Your Partner In Planning

True success in business is not about making money, it’s about serving people.

You deserve straightforward advice. Advice that makes your life less complicated. I’ve built my practice with that in mind.

Patuxent Financial Partners is a registered investment advisory firm, where I provide independent, fee-only financial planning and investment advice.

Finding the right financial planner can be difficult. An effective planning partnership requires trust, confidence and a commitment of time and energy.

I've posted some common questions on choosing a financial planner and how I structure my practice in Columbia, Maryland to help guide your search. Check my background on FINRA's BrokerCheck.

Schedule a visit today to learn more.

Independent, Fee-Only Financial Planning in Columbia, MD

About the Practice

Patuxent Financial Partners (PFP) is an independent, fee-only financial planning and investment advisory practice in Columbia, Maryland. We organized in 2010, and registered as an Investment Adviser with the State of Maryland in 2017.

Financial planning and investment management concepts are often muddied by unnecessary complexity, usually in an effort to sell you something. It doesn’t need to be this way.

Learn More About Partnering with Us

Comprehensive Financial Planning

For comprehensive financial planning, I charge a flat annual fee that is billed monthly, based on client complexity. For most new planning engagements, that fee is $3,600 to $5,400.

$1,200 - 9,600/year
($100 - $800/mo)

Investment Advisory Services

For investment advisory services, I charge an advisory fee based on the market value of the assets under management, that fee is calculated as follows:

Household Account Value	Annual Advisory Fee
$0 - $500,000	1.00%
$500,000.01 and Above	0.50%

For client households with greater than $250,000 in assets under management, I may discount or waive separate fees for comprehensive or fixed-fee financial planning services. Please see my Form ADV Part 2 for details on how these fees are calculated/billed.

I also offer single-project or hourly planning on a case by case basis.

FAQs

Why Fee-Only?

I believe that you should have access to financial advice from a fiduciary, regardless of the assets you have to invest (or whether you want or need investment management services in the first place). And you shouldn't need to worry whether that advice is clouded by a salesperson's commission.

What is your job?

My role as a financial planner is to make your life simpler, to help you efficiently and effectively narrow down your options, and be confident in those decisions for the long term.

Where do you work?

PFP offers in-person and virtual financial planning services, so you’re not limited by location or schedule. Prefer to meet in person? That’s great. Prefer to meet via Zoom? That works, too.

What’s your investment philosophy?

The vast majority of investors should build diversified portfolios using low-cost, passively managed mutual funds or ETFs. It doesn’t need to be complicated. I believe that technology has made investment management easier than ever and aids in building and managing a well-diversified, global portfolio, even for the DIY investor.

How do you approach investment management?

I believe that prudent long-term investing has much more to do with the management of human behavior than with the management of funds. Just like trying to maintain a healthy diet and exercising regularly, it’s difficult. Our brains are primed to value the short-term reward. Behavioral economists refer to this bias as hyperbolic discounting. We’re naturally inclined to value the new, expensive purchase today, more than we value the financial security of having saved those dollars for retirement.

Meet Matthew D. Porter

Owner/CCO

I began my career in the financial services industry in 2003 as an analyst with the due diligence law firm Snyder Kearney, LLC in Columbia, Maryland, where I reviewed public and private securities offerings and evaluated national securities sponsoring companies, focusing on real estate investments and nontraditional investment products. It was there that I realized that I wanted to know more about the practice of law and a lot more about the pretty co-worker in the cubicle next to me, Sylvie.

I earned my law degree in 2007 from the University of Baltimore School of Law and married Sylvie in 2008, further proof that education and personal relationships are the investments that produce the best returns. After law school, I practiced with the firm David Albert & Associates, LLC in Bethesda, Maryland, focusing in estate planning and administration, guardianship administration, taxation of estates and trusts and business formations. There, I recognized that helping clients through complicated and often stressful issues was intellectually stimulating and emotionally fulfilling.

In 2010, I opened Patuxent Financial Partners, LLC, registered as an Investment Adviser with the State of Maryland in 2017. I leverage my legal background to provide clients with value-added insight in the overlapping areas of estate and financial planning. More importantly, as a personal financial planner and small business owner, I can build lasting relationships with clients and their families; these connections make my work fulfilling, because client success becomes intertwined with my own. I am a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner and hold the FINRA Series 65 securities registration. I am also a member of the XY Planning Network.

Raised in Columbia, Maryland, I graduated from McDaniel College with a bachelor's degree in English. Outside of the office, I enjoy running, reading, and hiking with my wife, son, and our mutt hound, Kodi.

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Your Planning and Account Tools

View aggregated account data and access your Vault.

Access your detailed account statements directly with the custodian, Pershing Advisor Solutions.

Access your portfolio statements and reports
(through the Envestnet platform)
for Buckingham Strategic Partners
(formerly named Loring Ward).

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directly with Betterment.

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Contact

Choosing the right financial planner or investment adviser is a personal and multifaceted decision. As such, my initial consultation is provided free of charge. Current clients can use my scheduling system to book in-person or virtual meetings.

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