focused on serving women.
In an industry marked by accelerated change and disruption, Shannon is a standout. She is a frequent speaker at conferences, podcasts, and industry events on strategic execution, operational excellence, technology, and best practices on leading, recruiting, and mentoring next-gen talent and financial advisors. She also has experience talking about start-ups, having built a luxury children’s clothing brand Busy Bees Kids from the ground floor up. With her partner, Busy Bees grew from a trunk-show business based in a garage to a successful brand featured in Vogue and carried in more than 150 stores and online.
Shannon’s career is characterized by a blend of leadership, vision, and grit. Before joining RFG Advisory, Spotswood served 20 years in San Francisco, working as an Investment Banker, Hedge Fund Portfolio Manager, and Entrepreneur. For 10 years Shannon worked at Symphony Asset Management, an $18 billion hedge fund acquired by Nuveen Investments in 2001 where she spent six years as the Portfolio Manager of a long-short equity hedge fund. Before that, she worked as a Research Analyst/Trader at EGM Capital and an Investment Banking Analyst and Associate in M&A at Volpe, Brown Whelan & Co, a technology-focused investment bank.
Shannon earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from the University of Arizona. She currently serves as Vice Chairman (Chairman beginning July 21) for the Birmingham EducationFoundation and serves on the Advisory Board of Alabama Futures Fund, an early-stage VC fund.
Shannon lives in Birmingham, Alabama, where she and her husband have raised their son and two daughters. She enjoys entertaining, outdoor sports, and daily rides on her Peloton.
Board Member
Read BioBoard Member
Mendel is a seasoned business executive and investor. He is currently the Managing Member of Melzer Consulting, LLC, where he advises investors on investment strategy, asset allocation and implementation. He also serves as Chief Investment Officer of CapAcuity, LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor serving the executive benefit market. Mendel is also Managing Director of Melzer Investment Co., a private real-estate firm, a role he has held since 1984.
Since 1984, Mendel has held multiple senior positions with leading investment firms. For 15 years, Mendel was President and Chief Investment Officer of Newport Group Securities, an institutional broker-dealer and investment advisor with over $25 billion in assets under advisement. Newport provides investment advice to corporate retirement plans and other institutional investors, as a subsidiary of a retirement services firm with over $150 billion in assets.
Prior to joining Newport, Mendel was Chief Investment Officer at both Prudential Investments and Weiss, Peck and Greer. In those roles, he led investment teams responsible for both public and private investments totaling $180 billion and $18 billion, respectively. At Weiss, Peck and Greer, Mendel was instrumental in launching several new alternative investment vehicles. At Prudential, he led all investment activity for non-General Account investment strategies, following several years leading merchant banking teams.
Mendel earned his BBA (with honors) in Management from University of Wisconsin – Madison and his MBA (with distinction) in Finance and International Business from New York University. He is a holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) certifications.
Board Member
Read BioBoard Member
Bill is the Chief Investment Strategist for Arlington. In his role, he oversees asset allocation strategy, portfolio management, manager due diligence and works directly with clients and serves in an investment advisory role.
He received his undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of Colorado and his MBA from Indiana University. Bill has over twenty‐four years of traditional and alternative investment management experience including five years as CIO for McDonald Investment Company, a single family office. Prior experience includes over six years in New York with Hanson PLC in its Mergers & Acquisitions Group, where he managed over two dozen transactions in excess of $2 billion. Additionally, he spent over four years as a Corporate Finance professional for Price Waterhouse in Los Angeles. Bill has earned his Chartered Financial Analyst designation.