TOM COCK & DON McDONALD — VESTORY
Building a financial advisory firm that truly puts clients first is harder than it sounds. The industry's incentives — commissions, proprietary products, asset-based fees — create pressures that compromise advice. Tom Cock and Don McDonald at Vestory chose a different path.
Tom and Don built Vestory around a straightforward premise: investors deserve advice that is honest, evidence-based, and free of hidden costs or conflicts. No proprietary products. No commissions. No recommending things because they benefit the advisor. Just patient, disciplined, academically grounded portfolio management.
"The best thing we can do for a client is explain what we know, be honest about what we don't know, and never let our interests compete with theirs."
I've followed Tom and Don's work for years, and what distinguishes them is not just their investment philosophy — though it is rigorously sound — but their commitment to education. They believe, as I do, that an informed client makes better decisions and is less likely to panic when markets fall.
Their approach will be familiar to anyone who has followed my work: broad diversification, low costs, long time horizons, and the discipline to stay invested through volatility. They don't promise to beat the market. They promise to help you capture what the market gives — consistently, efficiently, and without unnecessary costs eating your returns.
— Paul Merriman