Maryland has plenty of financial advisors. Most of them work for big firms with quotas, proprietary products, and revenue-sharing arrangements that quietly shape every recommendation. StandUP Advisors was built as the opposite — an independent, fee-only fiduciary RIA based in Maryland, serving founders, business owners, and entrepreneurs across the state and nationwide.
Most "financial advisors" you find through a Google search for Maryland are licensed to sell products on commission alongside giving advice. That's not illegal — it's the dominant business model. It also means the advice you get is filtered through "what pays the advisor." A fee-only fiduciary RIA can't operate that way. The only money that comes into StandUP Advisors comes from clients, directly, on a transparent fee schedule that gets disclosed before you sign anything.
Integrity doesn't need a cop. The fee structure is built so I never have a reason to give you advice that isn't in your interest.
One honest number: S&P Indices vs Active (SPIVA) data shows roughly 88% of active US large-cap funds underperformed the S&P 500 over 15 years. Your Maryland advisor probably wasn't going to pick the 12%. The structural answer is to stop trying — and pay instead for the work that actually compounds: tax coordination, withdrawal sequencing, behavioral coaching, entity structure. That's the real job, and it's what fee-only frees you to do well.
Maryland is full of founders — biotech around Rockville, government contractors in Columbia, restaurants and trades across Baltimore, marine and small business across the Eastern Shore. The planning needs are entrepreneurial: irregular income, owner compensation structure, multi-state tax exposure, equity in the business, exit timing. Most local advisors are equipped for retirees and W-2 households, not the people whose biggest asset is the business they're still running.
We work specifically with that profile. Financial planning for entrepreneurs and investment management built around the irregular, the entity-tangled, and the still-being-built.
Most client work happens by video, which means proximity isn't the constraint. We work with Maryland founders and business owners regardless of which county they're in, plus clients in other states where StandUP Advisors is exempt-registered. In-person meetings happen for clients who want them — Genti travels the state and also conducts in-person sessions during RV tours.
Start with the 10-minute Da Vinci Index, or book a 30-minute call. No pitch. If we're not the right fit, I'll say so.