Five Star award winner Bill Spalding

Not Your Typical Financial Advisor

In the stock market crash of '08, millions lost trillions. Investors all over America and the world wished they could have, somehow, seen it coming. There's one financial advisor who not only anticipated the bottom falling out, but put in place a plan to do something about it.

One Fateful Friday Afternoon

Bill Spalding was working late one Friday in August 2007, when he was surprised by something that came across his computer screen: The U.S. government had made a large deposit to the U.S. credit market. This was unusual not just because of the size of the transaction, but because it came without a preannouncement and happened late on a Friday, when potential news stories often get buried.

Wondering what to make of this, Spalding started poring through assorted periodicals, looking for an explanation. He found one sentence in one article that said a deposit had also been made by the German government to its credit market. "I went home and spent the weekend reading everything I could find, looking for a pattern," says Spalding. "Then, finally, on Sunday afternoon, I found the missing piece – the same thing had happened in Japan. Connecting the dots, I could see the first signs of the worldwide subprime loan crisis."

Having foreseen the danger, Spalding took action in his portfolios. The rest is history. Starting in November 2007, the house of cards came crashing down, but Spalding's clients were positioned to weather the financial crisis.

Determined to Make a Difference

This is just one example of the way Spalding uses his insight and determination to make a difference. He started Bill Spalding Wealth Management in 1996, after spending 15 years learning all he could from the big national firms. "I don't believe the large Wall Street model is conducive to fostering the client relationship," he says. "This has prevented clients from getting the service and attention they deserve. That's why I designed my firm to be fee-only, providing investors with independent and objective advice, and, above all, excellent customer service. I truly embrace serving clients. To me there's nothing like seeing the positive impact my work has on them and their families."

A strong supporter of the arts, culture and education, Spalding has a unique way of treating investors’ right. He has sponsored excursions to places like the High Museum of Art, the Atlanta History Center, and the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. These visits give his clients a chance to be a part of something they may not experience otherwise, and to reap rewards that aren't just financial. Or, as Spalding likes to tell them, "I'll create the event and you create the memories."

Spalding is a positive force not just in the financial community, but in the local community, as well. He does volunteer work for a number of organizations and supports various charities. But then, Bill Spalding's personal and professional philosophies are the same: A life spent serving others is a life lived well.

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Bill Spalding Wealth Management
One Buckhead Plaza • 3060 Peachtree Rd NW
Suite 250 • Atlanta, GA 30305
Tel (404)255-3331 • Toll Free (888)255-3331
Fax (404)255-9899
bill@spaldingwealth.com
www.spaldingwealth.com

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This award was issued on 9/1/23 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 11/14/22 through 5/31/23. Fee paid for use of marketing materials. Self-completed questionnaire was used for rating. This rating is not related to the quality of the investment advice and based solely on the disclosed criteria. 3,209 Atlanta-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 237 (7% of candidates) were named 2023 Five Star Wealth Managers. The following prior year statistics use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2022: 3285, 263, 8%, 9/1/22, 12/13/21 - 6/10/22; 2021: 3254, 265, 8%, 9/1/21, 11/30/20 - 6/25/21; 2020: 3314, 268, 8%, 9/1/20, 12/23/19 - 7/10/20; 2019: 3197, 285, 9%, 9/1/19, 12/10/18 - 7/23/19; 2018: 3248, 287, 9%, 9/1/18, 12/29/17 - 7/24/18; 2017: 2378, 301, 13%, 9/1/17, 12/30/16 - 7/14/17; 2016: 2210, 526, 24%, 8/1/16, 2/4/16 - 7/22/16; 2015: 3620, 546, 15%, 9/1/15, 2/4/15 - 7/22/15; 2014: 4433, 560, 13%, 9/1/14, 2/4/14 - 7/22/14; 2013: 2852, 592, 21%, 9/1/13, 2/4/13 - 7/22/13; 2012: 2660, 607, 23%, 9/1/12, 2/4/12 - 7/22/12.

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Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers. The award is based on 10 objective criteria. Eligibility criteria-required: 1. Credentialed as a registered investment adviser (RIA) or a registered investment adviser representative; 2. Actively licensed as a RIA or as a principal of a registered investment adviser firm for a minimum of 5 years; 3. Favorable regulatory and complaint history review (As defined by FSP, the wealth manager has not; A. Been subject to a regulatory action that resulted in a license being suspended or revoked, or payment of a fine; B. Had more than a total of three settled or pending complaints filed against them and/or a total of five settled, pending, dismissed or denied complaints with any regulatory authority or FSP's consumer complaint process. Unfavorable feedback may have been discovered through a check of complaints registered with a regulatory authority or complaints registered through FSP's consumer complaint process; feedback may not be representative of any one client's experience; C. Individually contributed to a financial settlement of a customer complaint; D. Filed for personal bankruptcy within the past 11 years; E. Been terminated from a financial services firm within the past 11 years; F. Been convicted of a felony); 4. Fulfilled their firm review based on internal standards; 5. Accepting new clients. Evaluation criteria-considered: 6. One-year client retention rate; 7. Five-year client retention rate; 8. Non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered; 9. Number of client households served; 10. Education and professional designations. FSP does not evaluate quality of services provided to clients. The award is not indicative of the wealth manager's future performance . Wealth Managers may or may not use discretion in their practice and therefore may not manage their clients' assets. The inclusion of a wealth manager on the Five Star Wealth Manager list should not be construed as an endorsement of the wealth manager by FSP or this publication. Working with a Five Star Wealth Manager or any wealth manager is no guarantee as to future investment success, nor is there any guarantee that the selected wealth managers will be awarded this accomplishment by FSP in the future. Visit www.fivestarprofessional.com.